Daryl Hall & John Oates
Do What You Want, Be What You Are
[RCA/Legacy]
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The best Daryl Hall & John Oates albums are the glam-rock of 1974's War Babies, the proggy new-wave of 1977's Beauty on a Back Street, and the flowery soul of 1997's Marigold Sky. You won't hear much of those on the four-disc career comp of Do What You Want, Be What You Are. Beauty on a Back Street and Marigold Sky don't rate a single contribution. In comparison, War Babies does pretty well. There are two album tracks, and two more songs from the album amongst some live tracks from 1975.

Otherwise, Do What You Want ignores the very best of Hall & Oates. The good news is that the rest is pretty great. Yes, you'll have to suffer through "She's Gone," "Rich Girl," "Maneater" and other songs that demean the duo's reputation. (Fans can honestly differ on "Sara Smile.") Do What You Want still makes a strong case for Hall & Oates as an underrated pop act. The collection – as assembled by the artists themselves – starts with rarities from their days on the Philly soul scene. Those are pleasant curiosities, but any skeptic will be won over by the first folksy-soul classics culled from Whole Oats and Abandoned Luncheonette.

"She's Gone" is the sole hit on the first disc's 20 tracks, and-as noted, it's the sole clunker. The second disc covers the difficult mid-to-late '70s. That's where "Sara Smile" and "Rich Girl" come into airplay. Thanks to skipping over Beauty on a Back Street, it's kind of jarring when Hall & Oates lurch into emotive pop-rock with "It's a Laugh" and "August Day." Those are from 1978's Along the Red Ledge, which is almost as good as Beauty on a Back Street. You've suddenly got half a disc full of brilliant moments – although things seem less bright with the revived celebrity of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Kiss On My List." There's also the aberration of a 1996 live version of "Everytime You Go Away." It was left to Paul Young to turn that one into a hit single as bad as "Rich Girl."

By the third disc, you've got a solid compilation of the Hall & Oates that everyone knows best. The unreleased "Don't Go Out" is just as much fun as the big hits and lost album tracks. Don't expect the fourth disc to celebrate the '90s, though. Hall & Oates don't seem fond of 1990's Change of Season, which is represented here by one album track and two live songs. The only other album they put out that decade was Marigold Sky, which doesn't get covered here.

Most of disc four is cobbled together from recent years, including Hall doing "Me and Mrs. Jones" from a 2003 concert. It's not a great version, but a good showcase for how Daryl Hall remains one of the great vocalists of recent times. Maybe that'd be easier to accept if this box set included some of his work with Robert Fripp. Instead, the packaging just includes a detailed (and gossipy) book with fellow artists celebrating the duo. That includes folks as unhip as producer David Foster, who thinks the '80s were Hall & Oates' "stone cold R&B" years.

People should still decide about Hall & Oates for themselves. Do What You Want is a good start as a personal investment or Christmas gift. It's easy to find for as cheap as $34.99 – which is only seven bucks more than the list price for the 1997 two-disc comp Starting All Over Again. That used to be the best of the (over fifty) Halls & Oates compilations and live albums. You can buy Do What You Want and still afford War Babies and Beauty on a Back Street. Marigold Sky is usually in the dollar bins.