Live In Concert

Daryl Hall and John Oates started peaking in the late 1970s, and made some of the greatest singles of the 1980s. The duo essentially defined pop/rock for the era, and it's fun to watch those songs come alive on 2003's Live in Concert. This DVD resulted from a concert staged at John Jay College in New York City on March 24, 2003, for A&E's Live By Request television show. The immaculate yet organic production of Hall and Oates' recorded work translates extremely well live, thanks in part to the tight five-piece band led by their longtime bass guitarist Tom "T-Bone" Wolk. Viewers typically requested the mammoth hits and Hall and Oates delivered terrific versions of Atlantic-era and RCA-era classics like "Maneater," "Sara Smile," "Private Eyes," "Rich Girl," "You Make My Dreams," "She's Gone," and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" that often stretched out the arrangements. Callers ignored songs from the late-1980s Arista era, but their unusual choices included the minor hit "It's a Laugh," the new song "Do It for Love," and the Voices track "Everytime You Go Away" (turned into a chart-topping cover by Paul Young). The biggest and best surprises are acoustic versions of "Out of Touch" and "Say It Isn't So" and a breathtaking cover of Billy Paul's legendary "Me & Mrs. Jones," a cornerstone of the Philly soul sound that Hall and Oates loved so much, and which shaped their style. DVD extras include five more songs ("Family Man," "Life's Too Short," "Getaway Car," "One on One," and "Kiss on My List"), a post concert interview, discography, photos, and the viewer phone call segments, which include a buzz from fan Carly Simon. Separating those segments keeps the flow of music steady. As a thoughtful value-added bonus, the Live in Concert DVD package adds an audio CD of the main 14-song set. ~ Bret Adams|