Hall and Oates, Las Vegas Sun, May 7, 1998

LV’s kiss is on their list Lisa Ferguson Thursday, May 7, 1998 | 10:15 a.m. There's a reason why you haven't heard much from the musical duo Hall and Oates the past few years: They've been on a 7-year vacation -- from each other. After nearly a quarter of a century spent playing together, and with six No. 1 hits ("Maneater," "Private Eyes," "Kiss on My List") and more than two dozen Top 40 tunes under their belts, the blue-eyed soul singers/ songwriters from Philadelphia parted ways, at least temporarily. The respite was a good one, Daryl Hall says. "It really sort of refreshed us and also gave us the ability to be objective about what we were," as well as an opportunity to work on solo projects, including Hall's pair of CDs, 1993's "Soul Alone" and "Can't Stop Dreaming" in '96. The break "was really instructive and useful," he says, "and gave us the shot in the arm that we needed." So it seems that time was the only thing keeping the duo apart. But no longer: Hall and (John) Oates perform at the Desert Inn tonight through Saturday in support of the "Marigold Sky" CD released earlier this year. The 12-track disc, which has birthed two singles -- the soulful "Promise Ain't Enough" and "The Sky is Falling" -- was released on Push Records, of which Hall and Oates are also part owners. "We just got really tired of playing around with the music scene after all these years," Hall says of their new corporate roles. "We always wanted to have a lot more freedom in the various decisions and just flexibility of what singles to put out." "Marigold Sky" is the group's first offering since 1990's acoustically-tinged "Change of Season," which produced the single "So Close." Getting back into the swing of recording was not difficult. "We've known each other for so long that time apart doesn't mean much," Hall says. Except, of course, that Hall -- who considers himself "a solo artist that works with another guy," rather than part of a duo -- had some assistance on this project. "But having said that, what we do together is a very distinctive thing," he says. "Even though we are separate people and look at things separately and ... together front a band, it's this unique individualism and togetherness." Unlike previous endeavors -- when writing and other musical and production duties have been more evenly divided -- "Marigold Sky" was, however, more the work of Hall than Oates. "It really sort of reflects what I was thinking about when I wrote the songs," he says. "I think it's a very affirmative album; it's got sadness, happiness and all those things in it, but I think mostly it's a very uplifting album." It also has the distinct Hall and Oates sound -- a mixture of pop, rock and soul -- that propelled the duo to the top of the charts during the '80s. Hall says: "That's the other thing I was thinking about when I wrote these songs: What do people think when they think of Hall and Oates? What do they expect to hear? What's in their minds? "I kind of took things from all of the different eras (of the band) and tried to combine them and bring them into the modern world. I think if you listen to this album, you'll hear elements from (the 1973 album) "Abandoned Luncheonette" all the way through the '80s ... all sort of mixed together in a very identifiable sound." Reaction to the singles from listeners of KSNE 106.5-FM has been good, according to the station's program director and morning show co-host Tom Chase. "Obviously they're very familiar with their sound from the early hits," Chase says of listeners to the adult contemporary station, which maintains 13 Hall and Oates tunes in its music library. "We do a lot of research and find that their songs are are still very popular." Not that Hall listens to those old tunes much these days. "Only if I'm forced or by accident or something," he says, though if he had to pick his favorites, they'd be "Sara Smile," "One on One" and "She's Gone," which he considers the best song he and Oates ever wrote together. "It came out of reality," he says of the sad song that also debuted in '73. He and Oates were living together in New York City following respective relationship breakups. "We just pooled the reality around us and it took about five minutes to write. It's just one of those moments in time that work." Karla Peterson, arts writer for the San Diego (Calif.) Union-Tribune, who reviewed Hall and Oates when they performed there last summer, says: "I think they always did good adult radio ballads, and ... I think they've aged really well. I think if you hear 'Sara Smile' or 'She's Gone,' those songs are more than 20 years old and they still sound really fresh to me." Hall contends he's never certain when a song will prove to be a hit. "All I remember about 'Sara Smile,' which was our first hit, was that it didn't sound like anything else on the radio (in 1975) and that confused me but it encouraged me also," he says. Also encouraging to Paul Grein, pop music analyst and former Billboard magazine writer, was when the single "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" hit No. 1 on both the pop and rhythm and blues charts in 1982. "It was the first record in years by a white act to top the R&B charts, which was phenomenal. I think it showed how universal their sound was in the early '80s, when they were at their peak," he says, adding that Hall and Oates could be poised for a musical resurgence. "I don't think they'll ever have a string of hits like they did at their peak," Grein says, "but I would think that they could have another flurry of some success." Good thing, because after 25 years of recording together, Hall says the duo is hardly ready to perform its swan song. "We have no plans on even slowing down," he says, "let alone stopping."