Private Eyes (Remastered)

There's a sense of renewal all over the duo’s 1981 LP, a display of pop mastery edged with sonic surprise. The first thing you notice about Private Eyes is the way the sounds jump off the tape. “Private Eyes,” “Looking For a Good Sign” and “Mano a Mano” are essentially piano-driven pop tunes, but they are invested with such crunch and punch that they come off sounding cutting edge, rather than old-fashioned. It’s clear that the duo was listening to the works of their contemporaries — specifically Prince and the Police, whose influence is apparent on “Tell Me What You Want” and “Friday Let Me Down”— but like master chefs, Hall and Oates were always crafting distinctive recipes. This is most apparent on the delightfully heavy, post-disco groove of “Your Imagination,” and even more so on “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” the album’s crown jewel. The song is delirious and catchy and danceable, but it’s also spooky and insular, like it was created in basement seclusion. As a bonus, both of the aforementioned songs are included in superlative 12” mixes that highlight the duo’s feel for hypnotic groove.