It's telling that DO WHAT YOU WANT TO BE WHAT YOU ARE, Sony/Legacy's comprehensive, career-spanning Daryl Hall and John Oates box set, takes its title from a moderately successful mid-'70s single from the duo, written and recorded just as the group was hitting their creative stride. The slow Philly groove of "Do What You Want Be Who You Are" may have hearkened back to the duo's soul roots, side-stepping some of the outré pop experiments they had done just two years earlier on War Babies, but Hall & Oates took the title's sentiment to heart, blurring boundaries between rock, pop, and soul in a way that wasn't always easy to appreciate at the peak of their popularity in the '80s.

During that decade, Hall & Oates were omnipresent, seemingly dominating every radio format and MTV, racking up so many hits that it was easy to overlook how "Private Eyes" wore bright, angular New Wave threads, or how "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" pulsated on electronic rhythms, not to mention the duo's earliest folk-rock records. DO WHAT YOU WANT TO BE brings all this into perspective, rounding up all the group's big hits and sharply selected album tracks, enhancing the canon with several rarities ranging from early singles (Hall as a member of the Temptones, Oates as one of the Masters) to a host of live cuts from throughout the years. Many of the live tracks are mildly revelatory--particularly the lengthy stretch of WAR BABIES material at the end of Disc One, which diminishes the Todd Rundgren influence and emphasizes Hall & Oates' muscular melodicism. The group's forté was within the studio, where they set the sounds of the time, from the lush early '70s to the synthesized '80s. This, too, is where the box shines, when it traces the duo's remarkable, restless progression from WHOLE OATES to BIG BAM BOOM, a narrative that takes up the first three discs of the four-disc set.

  Forms And Feelings CD
  by Love Sculpture
Our Price: $19.09 CD
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2007 digitally remastered edition of the trio's classic psychedelic second album. Originally issued in 1969, the band headed further to employ an underground sound to record their classic UK Top Ten hit 'Sabre Dance', a recording championed by DJ John Peel. This edition was remastered from the original tapes and expanded to include the six non-LP singles and the track 'Mars', which was exlcuded from the UK edition of the original album. The ensuing album was equally stunning, engineered by future Yes/ELP producer Eddie Offord. Esoteric.

Forms & Feelings essentially replicates the high-voltage attack of Blues Helping, only with a notable lack of energy and an eye on the charts. It's no coincidence that the group chose to revamp L'Arlésienne's "Farandole," given that "Sabre Dance" was the only thing that distinguished Love Sculpture from the legions of British blues bands. But this time around, "Farandole" and all of Forms & Feelings sounded tired and redundant, with only a fraction of the passion that made the debut worthwhile. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Recording information: Advision Studios; Maximum Sound Studios.


  VH1: The Big 80'S: Big Hair CD
  by Compilation
Our Price: $9.09 CD
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Digitally remastered by Dave Schultz & Bill Inglot (DigiPrep). Audio Remasterers: Dave Schultz; Bill Inglot.

Photographers: George Bodnar; Jodi Summers Dorland; Michael Montfort; Ross Marino; Jeff Tisman; John Atashian; Eddie Malluk; Robert Matheu; Todd Kaplan; David Redfern; Tony Mottram. Kicking back to the days of Aqua Net hair and leather boots, VH1 celebrates the '80s with the 16-track compilation VH1: Big 80's Big Hair. Get heavy with songs from the Scorpions, Extreme, Twisted Sister, Winger, Dokken, Slaughter, Ratt, Poison, Whitesnake, and more! ~ MacKenzie Wilson

Includes liner notes by Jay Blumenfield.


