The song "Out of Touch" (the first single) was a #1 pop hit, and charted in several other areas (#24 Hot Black Singles, #8 on the Adult Contemporary charts and #1 on the dance charts, #48 in the UK). Another song taken from the album, the Daryl Hall and Janna Allen-penned "Method of Modern Love" reached a high point of #5, and "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid," reached #18.
Musical styles on the album include pop, rock, and dance-rock, with R&B/soul influences. The album had even more of an electronic, urban feel to it compared to their previous albums, combining their song structure & vocalization with the latest technical advances in recording and playing. The album employed some of the most sophisticated equipment ever used in the recording industry at the time.
Big Bam Boom is the last of the big Hall & Oates albums, the one that closed their period of greatest commercial success and artistic achievement. Parting from Neil Kernon, their engineer/co-producer for Voices, Private Eyes, and H20, the duo hired Bob Clearmountain as a co-producer and engineer, bringing in hip-hop pioneer Arthur Baker for additional mixing and production, and the change behind the boards is evident on the record. As the title none too subtly implies, this is a bigger, noisier record than its predecessors, with its rhythms smacking around in an echo chamber and each track built on layers of synthesizers and studio effects.
Hall & Oates' crack touring band are credited in the liner notes as playing on each track, but this is one of the first mainstream records of the '80s records where it sounds as everything was sequenced and run through a computer -- the sound that came to define the latter half of the decade. There's undeniably interesting things going on in the mix on each of the nine tracks -- frankly, there's too much going on, and the production weighs down many of the songs on this sprawling, diffuse album; it also obscures the dark undercurrent to many of the tunes, several of which seem to foreshadow the duo's long hiatus following this record.
Some songs cut through on the strength of their craft, and these are usually the singles: the excellent "Out of Touch," which rivals anything on Private Eyes or Voices; the silly yet engaging "Method of Modern Love"; the haunting "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid," easily the best ballad on the record; then, the exception to the rule, the hard-rocking "Bank on Your Love," which is one time the production works in the favor of the song, adding muscle instead of diluting its impact.
These songs, matched with the ambition of the rest of the record, makes Big Bam Boom an interesting, worthwhile listen, but coming after a trio of records that had very few flaws, it feels like a disappointment, and it was no great surprise that Hall & Oates took a lengthy break a year or so after its release.
Side A
A1. Dance On Your Knees - 1:27
A2. Out Of Touch - 4:24
A3. Method Of Modern Love - 5:27
A4. Bank On Your Love - 4:37
A5. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - 5:23
Side B
B1. Going Thru The Motions - 5:39
B2. Cold Dark And Yesterday - 4:41
B3. All American Girl - 4:25
B4. Possession Obsession - 4:34
Personnel
- Daryl Hall – lead vocals (1–6, 8), backing vocals, synthesizers, electric guitar, arrangements
- John Oates – lead vocals (7, 9), backing vocals, synthesizers, electric guitar, synth guitar, arrangements
- Robbie Kilgore – keyboards, synthesizer programming
- Wells Christy – Synclavier programming
- Clive Smith – Fairlight CMI
- G.E. Smith – lead electric guitar
- Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – electric guitar, synthesizers, bass guitar, arrangements
- Mickey Curry – drums
- Bashiri Johnson – percussion, timbales
- Jay Burnett – additional percussion
- Jimmy Bralower – LinnDrum programming
- Charles DeChant – saxophone
- Coati Mundi – Spanish vocals
Production
- Producers – Daryl Hall, John Oates and Bob Clearmountain.
- Engineers – Jay Burnett and Bob Clearmountain
- Assistant Engineers – Gary Hellman, Bruce Buchalter and Michael Sauvage
- Mixed by Bob Clearmountain
- "Mix Consultant and Additional Production"; also remixing on Tracks #10–13 – Arthur Baker
- Editing on Tracks #10–13 – The Latin Rascals
- Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
- Keyboard Technician – Mike Klvana
- Keyboard and Synth Drum Technician – Anthony Aquilato
- Art Direction and Artwork – Mick Haggerty
- Cover Photo – Jean Pagliuso
- Inner Photos – Jean Pagliuso and Larry Williams
- Management and Direction – Tommy Mottola
- Director of Security – Eddie Anderson
Notes
Release: 1984
Format: LP
Genre: Rock
Label: RCA Records
Catalog# AFL1-5309
Prijs: €4,99
Vinyl: VG
Cover: VG
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