Hall & Oates - Greatest Hits Live (2001)

The words Greatest Hits Live naturally strike fear in the hearts of any seasoned record collector, since it signals one thing: an oldies set recorded by a band well past their prime. That's not the case with RCA's 2001 Hall & Oates release, Greatest Hits Live. This album is taken from concerts recorded on the group's 1981 Private Eyes tour, which means its from the band's peak, and it naturally sounds that way: the group is tight, the performances are spirited, and the whole thing is pretty fun. Since it was recorded during a tour supporting an album, the title's boast isn't strictly true -- John Oates' "Mano a Mano" isn't a greatest hit anywhere but in my heart -- but that's why the record works. It's not strictly a greatest hits live, although there are a lot of hits here, but it's a snapshot of an underrated band on-stage at their peak, which makes it an entertaining sidenote in their catalog, at least for their fans.