Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 117

Chart Week: August 30, 1986
Song: “Dreamtime” – Daryl Hall
Chart Position: #23, 5th week on the chart. Would peak at #5 the week of October 4.

Through the history of pop music, there has been a natural career progression for lead singers of successful bands: once your group peaks, hit the eject button and record a solo album. Sometimes this split is a result of the climb to the top had been long and arduous and everyone needing a break from each other. Sometimes it was simply about money, a front person wanting to capitalize on the band’s rise without having to divide up the proceeds. The week of this countdown, August 30, 1986, at least 12 of the 18 solo artists on the chart began their careers fronting bands.[1]

Daryl Hall was one of them. Just after he and John Oates topped the pop chart for the sixth and final time with 1984’s “Out Of Touch,” he briefly stepped aside to record his second solo album. Two years later he was back with Oates, and they would continue recording together for nearly 20 more years after that.[2]

Like every singer who struck out on their own before him, making a solo album allowed Hall to control the entire song writing process and expand his sound beyond that of Hall and Oates. It’s not easy to find reviews of the Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine album, but noted grump Robert Christgau suggested Hall had overstuffed it with ideas. Maybe he needed Oates as an editor.

The idea that a newly solo singer would branch off in a new direction must have already been programmed into my head when this record was released, because “Dreamtime” sure came across as more muscular than your typical H&O song. I thought there was an edge to it that didn’t line up with the band’s classic blend of Blue Eyed Soul, Philadelphia Soul, pop, and New Wave. In retrospect, there is a lot of overlap between “Dreamtime” and the pile of hits Daryl and John created during their Imperial Phase.

Adding to that suggestion of a new direction was Hall’s look in the “Dreamtime” video. He wore a black leather jacket for much of it, a big change from the brightly colored blazers he wore in so many H&O videos. Playing a guitar the entire time was a contrast to the group’s performances, where he was more likely to be seen either behind a keyboard or out front singing into a microphone with Oates next to him on guitar. Those visuals combined with the guitar in the song – the solo was played by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, who also produced the record – made the whole project came across as tougher than classic H&O.

Again, this was all my impression in 1986. When I listen to the song now, I realize it’s not as heavy as I believed it to back then. While it was climbing the charts, it felt adjacent to the new, poppier sound of Van Halen.[3] Today I hear a much more complex track than I realized, with multiple layers that are all firmly grounded in the pop world. The opening riff and Daryl’s jacket distracted me from the truth that it could have easily been tracked on a H&O album and seemed right at home. It is straight, mid–80s, poppy rock.

There is nothing remarkable about the song’s lyrics, which also isn’t dissimilar from a Hall and Oates song. They aren’t silly or nonsensical, but neither are they very profound. Hall is concerned about a friend who has built up a fantasy world to avoid her problems, and encourages her to wake up, confront them, and better her life. Just like a H&O song, the power of the lyrics comes more from Hall’s delivery and their marriage to his melody than the words themselves.

The video for “Dreamtime” is one that I distinctly recall watching for the first time when it debuted. This was back when MTV would promote the “world premiere” of videos from big artists so fans could clear their calendars, set their VCRs, and claim their TV screens to see the newest, latest vids the first time they aired.

If we had cell phones at the time, I definitely would have texted all my buddies about how awesome the video was. I think most of them would have agreed. I had just turned 15 and was listening to almost exclusively to rock music that summer. Daryl Hall rocking? Hell yes! It was the perfect song at the perfect moment for me.

For some reason “Dreamtime” doesn’t get played much anymore. Certainly not in comparison to Hall and Oates’ biggest hits. That’s a damn shame. It is a really solid record. While it might not be a classic, it deserves a better fate than to have been largely forgotten in the pop music world. It’s time to wake up, this one is a 7/10

Literally minutes after posting this I found this terrific version from a Live From Daryl’s House performance last year. Like the original, it also features Dave Stewart.