Voices (Hall & Oates album)

Voices
Voices
Studio album by Hall & Oates
Released	July 29, 1980
Recorded	November 1979 – April 1980
Studio	Hit Factory, New York City; Electric Lady, New York City;
Genre	Synth-pop; pop rock; blue-eyed soul;
Length	43:55
Label	RCA
Producer	Daryl Hall; John Oates;
Hall & Oates chronology
Singles from Voices
	"How Does It Feel to Be Back"; Released: July 1980; "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"; Released: September 27, 1980; "Kiss on My List"; Released: November 1980; "You Make My Dreams"; Released: April 1981;

Voices is the ninth studio album by American pop rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates. The album was released on July 29, 1980, by RCA Records. It spent 100 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 17.^[1] In 2020, the album was ranked number 80 on The Greatest 80 Albums of 1980 by Rolling Stone magazine.^[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[4]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)^[2]

Background edit

The album slowly became a massive hit, spinning off four singles into the top 40 of the American pop charts: "How Does It Feel to Be Back" (number 30 in summer, 1980), "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (number 12 in fall, 1980), "Kiss on My List" (number 1 for three weeks in spring, 1981), and "You Make My Dreams" (number 5 in summer, 1981). "Everytime You Go Away" was not released as a single but was covered by Paul Young in 1985, when it went to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 27, 1985.

Voices was the first album that Hall & Oates produced by themselves, working in conjunction with renowned engineer Neil Kernon.

Track listing edit

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"How Does It Feel to Be Back"	John Oates	4:35
2.	"Big Kids"	Daryl Hall Oates	3:40
3.	"United State"	Hall Oates	3:08
4.	"Hard to Be in Love with You"	Hall Neil Jason Oates	3:38
5.	"Kiss on My List"	Janna Allen Hall	4:25
6.	"Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)"	Sara Allen Hall	3:37

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"	Barry Mann Phil Spector Cynthia Weil	4:37
8.	"You Make My Dreams"	Sara Allen Hall Oates	3:11
9.	"Everytime You Go Away"	Hall	5:23
10.	"Africa"	Oates	3:39
11.	"Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)"	Hall Oates	3:43

Personnel edit

Daryl Hall – lead vocals (2–9, 11), backing vocals, mando-guitar, keyboards, synthesizers (including ARP String Ensemble and Yamaha CP30), vocoder, percussion
John Oates – lead vocals (1, 4, 7, 10), backing vocals, 6-string and 12-string guitars, percussion, Roland CR-78 drum machine
G. E. Smith – lead guitars
John Siegler – bass
Jerry Marotta – drums
Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion
Charles DeChant – saxophone

Additional musicians edit

Jeff Southworth – lead guitar on "Kiss On My List"
Ralph Schuckett – organ on "Everytime You Go Away"
Mike Klvana – synthesizers on "Africa"

Production edit

Produced by Daryl Hall and John Oates
Engineered by Neil Kernon and Bruce Tergeson
Assistant Engineers – Jon Smith and John Palermo
Mixed by Neil Kernon
Recorded at The Hit Factory and Electric Lady Studio, New York City.
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk, New York City.
Album Cover Design – Sara Allen
Art Direction – J.J. Stelmach
Photography – Ebet Roberts
Equipment Technician – Mike Klvana

Charts and certifications edit

The album debuted at number 75 on the Billboard 200 the week of August 16, 1980 as the highest debut of the week.^[5] After ten months since its debut on the chart, it reached and peaked at number 17 on June 13, 1981, making it their highest charting album since 1975 when Daryl Hall & John Oates peaked at number 17 too.^[6]^[7] It remained on the chart for one hundred weeks, more than any other album by the duo.^[6]^[7] It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 6, 1981 for shipments of 500,000 units, it reached platinum status on January 22, 1982 denoting shipments of one million.^[8]

Weekly charts edit

Chart (1980–1981)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[9]	19
US Billboard 200^[6]	17

Certifications edit


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[10]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[8]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles edit

Release Date	Title	Hot 100	UK singles
July 1980	"How Does It Feel to Be Back"	30	–
September 1980	"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"	12	55
January 1981	"Kiss on My List"	1	33
April 1981	"You Make My Dreams"	5	–

Bibliography edit

Oates, John (2017), Change of Seasons: A Memoir, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-1-250-08266-4

References edit

^ Oates, John (2017). "I Hear The Voices". Change of Seasons: A Memoir.
^ ^a ^b "The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980". Rolling Stone. November 11, 2020.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Daryl Hall & John Oates: Voices". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
^ Berger, Arion (2004). "Daryl Hall & John Oates". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 358. ISBN 0743201698.
^ "Top LPs & Tape". Billboard – August 16, 1980. August 16, 1980. p. 70. Retrieved September 3, 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Daryl Hall & John Oates – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "American album certifications – Hall & Oates – Voices". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Hall & Oates – Voices". Music Canada. Retrieved August 24, 2017.

[1] Oates, John (2017). "I Hear The Voices". Change of Seasons: A Memoir.

[rollingstone.com-2] "The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980". Rolling Stone. November 11, 2020.

[allmusic-3] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Daryl Hall & John Oates: Voices". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2017.

[Berger-4] Berger, Arion (2004). "Daryl Hall & John Oates". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 358. ISBN 0743201698.

[5] "Top LPs & Tape". Billboard – August 16, 1980. August 16, 1980. p. 70. Retrieved September 3, 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[BB200-6] "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2017.

[:0-7] "Daryl Hall & John Oates – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.

[UScert-8] "American album certifications – Hall & Oates – Voices". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 24, 2017.

[9] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[CanadaHall_&_OatesVoicesalbumCertRef-10] "Canadian album certifications – Hall & Oates – Voices". Music Canada. Retrieved August 24, 2017.

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