Considering this is the ONLY album left over from Hall & Oates 80s catalog of top 10 producing albums, it's a shame that this CD was not treated to bonus tracks. Like others, I have been surprised to discover just how good this album is--I never listened to it in the 80s because the lead single "Everything Your Heart Desires" didn't have the hard edge of tracks like Maneater, Family Man, Adult Education or Out of Touch, so I was convinced the band had totally caved in to the weak R&B sounds that were being produced at that time (think Keith Sweat, Gregory Abbott, etc).

I'm amazed to discover harder rock tracks like Rockability and the totally funkin Downtown life, which reminds me of the alternative band APB's single "When I Feel This Way". In retrospect, this album's lack of saturation in the market makes it the real collector's gem of the Hall & Oates 80s catalog. Which makes the 12" versions released from this album even more hot property. One mix each of "Everything Your Heart Desires(54th street mix)", "Downtown(downtown mix)", and "Missed Opportunity(unlimited mix)" appeared on volumes one and two of the Hall & Oates 12 Inch Collection CDs, but they should have been offered here as well, along with the second major remixes issued on the 12" singles of "Everything Your Heart Desires(if you want the world mix)" and "Missed Opportunity(Smooth mix)" AND the Jellybean remix of "Talking All Night"! At this point, I just don't see such a reissue being done, since when fans think of Hall & Oates 80s music, this album doesn't even show up on their radar.

For me, this was H&O at their creative best. The story goes that only one track was written outside of the studio.

The rest just evolved on a mushroom fueled blowout with Dave Stewart. Some of the band walked out in frustration... But the end result is, dare I say it their Sergeant Pepper.

Even after all these years and a thousand playings it still sounds fresh, vibrant and danceable.

Shake your booty!

i love ooh yeah! by hall&oates. the songs are very good. classics like everything your heart desires,missed oppirtunity,downtown life,i'm in pieces,keep on pushin' love,rocket to god,talking all night,and rockability still sound good all these years later. is there any other way i can describe this album? you will have to hear it for yourself. ed wilson

While not necessarily scaling the same sonic heights as "Big Bam Boom" this 1988 release just focuses on solid melodic hook-laden songs with slick late 80s production that suits the material.Either the notoriously fickle public's tastes (or I should say 'musical priorities') were changing or Arista didn't do a good job promoting this album (or the follow-up) but it was obvious to me even when this album was new that people weren't giving it a fair chance. The only real clunker on this album is "Realove". The song in its writing and production doesn't really fit on the album and it's perhaps the dullest song Daryl and John ever committed to tape. But outside of that the remaining songs on the album are perfect 10's. "Rockability" has some exciting lead guitar effects that were indicitive of the hard rock at the time though this track remains a dance/pop song. The bridge and chorus to John's "Keep Pushing Love" is one of the most melodic, startling pieces of music in Daryl and John's cannon. Arista sent this and the 1990 follow-up into the cut-out bins fairly quickly and it just shows how unfair the music business is. This gem is long out of print but Debbie Gibson's "Out of the Blue" is still available? Enough said.Stand out song on this album is the ethereal "Missed Opportunity". That song is right at home with Paul Young's "Come Back and Stay" and Double's "Captain of Her Heart".But every song on the album with the exception of "Realove" was worthy of being a single.

Side one features Everything Your Heart Desires(3), Missed Opportunity (29) and the lesser known Downtown Life (31). Everything Your Heart Desires was the group's last top ten hits. (So Close only made it to #11 and Do It For Love reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary Charts in 2002). The other two songs on side A, "I'm In Pieces" and "Talking All Night" are also real gems. Rockability from side B is the best track of side B. What I like most about Rockability is how Daryl and John share the lead vocals which is what made "She's Gone" was such a great song. "Keep On Pushin' Love" is the only song on the album fronted by Oates alone. It closes the album. I usually skip the three songs between. As much as I enjoy the accoustic guitar effects on Rocket To God, the words and melody are bland and forgettable. Real Love and Soul Love, almost sound like the same song. That may be incidentally why they bleed into eachother.