They are the most successful pop music duo of all time. Daryl Hall and John Oates have long since surpassed Simon and Garfunkel and the Everly Brothers in the annals of pop pairings, having scored no less than 22 Billboard Top 20 singles, including six number ones, six platinum albums (sales of more than one million copies) plus another six gold LPs (sales of more than 500,000 units). Spanning the years 1966-2009, DO WHAT YOU WANT, BE WHAT YOU ARE: THE MUSIC OF DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES, the definitive Hall & Oates anthology, collects 74 sublime tracks, culled from seven different labels on its four discs. The set showcases 16 previously unreleased cuts including a host of wonderful live performances, as well as never before heard studio tracks and remixes. This set is enhanced with an eloquent introductory essay penned by pop critic Roy Trakin, plus invaluable track-by-track annotation and commentary regarding each track by Daryl Hall and John Oates, drawn from extensive interviews by Ken Sharp.
It's telling that Do What You Want Be What You Are, Sony/Legacy's comprehensive, career-spanning Daryl Hall and John Oates box set, takes its title from a moderately successful mid-'70s single from the duo, written and recorded just as the group was hitting their creative stride. The slow Philly groove of "Do What You Want Be Who You Are" may have hearkened back to the duo's soul roots, side-stepping some of the outre pop experiments they had done just two years earlier on War Babies, but Hall & Oates took the title's sentiment to heart, blurring boundaries between rock, pop, and soul in a way that wasn't always easy to appreciate at the peak of their popularity in the '80s. During that decade, Hall & Oates were omnipresent, seemingly dominating every radio format and MTV, racking up so many hits that it was easy to overlook how "Private Eyes" wore bright, angular new wave threads, or how "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" pulsated on electronic rhythms, not to mention the duo's earliest folk-rock records. Do What You Want brings all this into perspective, rounding up all the group's big hits and sharply selected album tracks, enhancing the canon with several rarities ranging from early singles (Hall as a member of the Temptones, Oates as one of the Masters) to a host of live cuts from throughout the years. Many of the live tracks are mildly revelatory -- particularly the lengthy stretch of War Babies material at the end of disc one, which diminishes the Todd Rundgren influence and emphasizes Hall & Oates' muscular melodicism -- as the group's forte was within the studio, where they set the sounds of the time, from the lush early '70s to the synthesized '80s. This, too, is where the box shines, when it traces the duo's remarkable, restless progression from Whole Oates to Big Bam Boom, a narrative that takes up the first three discs of the four-disc set. Like many career-spanning boxes, this does lose a little momentum on the last disc, when the hits start to slow down, but by smartly balancing outtakes and unreleased concert cuts, this final disc makes a convincing argument for Hall & Oates' enduring strengths adding a fitting coda to a box that stands as a testament to the duo's considerable musical legacy.

Track List:

Disc 1
1. The Temptones / Girl I Love You - 2:24
2. The Masters / I Need Your Love - 1:58
3. The Temptones / Say These Words Of Love - 2:55
4. Perkiomen - 2:41
5. I'm Sorry - 3:07
6. Fall In Philadelphia - 4:00
7. Waterwheel - 3:55
8. Lilly (Are You Happy) - 4:12
9. Had I Known You Better Then - 3:25
10. Las Vegas Turnaround - 2:59
11. She's Gone - 5:16
12. You're Much Too Soon - 4:06
13. Is It A Star - 4:47
14. It's Uncanny - 3:43
15. Love You Like A Brother - 3:24
16. Lady Rain (Live at the New Victoria Theatre, London) - 6:24
17. Beanie G. And The Rose Tattoo (Live at the New Victoria Theatre, London) - 4:20
18. Better Watch Your Back (Live at the New Victoria Theatre, London) - 4:50
19. Abandoned Luncheonette (Live at the New Victoria Theatre, London) - 6:50
20. When The Morning Comes (Live at the New Victoria Theatre, London) - 2:44
Disc 2
1. Camellia - 2:49
2. Sara Smile - 3:09
3. Alone Too Long - 3:23
4. Gino (The Manager) (2009 Remix) - 4:19
5. Ennui On The Mountain - 3:17
6. Out Of Me, Out Of You - 3:31
7. Back Together Again - 3:27
8. Rich Girl - 2:25
9. Crazy Eyes - 3:04
10. Have I Been Away Too Long - 4:22
11. August Day - 3:06
12. It's A Laugh - 3:52
13. I Don't Wanna Lose You (7'' Remix) - 3:39
14. Wait For Me - 4:08
15. Time's Up (Alone Tonight) - 3:16
16. The Woman Comes And Goes - 3:50
17. How Does It Feel To Be Back - 4:36
18. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - 4:38
19. Kiss On My List - 4:25
20. Everytime You Go Away (Live in Tokyo - 1996) - 9:27
Disc 3
1. You Make My Dreams - 3:12
2. Private Eyes - 3:28
3. Head Above Water - 3:37
4. Did It In A Minute - 3:39
5. Your Imagination - 3:34
6. I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - 5:08
7. Don't Go Out (Outtake from ''Private Eyes'') - 6:18
8. Maneater - 4:33
9. Family Man - 3:26
10. One On One - 3:57
11. Go Solo - 4:36
12. Say It Isn't So - 4:16
13. Adult Education - 4:35
14. Out Of Touch (7" Version) - 4:09
15. Method Of Modern Love - 5:34
16. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid - 5:26
17. Possession Obsession (Live at the Apollo Theater, Harlem, NY) - 5:47
18. The Way You Do The Things You Do + My Girl (7'' Version - Live at the Apollo Theater, Harlem, NY) - 4:36
Disc 4
1. Everything Your Heart Desires (Video Mix) - 5:19
2. Missed Opportunity - 4:48
3. Keep On Pushin' Love - 5:19
4. Storm Warning (Outtake from ''Change Of Season'') - 4:00
5. Change Of Season - 5:44
6. Starting All Over Again (Live in Tokyo - 1995) - 4:21
7. So Close (Live in Portland, OR - 2006) - 6:48
8. Do It For Love - 3:59
9. Forever For You - 4:39
10. Heartbreak Time - 4:08
11. All The Way From Philadelphia (Outtake from ''Do It For Love'') - 4:20
12. Have You Ever Been In Love (Demo) - 3:26
13. Me And Mrs. Jones (Live at John Jay College, NY) - 6:57
14. I Want Someone (Live from Daryl's House - 2008) - 4:32
15. Do What You Want, Be What You Are (Live - 2007) - 6:24
16. Dreamer ('72-'09 Redux) (Recorded 2009) - 3:25

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