Daryl Hall v George Michael

i choose Yog

both were big time hair idols for me as a young child in the 80s, impossible

Daryl's hair practically needed a terrarium in the We Are the World making of video

big fan of both. think it's Michael by a nosehair. "One More Try" is an all-time performance that I just don't feel like Hall ever matched, even though he has several of his own that come close.

Both prodigiously gifted vocalists, both with "soul," whatever that means; Hall killed his "We Are the World" cameo for instance. But George Michael, unlike Hall, couldn't project hurt or vulnerability -- Hall sounds like a cornered dick.

Hall’s career is wildly uneven, not just in quality but stylistically. The stuff he recorded with Fripp is possibly my favorite stuff between him and Michael, but it’s really a brief detour in Hall’s recording career. Michael didn’t release as much music but it was usually much more consistent.

Had Hall sung "Freedom '90" he would've sounded like a second-rate pastor hectoring parishioners.

trying to imagine Hall doing "Monkey" and figuring it'd be a Philly soul ballad

then again, if GM sang "Maneater", it'd have a part 2 and a part 3

This is a harder question than it seemed at first.

Personally, Hall has meant a whole lot more to me, for most of my life, than Michael, whose solo career I almost completely missed. In terms of talent? Not so sure.

enjoy an excuse to listen to this fav from my childhood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rMkMDFjK8U

I can't think of a George Michael song that hits me the way "Sara Smile" does.

shame Hall's look these days is more like McGruff the crime dog than anything else

Ruff

Jesus there's a chinchilla on his head

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZsFFxio0TQ

(Keisuke Kawata kills his guest spot)

GAME OVER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bPxYmsv-Mc

man this is why he got my vote.

one of my all time fav pop songs. esp the 12" version.

still sounds amazing on it here even in 2008

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyltnbnE6g

Here's Hall singing a quite gross 1983 deep cut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyPZQe-jfKk

She was open all night
While I was away
You were open all night (Open all night)
Don't ask me to tell you who told me
She was open all night (Open all night)
Ooh, while I was away
You were open all night (Open all night)
Don't ask me to tell you who said

o_O

It's not often said that Hall was an excellent keyboardist, a good guitarist, overall a musician like George Michael (who like MJ heard melodies and chords in his head that he often asked better musicians to play).

But check out how (a) fantastic George sounds here (b) his studio craft (c) fucking hot he is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3MZgGiIAQY

*overall a better musician

Listening now to Michael, I think a more apt comparison would be to Freddie Mercury. Then again, that's probably unfair. But, his vocal style has more in common with Freddie's than it does with Daryl's.

Also Michael was a much better friend to Ridgeley than Hall was to Oates (who Hall defined even in good times as a "business partner").

I actually think Daryl Hall is underrated these days so it's nice to see so many, on this trend, coming out for him. The were the biggest selling duels of the 80s and seemed to be everywhere.

But George Michael is special beyond belief where even against MJ would, at least, give a run for the money.

Sorry for my mistakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHNbLiJfV0Q

George by some distance. But I do enjoy Hall - especially when marooned at sea, not cornered and not a dick, on the relevant parts of Sacred Songs.

(c) fucking hot he is.

Giving flat-brimmed baseball hats their best moment in that clip

funny thing is I almost chose Daryl originally simply because I haven't been spinning as much GM lately, whereas I have been for H&O after I saw the WATW documentary.

but can't justify it looking holistically. GM's versatility was a treat, like he'd do club tracks, and he'd do "Cowboys and Angels" and "Praying for Time", he'd do R&B and soul, and he'd pull all of them off.

plus the falsetto was a weapon too.

but I do enjoy Hall belting out with feeling. and he had mad cocaine energy in the 80s even though supposedly he didn't use

I think I would rather kick it with George, Daryl seems a little aloof even on his tv show.

Hall & Michael both have a similar passion for music - not just creating original music but also enjoying the music of other artists in a genuine infectious way

much as it was rare to see Michael perform without feeling like he really is where he’s supposed to be, Hall is the same way. When i saw H&O live he’d shake his head & smile after a great improvisation, like he’s still blown away that he gets to do it for a living

And both are really excellent at covering othet artists, between the two of them there aren’t many artists in that realm except maybe Babs who can palpably bring their own enjoyment into their interpretation

imo

no idea who i will pick
but maybe George only for consistency, Daz is a weee bit patchy

otm on every point

You can really see DH's nasal hair when he sings in the We Are The World doc. George would never allow that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=splMtNqQtvY

^ very much remember the "I Want Your Love" version of that track that played on FM radio.

For an ultimate blue-eyed soul showdown this could've thrown in Robert Palmer too.

Really hard call between these two. Giving the nod to Michael because his first two solo albums coincided with my college years and were a major cultural presence at a key time.

Alfred made a comment a few months ago about DH's voice not being able to emit empathy, which made me realize that that was what made him fit in so well in the New Wave era. Hall by a mile.

It's a limitation only when he wants to project ardor. He has exceptions ("One On One"). "I Don't Wanna Lose You" hits the sweet spot because the arch lyrics and Oates' harmonies complement him.

