Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2116 - SACD Hybrid Stereo -

Numbered Limited  Edition - Plays On All CD Players

Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR  SACD

 

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes!

1982 Multi-Platinum Smash Both Creatively Ambitious and Commercially Successful

Includes "Maneater," "One on One," and "Family Man"

Third and Final Set of Duo's 80s-Defining Series of Masterful Albums

 

 

Freeing themselves from soulful folk, Hall & Oates developed into household names on 1980’s sleek, stylish, and pop-sophisticated Voices—a blockbuster Rolling Stone perfectly described as teaching the group “the way to make rock girls, disco girls, and new-wave girls scream together.

Hall and Oates’ biggest-selling album also stands as their most ambitious. Recorded in 1982, when the duo practically owned the pop market, H20 strikes a keen equilibrium between polish, melody, muscle, and craft. The vocalists expand the emotional reach of their songwriting, and shepherd meticulous production and measured arrangements toward thrilling intersections of blue-eyed soul, edge new wave, soft rock, and dance. Staked to two giant singles, the double-platinum affair lingers as the group’s last masterwork. 

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s hybrid SACD reissue of H20 falls in line with the label’s other two definitive Hall and Oates restorations. Fans that think they know the set backwards and forwards will even be stunned at how much sharper vocal harmonies sound, how much richer the dynamics have become, and how broad and deep the soundstage now spans. One listen to this transparent version, and you’ll know why this record marks the tandem’s creative pinnacle. 

Oh-oh, here she comes! Yes, you know the refrain. In their number-one smash and album-opening “Maneater,” Hall and Oates distill all the trademark traits that made their music irresistible. Swinging verse structures; call-and-responses choruses; catchy, stick-in-your-head hooks; smooth synthesizer layers; doo-wop vocal fills; and here, even a reggae-nodding rhythm and cool saxophone lines to stir up the mood and atmosphere. The blend of seemingly disparate styles would seem disastrous in nearly any other artists’ hands, yet here, it’s euphoria. All of H20 follows suit. 

Simply look to the other Top Ten hit, “One on One,” an elegantly seductive jam sent up with witty metaphors, mellow balladic foundations, syncopated singing, falsetto stretches, and percolating drum-machine beats that add to the soulful feel. Or to the attractive power-pop of “Delayed Reaction,” slinky and sensual “Open All Night,” mechanized synthpop statement “Crime Pays,” fun-loving spirit of “Italian Girls,” and horn-laden “Art of Heartbreak.” Again claiming an advantage lost on most of their contemporary pop peers, Hall and Oates cut the album with their superb touring band in support, buttressing the fare with genuine instruments and full-bodied tones. 

After the release of H20, Hall and Oates soon became history’s all-time biggest-selling male duo. This early 80s benchmark has much to do with their achievement, and deserves to be heard in the best-possible fidelity. Look no further.