Some of you have been recently asking where the Westcoast AOR genre has gone at plotn08; well, as requested, here’s one for your melodic soul: DARYL HALL 1993’s solo album “Soul Alone” in its Japanese remastered reissue pressed on high quality Blu-spec CD and including 3 rare, hard to find tracks as bonus.
While “Soul Alone” has some of the pop-rock elements from Daryl famous band Hall & Oates, the album has a distinctive sound, smooth, with a FM radio ‘night feeling’, in a Westcoast mood from the late Seventies yet with a modern, polished production. Many talented session musicians are involvend into the recording.
“Soul Alone” is like the title suggests – all about soul, not the music genre, but Hall’s soul. And his voice, because here we discover a new side of Daryl’s vocals, open wide, from the heart. This is an inspired record, from songwriting to performance and if you like ‘elegant Westcoast’, late ’70s sounding but with a ’90s spin, “Soul Alone” is for you.
After just one listen you can’t deny the strength of this material, which at times recalls Barry White’s and Teddy Pendergrass’ legendary style. But Hall doesn’t imitate them, he does it in his own, beautiful way.
“Power of Seduction”, “I’m In A Philly Mood” or “Borderline” are top notch numbers, better than most of Top 40 at that time – deliciously produced and sung, bringing back the passion to the robotic soul of the early 90s.
This album should have given Daryl Hall a Grammy or maybe a few.
It’s classic stuff for the genre, even though only few know about it.
Highly Recommended
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01 – Power Of Seduction
02 – This Time
03 – Love Revelation
04 – I’m In a Philly Mood
05 – Borderline
06 – Stop Loving Me, Stop Loving You
07 – Help Me Find a Way to Your Heart
08 – Send Me
09 – Wildfire
10 – Money Changes Everything
11 – Written In Stone
BONUS TRACKS:
12 – I’ve Finally Seen The Light
13 – Stop Loving Me, Stop Loving You (Abraham’s Full Length Remix)
14 – Stop Loving Me, Stop Loving You (Jeep Dub Mix)
Vocals, Backing Vocals, Keyboards – Daryl Hall
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Peter Lord Moreland
Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Saxophone, Backing Vocals – V. Jeffrey Smith
Guitar, Bass – T-Bone Wolk
Bass, Backing Vocals – Alan Gorrie,
Bass – Bob Bitsand, Rich Tancredi
Drums – Bernard Davis, Trevor Murrell
Keyboards – Alec Shantzis, Eric Kupper, Peter Schwartz, Tommy Eyre
Percussion – Miles Bould
Piano – Terry Burrus
Backing Vocals – Lorna Bannon, Lorraine McIntosh, Sandra St. Victor
Strings – The London Session Orchestra