Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs
From ETWiki
Originally released: 1980
Personnel
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Tracks
- 3'12 Sacred Songs (Hall)
- 4'20 Something in 4/4 Time (Hall, Fripp)
- 7'20 Babs and Babs (Hall)
- 2'24 Urban Landscape (Fripp)
- 4'24 NYCNY (Hall, Fripp)
- 2'52 The Farther Away I Am (Hall, Fripp)
- 5'18 Why Was it so Easy? (Hall)
- 6'24 Don't Leave Me Alone With Her (Hall)
- 6'40 Survive (Hall)
- 2'50 Without Tears (Hall)
Plus bonus track on the 1999 re-release:
- You Burn Me Up I'm A Cigarette (Fripp, Hall)
- North Star (Fripp, Hall, Walton)
Reviews
Reviews are listed in chronological order within each section. Please retain a chronological order when adding new reviews.
Entire Release
Date Submitted: 18-Apr-01
By: John Drayton (johndr at bigpond dot com)
"Circumstances dictated that Hall's album is the least well known of the "MOR trilogy", and his unfortunate reputation as a teeny-bopper may have ruled out serious attention to his work, yet it is by far the best of the three albums (Fripp's own "Exposure" and Peter Gabriel's second eponymous release being the other two).
"There are a number of reason's for this. Hall (as Fripp notes in his introduction to this excellent re-issue) has a very fine voice and is also blessed with a sensibility sympathetic to popular music in the best sense: thoughtful, witty lyrics, melodies which do not run dry after three listens and a sense of responsibility to the listener.
"The crucial point about the album however is its subversive nature. From the raucous opener to the almost ethereal "Without Tears" the album turns expectations on their head and steadfastly refuses to resolve itself into any neat formula (either avant-rock or radio-pop). Listen to "Babs and Babs" for an example of the way a straight-forward and catchy tune can be turned into something quite ominous by a combination of passionate vocals, initially dissonant frippertronics and a set of lyrics which are both intelligent and clear.
"Of course, these comments could almost apply to Gabriel, except that he is EXPECTED to produce a challenge (the fact that he rarely does is beside the point). For Hall to do so makes the album dangerous."
