Hall & Oates “Private Eyes” 1981. Yesterday, April 7th, was guitarist, song co-writer and sometime vocalist John Oates 70th birthday (b. 1949, at least according to a couple of reputable websites; Wiki has the year as 1948). He is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and, as part of the duo Hall & Oates, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Private Eyes was Hall & Oates tenth studio album and it went to #5 on the US Billboard chart, #11 on the R&B chart and to #8 in the UK. It was also the first album – or at least songs from the album – that I remember hearing from the band: I was 10 years old and “Private Eyes” was everywhere in ‘81. The title track was the first single released from the LP and it went to #1 on the Hot 100. I also remember hearing the second single a lot; “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” also went to #1 (knocking “Private Eyes” out from that slot). It also was significant for topping the R&B chart, making it the only single to hit number one on both charts in 1982, a very rare feat for a white act to achieve. The third single was “Did It in a Minute” which went to #9 in the US and their final single from Private Eyes, “Your Imagination,” went to #33.

I’m not a big Hall & Oates fan but this album is OK. Overall it’s a very 80′s record, mixing blue-eyed soul, pop and new wave (and as with many many records from the era, lots of saxophone). Allmusic states, “Though the production is state of the art for 1981, what keeps Private Eyes from sounding robotic is that it never gets in the way of the kinetic energy of Hall & Oates’ touring band, who give the music muscle; they are what keeps the album sounding vibrant 20-plus years after its release, since while elements of the production have dated, it still captures a real band working at a peak. These are the elements that make Private Eyes a sterling example of the sound of mainstream pop circa 1981, but the record was a hit, and has aged well, because both Hall & Oates, along with regular songwriting collaborators Sara and Janna Allen, were at a peak as writers….Though they continued their streak of excellent hit singles, Private Eyes was the culmination of the sound they’d been developing since Along the Red Ledge, and it stands as the pinnacle of their time as the biggest pop act in the U.S.A.”