The Bird and the Bee do Hall and Oates
February 3, 2010
The Bird and the Bee have revealed details for their follow-up to last year’s Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, and it only has one new song by the duo, while the eight other tracks are… Hall and Oates covers. They noted details of the release a while back on their MySpace blog:
Filter magazine scooped the tracklist and release date (March 23) for Guiltless Pleasures Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates. Here is the tracklist for convenience’s sake (the first track is the new B&B original):
1. Heard It On The Radio
2. 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
It’s an amazing, but appropriate revelation for the duos. This recent renewed love for Hall and Oates has had me scratching my head. Even when they were at the height of their success in the late 70s, and I was an impressionable elementary school kid, I couldn’t take them too seriously. They were so light and fluffy, up there with Air Supply and the Bee Gees.
But this past year, they had a bit of a resurgence among hipsters and the popular culture alike. They recently faced off against the Fray, MGMT, Bon Jovi and the Black Eyed Peas for best performance by a duo or group in the recent Grammy race, losing out to the Peas. They were arguably the least relevant of the bunch, so definitely being nominated must have been the honor there.
Earlier that year, their song “You Make My Dreams Come True” made for one of the best dance sequences at the movies when Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, Tom celebrated his home run with the titular character played by Zooey Deschanel.
So, yes, it’s a cheesy subject for a tribute album but one that I think the Bird and the Bee will pull off well. Their effervescent, swinging but sincere alterna-pop stylings will probably lift these songs to a level I might even find tolerable. I can’t deny Hall and Oates made some crafty tunes during their heyday. When I was in third grade, kicking my heels at the cafeteria lunch table, “Private Eyes” sometimes played in my head. They indeed made some crafty earworms, and the Bird and the Bee has selected some strong, popular hits.
Plus, the Bird and the Bee’s love for 70s pop rock is no secret to fans of the group. Their song “Diamond Dave” is a tribute to David Cassidy and they have already covered a song by that other fluffy 70s pop success the Bee Gees with “How Deep is Your Love.” I leave you with that track…
