"Foolish Pride" by Daryl Hall

Song#:  2900
Date:  10/18/1986
Debut:  75
Peak:  33
Weeks:  13
Genre:  Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul



Pop Bits:  Hall's second album without his partner John Oates, Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, would produce his biggest solo hit, the #5 "Dreamtime." It was a good effort that showed he had more to offer than what fell under the Hall & Oates brand. The question then was could he score another hit. He gave it an attempt with this second single from the LP. Unfortunately, it just didn't catch on as well. The song was able to crack the Pop Top 40, but it couldn't get any further. It did slightly better at AC where it got to #21. It also spent a few weeks on the R&B chart at a minor #91. While not a bad result, it didn't necessarily ignite sales of the album, which couldn't quite hit the gold-level sales mark.

ReduxReview:  While I liked "Dreamtime" and bought the single, it didn't prompt me to buy the album. I waited to hear this next single and if it tickled me right, then I would pick up the album. Well, I didn't buy the album. It wasn't that this single was bad, I just found it to be a track more suitable for a Hall & Oates disc. One that would be a good add to an album, but not selected as a single. Yes, it was inevitable that some tracks on Hall's solo disc would have an H&O vibe, but "Dreamtime" didn't and that is what made it stand out. This got him back into H&O territory, but it wasn't something that could compete with the duo's top hits. It was worthy of its Top 40 appearance, but not much more than that.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The famed duo of Daryl Hall & John Oates wasn't Hall first brush with the music industry and being signed to a major label. In 1968, he was in a rock band named Gulliver. Hall co-founded the band with Tim Moore. Both musicians lived in Philadelphia and were hired into the same production company as staff writers. They had a connection and ended up developing Gulliver with two other musicians. The band got signed to Elektra Records and recorded a self-titled debut album. It was released in 1970, but it failed to make any waves. With not much in the way of results, the band split. Not long after, Hall reconnected with Oates and the pair were off and running. Tim Moore would embark on a solo career and record five albums. Between '73 and '77, Moore would get four songs on the Pop chart. His best effort was 1974's #58 entry "Second Avenue."

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