One of the more difficult Hall and Oates songs, from a guitar player’s technical standpoint, is also one of the duo’s most hummable, biggest hits.
“There are a few,” John Oates tells Guitar Player, “but if I had to pick just one, I would say ‘Private Eyes.’ It’s a heavy pop song, with very unusual, more sophisticated chord changes — with major sevenths and four over fives, chords that aren’t usually associated with heavy pop or rock.”
Hall and Oates’ third No. 1 hit (out of a total of six), “Private Eyes” was the lead single from the 1981 album of the same name. Daryl Hall shifted the chords around on a song that the late co-writer Janna Allen had been working on, giving it an entirely different complexity. Warren Pash had an early hand in constructing the track, and Sara Allen — Jana’s sister, and the inspiration for “Sara Smile” — helped with the lyric.
Of course, the clap-driven feel of the original studio version of “Private Eyes,” and its detective-themed video, remain very much of their time. But a more recent, guitar-focused approach on stage (as heard on Hall and Oates’ well-received new concert recording Live at Dublin, for instance) brings out nuances that even every-day listeners might not have noticed at first.
Much of Hall and Oates’ catalog is like that, John Oates adds. “The most difficult thing for the average person to tackle with Hall and Oates songs,” he says, “is the unique chord progressions. Daryl has a very interesting way of putting chords together, and putting melodies over chords.”
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The main chords to She’s Gone (particularly the chorus) throw me – took me forever to work out how to play the A variation – I think that is a A with B bass note (if we were using the EADGBE scale it would be 7-765-) then going into a barred B chord 7998–, but the chorus chords I’m particularly struggling with.
Heck yeah it’s complex (for a pop song). Just try learning it by ear. It is a keyboard song, as are most of theirs — I’d hate to be trying to learn it by ear on a guitar. It’s also a soul song, cleverly disguised in New Wavey garb. But you could easily imagine it in a Philly soul or even disco incarnation. (Go ahead — imagine that G.E. Smith guitar solo done by a string section instead!)
Mainly it revolves around (piano) A minor (intro, chorus, guitar break) to C maj (verse). Some of the coolest chords are the one right before each verse and the ones in the pre-chorus (“When it’s watching for lies/you can’t escape my eyes”)
It’s a lot of fun.
“Kiss On My List” is a fun one to figure out too.
Hall & Oates records are a correspondence school for all aspects of pop songwriting and performance. As soon as I got a Casiotone keyboard and a H&O tape (Big Bam Boom!) for Xmas, I sat down to start figuring out their chords, and of course trying to sing it just like Daryl while playing. Method of Modern Love was the first one I learned. I was 10 years old.