Hall & Oates regains that lovin' feeling
By ISAAC GUZMAN - DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER

Hitmakers Daryl Hall (l). & John Oates

In three decades as a duo, Daryl Hall and John Oates have scored more than two dozen Top 40 hits. So by now, they'd be forgiven for taking their newfound chart success in stride. But the group's newest record, "Do It for Love," has the veteran popsters excited all over again. That's partly because it made its debut at No. 2 on the adult contemporary chart last week, and partly because they managed to do it with a release on their own label, U-Watch Records.

"It's fantastic, and in the context of what's going on in the music business, it's a big success," Oates says. "You saw what happened at the Grammys with John Mayer and Norah Jones. It looks like singer-songwriters are back in vogue."

Tomorrow, Hall & Oates performs at the Beacon Theatre. In addition to playing classics such as "Maneater" and "Sara Smile," the two are ready to showcase a good chunk of their new material, including an inspired cover of "Someday We'll Know," by '90s wunderkinds New Radicals.

But when Hall & Oates adapted the song, it decided to make it more personal, tweaking the lyrics to reflect the duo's Philadelphia youth. "Whatever happened to the Uptown Theater?" they sing. "It used to hold the stars up in the sky."

The now-dormant Uptown - which Philadelphia locals are trying to revive - is where the pair first saw the stars of the Motown era. The theater even gave Hall his start when he won a talent show and later sat in with soul legends such as the Temptations and Four Tops.

Later, he toured with many of his early idols. On the road, he learned as much about business as he did about music.

"It taught me early on what not to do," Hall says. "I watched a lot of excess go on and a whole lot of people ruin their lives. I know that whole Motown story too well. It definitely affected my state of mind."

Perhaps that's why the duo's "Behind the Music" episode was relatively tame, without the usual litany of drug binges and bankruptcies. But last year, the show helped reignite the duo's career when the single "Do It for Love," from a VH1-inspired hits package, took the adult contemporary chart's No. 1 slot.

"We sat around and we said let's write a song about why we do this and what does this all mean," Hall says. "And that song became the cornerstone of the record. For us, "Do It for Love" is really a very personal statement."

Originally published on February 28, 2003