Abandoned Luncheonette

Infobox Album |
Name = Abandoned Luncheonette
Type = studio
Artist = Hall & Oates


Released = November 3, 1973
Recorded = 1973
Genre = Pop
Length =
Label = Atlantic Records
Producer = Daryl Hall & John Oates
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wmf2zfjhehok link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/187641/review/5946265?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview link]
Last album = "Whole Oats" (1972)
This album = "Abandoned Luncheonette" (1973)
Next album = "War Babies" (1974)

"Abandoned Luncheonette" is a 1973 album by Hall & Oates. The diner on the cover of the "Abandoned Luncheonette" album was formerly the Rosedale Diner located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. It went out of business and was dumped in a small wooded area located along Route 724 in Kenilworth, PA [ [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=kenilworth,+pa&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.365962,76.640625&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 Map of Kenilworth, North Coventry, PA] ] , where this picture was taken and where the diner [ [http://home.comcast.net/~david.kearney/gallery.htm Hall & Oates photographs, including the abandoned luncheonette] ] stayed until it was basically stripped apart by 1983 by people looking for souvenirs. The remains were moved from the site shortly thereafter.

The best-known track from the album is "She's Gone," one of the act's best-loved songs. While it did not become a hit immediately, the song gained momentum from Tavares' later cover of it, which topped the "Billboard" R&B chart. The original was then re-released and became a Top 40 pop hit. This song was included in their 1983 greatest hits complilation, "Rock and Soul".

A promotional video for "She's Gone" was produced. This video, which opens with shots of the "abandoned lunchoenette", in which Hall and Oates sit in recliners, wearing bathrobes and singing the song. Towards the end of the video, Oates rises, dons a jacket with long cuffs, and proceeds to perform his guitar solo with his hands completely covered by the sleeves of his jacket.

In liner notes for a BMG Hall & Oates Greatest Hits collection in 2003, Hall called it the best song he and John Oates wrote together. (Both were undergoing romantic problems at the time; a 1985 article in "Rolling Stone" said the song was written about Hall's divorce from wife Bryna Lublin.)

Another "Abandoned Luncheonette" song, "Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)," draws its inspiration from Hall's girlfriend and future songwriting collaborator Sara Allen, much as the later "Sara Smile" would. Interestingly, the song is listed as written by Oates, not Hall.

The album was critically acclaimed. Rolling Stone and Allmusic both gave it a 5/5.

Track listing

#"When the Morning Comes" (Daryl Hall) - 3:12
#"Had I Known You Better Then" (John Oates) - 3:22
#"Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)" (Oates) - 2:57
#"She's Gone" (Hall, Oates) - 5:15
#"I'm Just a Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like A Man)" (Oates) - 3:20
#"Abandoned Luncheonette" (Hall) - 3:55
#"Lady Rain" (Hall, Oates) - 4:26
#"Laughing Boy" (Hall) - 3:20
#"Everytime I Look At You" (Hall) - 7:04

Musicians

* Daryl Hall- Mandolin, electric piano, keyboards, vocals
* John Oates- Acoustic guitar, wah-wah guitar, electric guitar, vocals
* Chris Bond- Mellotron, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, Howling guitar
* Hugh McCracken- electric guitar
* Steve "Fontz" Gelfand- Bass
* Bernard Purdie- Drums
* Ralph MacDonald- Percussion
* Joe Farrell- Oboe, tenor sax
* Jerry Ricks- Acoustic guitar
* Rick Marotta- Drums, percussion
* Gordon Edwards- Bass
* Pancho Morales- Conga
* Pat Rebillot- Organ
* Richard Tee- Piano
* Gloria Agostini- Harp
* John Blair- Vi-tar electric violin
* Marvin Stamm- Flugelhorn
* Larry Packer- Fiddle
* Marc Horowitz- Banjo

References