The Bird and the Bee - Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates
Rating
RIYL
Inara GeorgePsapp
Au Revoir Simone
The Submarines
Release Date
03/23/2010
Label
Blue Note RecordsTracklist
1 Heard It On The Radio2 I Can’t Go For That
3 Rich Girl
4 Sarah Smile
5 Kiss On My List
6 Maneater
7 She’s Gone
8 Private Eyes
9 One on One
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Devoting almost an entire album to covers of another musician’s work can be risky business. Hardcore fans are more often than not going to be willing to eat it up, but it does little to increase the band’s cachet. The Bird and the Bee decided to test the waters anyway and release an album with one new song and eight covers of Hall and Oates songs.
The works of Hall and Oates, though revered as quintessential 80s pop, does not exactly invite a lot of interpretation. It’s hard to imagine anyone truly crafting a homage to them without it either coming off as goofy or too far from the mark. The Bird and the Bee’s brand of jazz-infused pop happens to be the perfect primer to revamp these tunes and warrant a listen from fans, and even non-fans, of Hall and Oates. At its core, Interpreting the Masters is just good, somber pop.
The first track on the album, “Heard It on the Radio,” is the only original song on the release and it is easily one of the most straightforward pop songs they’ve written. If this is the direction the duo plans on taking, then some fans may grow disenfranchised. Ironically, the rest of the tracks on the album, all of which are Hall and Oates covers, sound more like the previous work of the band. The Bird and the Bee have always done exceptionally well in covering songs and making them their own, and that is certainly the case here. The album lulls a few times with tracks like “Rich Girl” and “She’s Gone” but that is ultimately forgivable.
The Bird and the Bee and Hall and Oates fans alike will find something to like here. They did an incredible job of crafting homage to one of the best-known pop duos ever, and they did so with their unique flare. Some fans were on the fence about giving the release a go because they’re not Hall and Oates fans but, rest assured, there is something here for everyone.
--Dant Rambo
Comments
I think you did quite an accurate job of assessing this album Senior Dant! It was amusing to hear some of these songs again (and not be watching a Geico commerical) since they all came out in my wee & formative years in original forms.
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