Daryl Hall at His Core with Sixth Solo Album, ’D’

Daryl Hall is back with his sixth studio album, titled ‘D.’ A lot has happened between this release and Hall’s precious album, 2011’s Laughing Down Crying. Longtime friend, producer, and collaborator T-Bone Wolk died unexpectedly. Daryl Hall was married to Amanda Aspinall, daughter of gambling mogul John Aspinall. Amanda Aspinall died in January 2019. On top of all that, Hall’s relationship with longtime collaborator and business partner John Oates, who, as Hall & Oates, helped create many hits such as You Make My Dreams Come True, Private Eyes, Sara Smile, and Out of Touch, turned ugly. As Hall puts it in a recent interview with Billboard, he noted that the two haven’t had a relationship for a few decades. Despising touring together in 2022, the singer said, “John and I did not have a creative relationship for decades; the last song I wrote with John was in 2000, and that was with somebody else. We toured, and we toured, and we toured, and it was very restrictive to me and to John. The real truth is that John just said one day he didn’t want to do it anymore. I said, ‘OK,’ but the problem is (Oates) didn’t make the parting and breakup easy, and that’s where the difficulties lay and still lay, and that’s all it is.”

Love, heartache, loss, uncertainty, finding happiness, and moving forward. That is what Daryl Hall is navigating through on ‘D.’ The album was co-produced with Dave Stewart of the 1980s pop sensation band the Eurythmics, a longtime friend of Hall. Work began on the album 18 months ago as Daryl worked on it spontaneously. This creative approach to the album was done to keep things fresh and moving. It’s a wise decision as the payoff is good. ‘D‘ opens up with The Whole World’s Better, a head-bobbing tune full of good vibes and positive energy. The song gives you Motown vibes, as you would swear Stevie Wonder contributed. From there, we go into Too Much Information, Hall’s self-declaration song of independence, as he sings about wanting to be himself and be free. All I can think about while listening to this song is his tumultuous relationship with John Oates. Can’t Say No to You is a short, poppy love song that can be interpreted as Daryl Hall’s nod to his fans for their loyalty and support. The tempo changes drastically with Rather Be a Fool, which is my favorite of the entire album. It’s a slow ballad that finds Hall bellowing out his heartache in this autobiography. The signs of problems in a relationship are there, as the singer knows. Despite knowing, he does nothing to address the problems. Perhaps in being a fool, Daryl could say he was blind and unaware of any problems. Many of us have found ourselves in this position before, which is a difficult one. The hardest part in any relationship is walking away. Daryl Hall has so much pain in his voice as you feel his torment and loss. That takes us to the album’s fifth track, Rainbow Over the Graveyard. It was a charming transition from the previous track. It feels like a B-side or part II to Rather Be a Fool. As listeners, we find ourselves experiencing Hall’s journey in somehow picking himself up from the ground and moving forward. Not the Way I Thought It Was gives great 1980’s vibes. The song comes off like a straight-up Eurythmics song. You can close your eyes and picture Annie Lennox singing over the arrangements. This song’s central theme is overconfidence, building yourself up, and meeting expectations. Will you rise to the occasion and overcome or fumble? This journey ends with three last tracks, starting with Walking in Between Raindrops. My second favorite track from this album. The song deals with walking through life with hurt and loss. Despite this, the heart still wants love, even though it can be strange and scary. Daryl is still willing to walk through it all for love, as the raindrops could be interpreted as teardrops. Why You Want to Do That is a heavy synthesizer and bass track full of funk. Hall is playing around with distortion effects on his vocals for this one. The experiment with the vocals pays off, as it is the right mix. Too many times these days, we find artists playing heavy with auto-tuning. They sacrifice sharpening their vocal skills in favor of technology carrying them. Why You Want to Do That finds one experiencing so many good things involving love when, suddenly, things take a 180 turn for the worst. Our last track, Break it Down to the Real Thing, comes off like an Isley Brothers track, thanks to excellent guitar work. In addition, this track reminds you of Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. As you listen to this song, you’ll swear it is a sequel! Remember, Hall is a big fan of Marvin Gaye as he covered After the Dance on the Hall & Oates Our Kind of Soul album (2004). 

Daryl Hall’s mission for this album was to get down to his core. That was accomplished as lyrically, ‘D‘ is his strongest album since 1996’s Can’t Stop Dreaming. Musical arrangement-wise, ‘D‘ is as good as an episode of Live from Daryl’s House. Despite the songs being polished overall, you still get that recorded from a house vibe. This newest album was recorded at a home in the Bahamas. Putting that aside, however, Daryl Hall has put out another classic album. Hall extended his legacy while cementing that he was the glue that held Hall & Oates together. At age 77, Hall can still write and sing the hits, which is a testament to his creativity, longevity, and dedication as an artist. John Oates said in an interview recently that Daryl has been chasing the dragon. That dragon of being recognized as a renowned solo artist. Fans know that Daryl Hall accomplished that a long, long time ago. All that Hall is doing now is adding to his legacy while jamming with friends. And there isn’t anything wrong with that! Pick up ‘D’ today!