Released November 3, 1973 Length 36:42 Artist Hall & Oates Producer Arif Mardin | Recorded 1973 Abandoned Luncheonette
(1973) War Babies
(1974) Release date 3 November 1973 Label Atlantic Records | |
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Genres Blue-eyed soul, Soft rock, Folk music, Folk rock Similar Hall & Oates albums, Soul music albums | ||
Abandoned Luncheonette is the second studio album by the American pop music duo Hall & Oates, released in 1973, which combines folk, philly soul, and acoustic soul. It is the most commercially successful of their first three albums of the duo's Atlantic Records period, the album reached #33 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. Twenty-nine years after its release, the album was certified platinum (over one million copies sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Contents
Hall oates when the morning comes
Notable songs
The most well-known track from the album is "She's Gone." While the tune did not become a hit when first released as a single (it only peaked at #60 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100), the song gained momentum from two later covers, one by Lou Rawls, and one by Tavares. After the latter cover topped the Billboard R&B chart in 1974, the original was re-released and became a Top 10 pop hit in 1976, reaching #7 in the U.S, while the album reached #33 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. This song was included on its single version in Hall & Oates's 1983 greatest hits compilation Rock and Soul Part 1 and the album version is included in numerous other compilations such as The Singles (2008), The Essential (2005), Looking Back: The Best Of (1991) but the song is missing on the albums The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates (2001) and Playlist: The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates (2008).
Another song from the album, "Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)," although written by Oates, draws its inspiration from Hall's then-girlfriend and future songwriting collaborator Sara Allen, much as the later "Sara Smile" would.
Album cover
The diner on the album cover was formerly the Rosedale Diner, located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. When it went out of business, its structure was dumped in a small wooded area located along Route 724 in Kenilworth, PA, at the entrance of Towpath Park in East Coventry Township, where the photo on the linked page was taken. Stripped by souvenir-hunters, the structure remained in place until about 1983, when Ridge Fire Company, along with the owner, burned what was left to clear the land.
Track listing
- "When the Morning Comes" (Daryl Hall) – 3:12
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, mandolin
- John Oates - acoustic guitar
- Joe Farrell - oboe
- Hugh McCracken - electric guitar
- Chris Bond - Mellotron
- Steve "Fontz" Gelfand - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- Ralph MacDonald - percussion
- "Had I Known You Better Then" (John Oates) – 3:22
- Daryl Hall - electric piano
- John Oates - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Chris Bond - electric guitar
- Jerry Ricks - acoustic guitar
- Steve "Fontz" Gelfand - bass
- Rick Marotta - drums, percussion
- "Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)" (Oates) – 2:57
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, electric piano
- John Oates - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Joe Farrell - tenor saxophone
- Chris Bond - acoustic guitar
- Pat Rebillot - organ
- Gordon Edwards - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- Pancho Morales - congas
- "She's Gone" (Hall, Oates) – 5:15
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, electric piano
- John Oates - lead vocals, wah-wah guitar
- Joe Farrell - tenor saxophone
- Chris Bond - electric guitar, mellotron, synthesizer
- Steve "Fontz" Gelfand - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- Ralph MacDonald - percussion
- "I'm Just a Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like a Man)" (Oates) – 3:20
- Daryl Hall - electric piano
- John Oates - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Chris Bond - electric guitar, mellotron
- Jerry Ricks - acoustic guitar
- Gordon Edwards - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- "Abandoned Luncheonette" (Hall) – 3:55
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, piano, part of the humanity chorus
- Joe Farrell - alto saxophone
- Richard Tee - piano
- Gloria Agostini - harp
- Gordon Edwards - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- Arif Mardin, Christian Bond, Donald Wanner, John Oates, Kathy Mae Hohl, Ronald Wanner, Walter F. Hohl - humanity chorus
- "Lady Rain" (Hall, Oates) – 4:26
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, mandolin
- John Oates - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- John Blair - electric Vi-tar
- Hugh McCracken - electric guitar
- Steve "Fontz" Gelfand - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- Ralph MacDonald - percussion
- "Laughing Boy" (Hall) – 3:20
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, piano
- Marvin Stamm - flugelhorn
- "Everytime I Look At You" (Hall) – 7:04
- Daryl Hall - lead vocals, keyboards
- John Oates - electric guitar
- Larry Packer - fiddle
- Chris Bond - electric guitar, mellotron, synthesizer
- Mark Horowitz - banjo
- Steve "Fontz" Gelfand - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums
Production
Songs
1When the Morning Comes3:14
2Had I Known You Better Then3:28
3Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)2:59