H2O (Hall & Oates album)

H2O is the eleventh studio album by American pop rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates,[a] released on October 4, 1982, by RCA Records. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making it the duo's highest-charting album, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with sales of over two million copies. The album title is a play on the chemical formula for water, where "H" is for Hall and "O" is for Oates. It features three US top-10 singles, including "Maneater", the most successful single of their career, spending four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album marks the first appearance for longtime bassist and musical director Tom "T-Bone" Wolk.

H2O
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 4, 1982
Recorded1981–1982
StudioElectric Lady, New York City
Genre
Length47:08
LabelRCA
Producer
Hall & Oates chronology
Private Eyes
(1981)
H2O
(1982)
Rock 'n Soul Part 1
(1983)
Alternative cover
Singles from H2O
  1. "Maneater"
    Released: October 1982
  2. "One on One"
    Released: January 1983
  3. "Family Man"
    Released: April 30, 1983
  4. "Italian Girls"
    Released: April 1983 (Canada only)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]
Robert ChristgauB−[3]

Commercial performance

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The album debuted at number 42 on the Billboard 200 the week of October 30, 1982, as the highest debut of the week;[5] 11 weeks later, it peaked at number three on the chart on January 15, 1983; the album spent 68 weeks on the chart.[6] By December 1982, the album sold one million copies and it was certified platinum on December 16, 1982; it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 1, 1985, denoting shipments in excess of two million copies.[7]

The album received considerable success overseas. In the UK, H20 opened at number 31 on its album chart on 23 October 1982, peaking at number 24 the following week.[8][9] The album remained on the chart for 35 weeks and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on March 29, 1983, for shipments of 100,000.[9][10]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Maneater"Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen4:33
2."Crime Pays"Hall, Oates, S. Allen4:31
3."Art of Heartbreak"Hall, S. Allen, Janna Allen3:43
4."One on One"Hall4:17
5."Open All Night"Hall, S. Allen4:35
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Family Man"Mike Oldfield, Tim Cross, Maggie Reilly, Rick Fenn, Mike Frye, Morris Pert3:25
7."Italian Girls"Oates3:17
8."Guessing Games"Hall, J. Allen3:15
9."Delayed Reaction"Hall, Oates, S. Allen3:59
10."At Tension"Oates6:16
11."Go Solo"Hall4:35

Personnel

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Production

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  • Produced by Daryl Hall and John Oates
  • Engineered and co-produced by Neil Kernon
  • Assistant engineers – Bruce Buchalter, Barry Harris and Michael Somers-Abbott.
  • Recorded at Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY).
  • Mixed by Hugh Padgham
  • Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
  • Art direction and design – Mick Haggerty and Geoffrey Kent
  • Cover photography – Hiro
  • Inner sleeve photography – Larry Williams

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for H2O
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Platinum 50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[27] 3× Platinum 300,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[7] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ The duo is credited as "Daryl Hall + John Oates" on most releases of this album.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Daryl Hall & John Oates: H2O". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  2. ^ Berger, Arion (2004). "Daryl Hall & John Oates". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 358. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  3. ^ "CG: Artist 555". Robert Christgau. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  4. ^ Daryl Hall + John Oates – H2O at Discogs (list of releases)
  5. ^ "Top LPs & Tape". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 43. October 30, 1982. p. 71. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "American album certifications – Hall & Oates – H 2 O". Recording Industry Association of America. April 1, 1985. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Daryl Hall & John Oates | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "British album certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – H2O". British Phonographic Industry. March 29, 1983. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  11. ^ Kent 1993.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6198a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Daryl Hall + John Oates – H²O" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  18. ^ "Rock Albums". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 50. December 18, 1982. p. 20. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  19. ^ "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  20. ^ Kent 1993, p. 434.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Albums 82". RPM. Vol. 37, no. 19. December 25, 1982. p. 19. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  22. ^ Kent 1993, p. 435.
  23. ^ "The Top Albums of 1983". RPM. Vol. 39, no. 17. December 24, 1983. p. 15. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  24. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1983". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  25. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1983". Billboard.biz. December 31, 1983. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  26. ^ "Platinum and Gold Albums 1982". Kent Music Report. February 28, 1983. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Imgur.
  27. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Hall & Oates – H2O". Music Canada. September 1, 1983. Retrieved August 23, 2017.

Bibliography

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