Back in Love Again

Back in Love Again is a slapdash collection of Hall & Oates' album cuts and throwaways. Fans of the duo's superstar-'80s period won't find those hits here; for that matter, Back in Love Again doesn't even include '70s singles like "Sara Smile." Instead, there are three songs from 1972's Whole Oates album, and a clutch of dusties displaying a folksy pop, '70s AM sound. The fidelity is also an issue here -- many of these songs sound like they were recorded right off the same radio. Although they appear in an alternate, less realized form from what eventually made it onto Whole Oates, "They Needed Each Other" and "Fall in Philadelphia" are the likely standouts here. [Note: the 2003 Blu Mountain release If That's What Makes You Happy is a repackaged version of this recording.]