Why "by a mile," though? What has George done to you?

George by a mile.

With GM it's the bombast and fashion focus that loses my interest.

omg his fashion is the best.

dude could pull off a sleeveless vest w/ aplomb or a jean jacket

^^ otm

Absolutely George Michael -- Daryl Hall never recorded anything that moved me emotionally. I did do childhood dance routines to both "Maneater" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Three 8 year olds tap dancing to "Maneater" wins that contest but I like GM's music much better and more on the whole than Hall & Oates.

LL, I get you in terms of what you found emotionally/spiritually moving.

But. Wham/George Michael had four or five memorable chart hits. Darryl and Mr. Oates had more like ten.

Hall was and is corny as fuck. But there are not many people who have contributed more to the pop landscape.

Otm. When I heard the DH sample on that xx song ("On Pause" iirc) I got the chills.

Completely subjective, of course. I think "Private Eyes" was the first song I loved when I was a kid.

Meanwhile outside the US, Hall & Oates were a cult act that had a couple of hits and George Michael one of the biggest musical acts of the last 40 years.

I feel like George Michael was part of the fabric of my childhood, from Wham to Freedom '90, which is basically my entire childhood, before things went haywire.

On the other hand, Hall and Oates were always on the radio but I wasn't into what they were doing and I had that one Maneater routine (that we performed! on a stage!) but that's not enough for me to care about their music more than George Michael's.

Wham/George Michael memorable chart hits:

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
"Careless Whisper"
"Everything She Wants"
"Freedom" (1984)
"Last Christmas"
"I Knew You Were Waiting for Me"
"Faith"
"Father Figure"
"One More Try"
"I Want Your Sex"
"Monkey"
"Freedom '90"

I mean these are just the biggest ones, he had more hits that charted before and after.

the thing I remarked to myself when I first heard Faith the album as a 20-something was "jesus christ, I heard just about this entire album on the radio when I was 7"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epLXwup4bpA

Neanderthal, your correction is noted and I will retract my earlier comment.

In my lame partial defense I will note that I was a 70s/80s kid. I don't have a lot of 90s pop knowledge, becausr I was otherwise occupied.

I haven't voted yet. It's almost a draw. I can name many, many H&O deep cuts from the '70s and '80s. I karaoke their singles. Yet if YMP means influence when he writes, "here are not many people who have contributed more to the pop landscape," I don't hear it? Maybe early Spoon?

As I get older, though, George Michael starts to edge out H&O. Aside from his mastery of the pop song and pop production, his voice was emotionally flexible apart from its impressive technical mastery in ways that Hall isn't.

So I may side with La Lechera.

Though they are both associated with the 80s, they aren't exactly peers. A better match against Hall would be someone like Robert Palmer.

That'd be a fun poll.

xpost I like to say George has an "elastic" voice, it slides between notes with ease, seemingly without effort or strain, it can 'stretch' a great distance without breaking.

Hall's I'd say is also wonderful but it's just different, timbre wise. there's more effort and tension behind it, but that's part of what makes it good.

i think it comes down to personal preference. but on any day of the week if you told me I could only listen to George Michael and Daryl Hall sing, nobody else, I would think this is a good day

A better match against Hall would be someone like Robert Palmer.

He used to get compared regularly to Todd Rundgren.

Rundgren was more of a mentor to Hall

They have similar voices and vocal styles, both having come out of the backdrop of Philly Soul.

I said it upthread, George Michael is probably most comparable to Freddie Mercury, although George suffers by the comparison.

I do think the comparison is apt, but idk if the gap's wide - Freddie was kind of a one-of-a-kind talent, but the main thing that sets him apart from George is his rock'n'roll background, whereas George really only sang pop and R&B/soul and didn't have the grittiness in his voice that Freddie had, which was present even when he was singing decidedly non-rock styles like ragtime/music hall/faux-opera.

plus rock falsetto often leads to singing in the stratosphere, George liked to use his more as a way to elude sexiness, so it was a quiet, muted falsetto.

I don't think musically or vocally they have much in common but in terms of their stature and popularity, yes.

shame Hall's look these days is more like McGruff the crime dog than anything else

― never trust a big book and a simile (Neanderthal), Friday, February 9, 2024 5:47 PM (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

he's nearly 80 years old I think he looks pretty damn good

(xp) ... or aura or sumthin'

xpost what can I say - perhaps I'm...

"out of touch"

saw Fripp mentioned, he and his band were guests on Live at Daryl's House and it was pretty amazing to see Hall hanging with the band doing King Crimson's "Red" also adding a more loose, R&B piano feel to it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkb783rNjO0

I mean, not for nothing did Queen ask George to fill in after Freddie died. He sang in a similar register (without the range), and a lot of his performances do sound more than a little Mercury-esque, at least when comparing them to Queen's more pop-oriented material.

If I had to choose b/w George Michael and Freddie Mercury, it's George without hesitation.

this Palmer sort of seems to be in the same solar system as “one on one”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZerNczPySEc

eh maybe not he just does a lot of daryl-ish “oooooooh”s there

If I had to choose b/w George Michael and Freddie Mercury, it's George without hesitation.

