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Review of Hall and Oates – Big Bam Boom – 30th Anniversary

Daryl Hall and John Oates

H2O Big Bam Boom Album Art

Big Bam Boom!

Big Bam Boom celebrates it’s 30th Anniversary of being released! Hall & Oates’s 1984 album was one of my all time favorites and it still is to this day! Here’s a review of the album!

 DHALL-JOATES

Let’s jump in our Delorean’s and head back to 1984! Hall & Oates were the best Pop Music Duo of the 80s, and they still rank today nearly 30 years later as the best pop duo in music history. most people might scoff at H2O, saying oh those guys…. yeah whatever. But seriously from the time I was two years old to the time I was eight or nine years old… Hall & Oates were my 80s musical obsession. I still love listening to their music today.

So back in the 80s we had these things called cassettes, you kids of today’s generation might not know what they are. But when I was a kid I had a HUGE Cassette collection. Hall & Oates were my number 1 bought band at the time. I actually remember having the vinyl of Big Bam Boom along with the cassette. So my whole point in bringing this up is that cassettes have two sides. Hall & Oates did something great with the BBB cassette. Instead of labeling it Side A or Side B, they named each side after the album! Now I’ll be upfront and say on iTunes I have the 2003 remastered version of the album, and that’s what I’ve been listening to for the longest time. However I do remember the original album. my review will come from the 2003 version though.

Side Bam

“Dance on Your Knees” (Hall, Arthur Baker) – 1:27

I always thought this was a weird lead in for the album even as a kid. I felt it was an intro to “Out of Touch” I mean trhe track is only a minute 27 seconds. There were times as a kid when I thought this and “Out of Touch” were one complete track.

Out of Touch (Hall, Oates) – 4:21

I love this song, but I love the extended versuon more, because of the epic drum solo that is in it. “Out of Touch” has a great beat to it, the instruments all compliment each other. These guys knew what to do with the synthesizers! This song has such a great beat, vibe, and feel to it.

Method of Modern Love (Hall, Janna Allen) – 5:34

This track helped me win spelling bees. I’m not kidding LOL! Once again a great track off the album, I love the tones under the keyboards and drums. The lyrics are great too. It’s a weird chasing dreams of love kinda song.

“Bank on Your Love” (Hall, Oates, Sara Allen) – 4:18

This one feels more poppy than anything else on the album. It feels not totally standard, but not the way out there tones H2O are known for. It has a great beat and it’s one of my most listened to songs. I guess listening to the album in order, and hearing this after Method I was taken aback a bit at first.

“Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid” (Hall) – 5:26

To end Side BAM we have this track. Now this one I feel is aptly put after “Bank on Your Love” These two tracks flow well into and out of each other. This track talks about …. well the title says it all…… I love the beats and tempo of the song. This might be my second most played song off Big Bam Boom.

BAM was always my favorite side as a kid… I was kinda creeped out by Cold, Dark, and Yesterday as a 4-7 year old. American Girl was a cool track, but strange, and Possession Obsession also freaked me out a few times. I have no idea why.

Side Boom

“Going Thru the Motions” (Hall, Oates, Janna Allen, Sara Allen) – 5:40

I love the beats in this song, plus there’s a section where it repeats a few times love that part of the song.

“Cold Dark and Yesterday” (Oates) – 4:40

Everyone knows I’m more of a fan of Hall than Oates. Nothing against John, but Daryl was the guy I waned to most be like when I was a kid. Even now listening back to this song it’s just not my thing, it has all the marks of Oates in the writing, and seemingly nothing of Hall. Even now after looking at the lyrics I have no idea what Oates is singing about.

“All American Girl” (Hall, Oates, Sara Allen) – 4:28

This one starts off with a great beat. I view this one as kinda like what Billy Joel did with Uptown Girl. At least lyrically. It seems to have the same tones. Still love the beats and instrumentals in this one though. The end of the song is awesome too.

“Possession Obsession” (Hall, Oates, Sara Allen, Janna Allen) – 4:36

Oates again is lead writer on this. I believe it’s a concept on buying things and having things. I think that’s what it is, always wanting something. I like the beat behind the lyrics, wish I had an instrumental version of this track.

Side BOOM is decent for me, it’s not bad.

Remastered CD Bonus Tracks

“Out of Touch (12″ version)” – 7:42

3:45 to 4:11 of this extended version is why I love it so much. That drum solo was so damn epic back when I saw the video and even listening to it today. The other remastered CD bonus tracks are all right, but I prefer Method’s original version, and I’m not too thrilled with Dance on Your Knees being extended, but hey they wanted to add something to the song and I respect that.

“Method of Modern Love (12″ version)” – 7:49

“Possession Obsession (12″ version)” – 6:31

“Dance on Your Knees (12″ version)” – 6:40

In closing I can’t believe it’s been 30 years since this album was released. I LOVE and still listen to 5 outta the 13 songs on the remastered version. Listening to these songs brings me back to my youth, and loving great 80s music. There was and still is something so magical about this duo performing together. And happy anniversary to Big Bam Boom!!! 30 years and this album still lives on.

DHALL-JOATES1

Review Overview

H2O's Big Bam Boom keeps on a rockin'!

Big Bam Boom still Rocks today!!!! 30 Years later!

Hall & Oates' Big Bam Boom was the first album I really grew into with this duo. It's one of three that I played on an endless loop as a kid. BBB still stands out today, and we should all travel back in time to the 80s and big hair, to let ourselves go and have some fun! Happy Anniversary Big Bam Boom! Even though there are a few songs on the album I'm not crazy about I still give this record 5 stars because it was a launching pad for me into enjoying music.

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TFG1Mike

TFG1Mike is a geek with many interests. He has been podcasting for over a decade, and sees no stopping point in sight. From Transformers, He-Man, Batman, Comics, movies, video games, cartoons, and so much more, Mike has a zeal for the things he loves, and he will bring the hammer down on the things that he has a disdain for. He's generally a postive person, but negativity can creep in there. Mike is all about the innuendos and innuendon'ts too. You'll hear him on many of The GCRN podcasts!

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