  Jukebox Hits Of The 80'S CD
  by Jukebox Hits Of The 80'S
Our Price: $37.05
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Collectables' Jukebox Hits of the '80s is an attractive package for consumers who want the biggest hits of the era. All 70 songs spread out over these five discs are recognizable. Unlike other similar sets, these songs are not re-recordings; these are the original hit versions. More than likely the casual listener will only need one track from Nena, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone, Toni Basil, or Quarterflash. The one major flaw of the series, besides lack of decent packaging, is that while disc one has 25 tracks, the other four feature half the songs per disc. This could have easily been contained to a more cost-effective three-disc set. ~ Al Campbell

3 CD Box Set


  Big Hits Of The 80'S (EMI Special Markets) CD
  by Compilation
Our Price: $5.69
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As a budget-priced collection goes, EMI-Capitol Special Markets' Big Hits of the '80s is quite nice. Many budget-line collections stop at ten or 12 tracks, and occasionally contain remakes. Big Hits of the '80s doesn't skimp -- it has 20 tracks, ... Full Descriptionall in their original hit versions. There might not be many surprises among those 20, but since it contains hits like "Mickey," "Centerfold, " "C'est La Vie, " "Abracadabra, " "Promises, Promises, " "Don't Dream It's Over, " "Only the Lonely, " "Never Surrender, " "Mary's Prayer, " "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone), " "Walking on Sunshine, " "Miss Me Blind, " "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" and "Don't Shed a Tear, " it's certainly an entertaining listen that's well worth its budget price. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1.Mickey - Toni Basil 2. Centerfold - J. Geils Band 3. C'Est la Vie - Robbie Nevil 4. Rock Me Tonite - Billy Squier 5. Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band 6. Promises, Promises - Naked Eyes 7. Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House 8. Only the Lonely - The Motels 9. Never Surrender - Corey Hart 10. Mary's Prayer - Danny Wilson 11. Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) - Glass Tiger 12. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves 13. Miss Me Blind - Culture Club 14. Morning Train (Nine to Five) - Sheena Easton 15. Shattered Dreams - Johnny Hates Jazz 16. Died in Your Arms, (I Just) - Cutting Crew 17. Don't Shed a Tear - Paul Carrack 18. Get It on (Bang a Gong) - The Power Station 19. Destination Unknown - Missing Persons 20. Election Day - Arcadia


  Gold: '80S British CD
  by Compilation
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This two-CD best of collects some often overlooked gems from the fertile 1980s British pop scene, as well as its better-known favorites. The former category includes New Romantic pioneers Visage's goth-pop masterpiece "Fade to Grey," Talk Talk's soaring "It's My Life," and Dream Academy's strangely African-tinged slice of nostalgia, "Life in a Northern Town." Eighties perennials the Thompson Twins and the Cure are represented by the singalong "Hold Me Now" and the new wave disco hit "Let's Go to Bed," respectively, while Big Country's "In a Big Country" and Tears For Fears' "Mad World" display both the decade's brash confidence and its darker, more apprehensive side. If you're a die-hard Anglophile with a deep love for early-'80s new wave, the odds are pretty good that you already have most of the tracks on Gold: '80s British, a chronologically sequenced two-disc set that doesn't reach Howard Jones -- er, 1985 -- until the latter half of the second disc. And, even though Hip-O reaches out to many labels not distributed by mothership Universal, the set is not definitive -- for starters, there's no Human League, Heaven 17, Art of Noise, or the Smiths. However, a truly definitive compilation of '80s British music would have to extend well beyond a couple discs, so the label really can't be faulted. For anyone who doesn't look upon the decade with short-sighted derision, there's plenty to love, and most of it has held up extraordinarily well. ~ Andy Kellman

Liner Note Author: Dave Thompson . Directors: Clive Langer; Alan Winstanley; Matt Aitken; Mike Stock.


  Back On The Streets/King Cool CD
  by Donnie Iris
Our Price: $12.35 CD
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Out of print in the U.S.! This CD two-fer contains a pair of albums from AOR Pop rocker Donnie Iris and his Cruisers (not to be confused with Eddie's Cruisers!).

Back On The Streets (1980) was his debut solo album and contains his biggest hit 'Ah! Lea'. King Cool (1981) was his equally impressive follow-up and it contains the radio smashes 'My Girl' and 'Love Is Like A Rock'. Universal.

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