For me, it's exactly the opposite. Freddie is in a class by himself.

Hard same to Alfred. Freddie was from a different time and his music did not resonate w me as a young person. Queen, Hall and Oates, Robert Palmer (?? idk how he fits in here at all but I only know singles) all made music for adults. When George Michael was releasing his most popular hits, I was 8-15. And his music was hugely popular among my peers. Not the same for Queen, H& O or…Robert Palmer.

I mentioned Palmer as a foil to Hall mainly because they're both blue-eyed soul singers who started scoring hits around the same time (late 70s) and had even bigger success into the 80s. Michael's career began in the middle of 80s new wave.

Hall & Oates debut album was in 1972, Robert Palmer's in 1974

Definitely prefer Michael over Queen. I really didn’t like Queen growing up because 99% of what I knew about them was through meathead sporting events that would blast “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” over and over again. I’m okay with them now, but I still don’t like their albums - it really comes down to a handful of their singles that I’d actively enjoy (like half of Greatest Hits and “Under Pressure”).

I adored Queen as a kid, maybe as much as Wham/George Michael, so i think it would be ever harder for me to choose between them. Queen were all over the radio always, same as wham & george, i think for a long time as a kid i didnt know they were from different decades, if it was on the radio it was all now as far as little-me was concerned

but gun to my head I’d pick Freddie for uh sincerity? idk sheer emotion, look they’re both amazing but if its head-to-head olympics then freddie is the gold-medallist in that regard imo

“Love of My Life” live at wembley is like a magic trick, making a massive crowd like that curl up like a kitten in the palm of his hand. incredible.

The generational dynamics in these discussions fascinates me. I have nearly zero emotional connection to George Michael (other than, I guess, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," which brings back great 80s memories). I had a hard time taking George's solo career, which began in my early 20s, seriously. Queen was one of the major bands of my adolescence, and Freddie is just a transcendent talent. Or, to go back to the original topic, Hall & Oates hits me in a way that George Michael never has.

meanwhile i have always felt as i did as a child -- that Hall and Oates is for old people. which is why it was so weird to be doing a tap routine to it. i guess that is the same way people coach their children's choirs/dance troupes to sing songs THEY like and find poignant rather than songs the kids like.

i did some seriously wacky dance numbers back in my day and Maneater takes the cake.

All the music we're talking about is for old people

well that's true too

My 13-year-old son has a serious fascination with the music of the late 70s and early 80s thanks to Stranger Things.

Okay regardless of your aesthetic opinions, or what artworks you believe should endure, Hall and Oates were rather good at making catchy pop songs.

In that regard they rest in between Michael Jackson and Huey Lewis. Which is not a bad place to be (culturally speaking, not physically).

I guess I never thought of Robert Palmer being on par with either of these guys in terms of singing ability

He can sing and he had a talent for covering electro R&B.

I have nearly zero emotional connection to George Michael (other than, I guess, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," which brings back great 80s memories). I had a hard time taking George's solo career, which began in my early 20s, seriously.

I hope the thread's provoked a dive? Faith and Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 work like mad.

His vocal here = A+.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFahhYsa4TY

I hope the thread's provoked a dive? Faith and Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 work like mad.

It just don't move me. I do like "Father Figure," despite its creepiness.

Ts Robert Palmer vs Paul Rodgers

It codes queer, therefore it's never sounded creepy to me. xpost

Paul Rodgers replaced Freddie Mercury in Queen for one album at least

Also: I adore H&O but they don't move me -- as in, they provoke no tears, chills, or wow moments. Does that make sense? I adore them as craftsmen, technicians, producers, singers whom I love to karaoke and sometimes blast in the car.

I guess I'm saying George Michael doesn't have to move you for his music to work.

xxp tbc, I don't equate queerness with creepiness. It's got an age-play aspect to it that I do find creepy.

"It" meaning the song, ofc.

Luke, I am your father figure

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/star-wars-empire-strikes-back-1548696484.jpg

but yeah back to H&O vs George Michael

i loved Hall & Oates as a kid! as a grownup too!
i agree George’s songs are often more emotionally moving but that feels kinda apples/oranges
a lot of the famous H&O songs that Hall sings are not really asking for an emotional connection, they’re more abstracted songs about relationships or men/women & less personal in general than what george ultimately ends up doing

i think daz is a soulful singer, or can be (sara smile!) but not full-on emotional the way george is.

but imo H&O have just as many perfectly crafted JAMS that i love to dance to or sing along to as George has — for me anyway

Hella coincidence seeing this thread revived, as I heard "The Edge of Heaven" in the wild a few weeks ago, and thought "Imagine how awesome it would be to hear H&O covering this!"

I realize a lot of Michael's most beloved work is what he did with Wham! but aside from his Faith/Listen without Prejudice megastar peak, I actually prefer his later singles by a good margin. Collectively they just seem better across the board - freer, funnier, warmer, sharper, more heartfelt, more supple...it's a shame they didn't get nearly as much exposure as they did overseas.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Yog 2024

otm

man that studio clip Alfred posted above. I mourn George Michael so much, he was such a gift to this world.

Oates wuz robbed