Beauty on a Back Street

Untitled

Beauty on a Back Street is the sixth studio album by Hall & Oates, released in 1977.

This album takes a more rock-oriented approach, similar to War Babies, but more streamlined and polished.

Both Daryl Hall and John Oates claim to hate this album, and many of Hall and Oates' most comprehensive compilations, such as The Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates (originally released as Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates) and the 2009 box set, Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Hall and Oates, do not include any songs from this album (although the "3.0" edition of The Essential does contain the album's sole charting single, "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts?" as a bonus track).

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Rolling Stone	(not rated) link

Track listing

Side One

1. "Don't Change" (Hall, Oates) (3:37)
2. "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart?" (Sara Allen, Hall) (3:16)
3. "You Must Be Good for Something" (Hall, Oates) (3:32)
4. "The Emptyness" (Oates) (3:35)
5. "Love Hurts (Love Heals)" (Oates) (3:11)

Side Two

1. "Bigger Than Both of Us" (Hall, Oates) (4:31)
2. "Bad Habits and Infections" (Hall) (6:03)
3. "Winged Bull" (Hall) (4:39)
4. "The Girl Who Used to Be" (Oates) (4:10)

Personnel

• Daryl Hall - lead vocals (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8), backing vocals, keyboards, Polymoog synthesizer, guitars, mandolins
• John Oates - lead vocals (4, 5, 9), backing vocals, rhythm guitars, mando-guitar, dulcimer (4), electric piano (4)
• Tom Scott - tenor saxophone (5, 9)
• Christopher Bond - background vocals (2, 3, 4, 8, 9); keyboards, synthesizers, tonalities, lead 6 and 12 string guitars (8, 9); arrangements, conductor, string arrangements
• Jeff Porcaro - drums, electronic drums
• Gary Coleman - percussion, sound effects
• Lee Sklar - bass (1-4, 6-9)
• Scott Edwards - bass (5)
• Jim Hughart - second bass (4)
• Tommy Mottola - background vocals (3)

Production

• Produced by Christopher Bond
• Recorded and Engineered by John Mills
• Assistant Engineer: Linda Tyler
• Strings engineered by Armin Steiner
• Recorded and Mixed at Sound Labs (Hollywood, CA)
• Remixed at Hit Factory (New York, NY)
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Stetling Sound (New York, NY)
• Art Direction: Dick Smith
• Photography: John Beau
• Production Assistant: Candy Van Duser
• Management and Direction: Tommy Mottola