Daryl Hall & John Oates - Livetime (1978)

“Livetime” is a live album from Daryl Hall & John Oates released in 1978.
The concert was recorded in Hershey, Pennsylvania in late 1977 not far from Pottstown, Pennsylvania where Hall lived during his teenage years. Former Elton John Band members Caleb Quaye, Kenny Passarelli and Roger Pope were band musicians on this tour.
Daryl Hall is infamous for being heard asking the crowd at the end of the song "Sara Smile," "How come you didn't like me as a teenager?"
This record was made following the trend of "Peter Frampton comes alive" around 1977, this effort has some gems, like "Abandoned Luncheonette", "Rich Girl" and "I'm just a kid" (Don't make me feel like a man)" you get an idea of them live but is incomplete and a little short.
Daryl and John hated this album, RCA forced them to release in the wake of poor sales of 1977's “Beauty on a Back Street”. But for Hall & Oate's '70s live sound, it can't be beaten. The opener, ´Rich Girl´, is pretty standard, but John Oates' delivers a great vocal on 'The Emptyness'. The reflective 'Be What You Want' from 1976's 'Bigger than Both of Us' LP sees Daryl's vocal soaring. 'I'm Just a Kid', another underplayed John Oates track from “Abandoned Luncheonette” accurately reflects the original recording's Arif Mardin-produced R&B flavour. Side 2 (on the vinyl version!) opens with 'Sara Smile' the track that started it all for them in 1975. This is a superlative 8-minute rendition with Hall's ad libs giving the song a power far in excess of the original cut. “Abandoned Luncheonette” is the album's best track; Charlie de Chant's seductive saxophone towers over the backing sound. The album finishes with the rocky 'Room to Breathe' which has all the excitement of their more recent live encore track, 'You Make My Dreams'.
Recorded in the mid-'70s, Livetime features live-in-concert versions of Hall & Oates' songs, with the group trying to replicate its polished studio sound, a sound that is a big part of the duo's success.


01. "Rich Girl"   (Hall)  - 3:36
02. "The Emptyness"   (Oates)  - 3:47
03. "Do What You Want, Be What You Are"   (Hall, Oates)  - 6:56
04. "I'm Just a Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like a Man)"   (Oates)  - 5:29
05. "Sara Smile"   (Hall, Oates)  - 8:01
06. "Abandoned Luncheonette"   (Hall)  - 6:08
07. "Room to Breathe"   (Sara Allen, Hall)  - 4:47

Credits
Vocals, Keyboards - Daryl Hall
Vocals, Guitar - John Oates
Lead Guitar - Caleb Quaye
Bass - Kenny Passarelli
Drums - Roger Pope
Saxophone, Keyboards, Percussion, Background vocals - Charles DeChant
Electric keyboards, Background vocals - David Kent
Mixed By – Ed Spring*, Glenn Orsher
Producer Mark Pines and Bernard Yervanian

Notes
Genre:  Soft Rock, Blue-Eyed Soul
Length:  38:50

© 1978 RCA Records