H₂O (Hall & Oates album)

H₂O is the eleventh studio album by American pop music duo Daryl Hall & John Oates.[lower-alpha 1] The album was released on October 4, 1982, by RCA Records. It featured three top 10 US singles, one being "Maneater", which was the biggest hit of their career, spending four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album title is a play on the chemical formula for water, where "H" is for Hall and "O" is for Oates. H₂O is certified double Platinum by the RIAA with sales of over two million copies.[5] It is the first appearance for longtime bassist/musical director Tom "T-Bone" Wolk.

H2O
Studio album by Hall & Oates
Released	October 4, 1982
Recorded	1981–82
Genre	Pop soul new wave[1]
Length	47:08
Label	RCA
Producer	Daryl Hall John Oates Neil Kernon
Hall & Oates chronology
Private Eyes (1981) ''H2O'' (1982) Rock 'n Soul Part 1 (1983)
Alternate cover
Singles from H2O
"Maneater" Released: October 31, 1982 "One on One" Released: January 1983 "Family Man" Released: April 30, 1983

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]
Robert Christgau	B−[3]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Maneater"	Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen	4:33
2.	"Crime Pays"	Hall, Oates, S. Allen	4:31
3.	"Art of Heartbreak"	Hall, S. Allen, Janna Allen	3:43
4.	"One on One"	Hall	4:17
5.	"Open All Night"	Hall, S. Allen	4:35

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Family Man"	Mike Oldfield, Tim Cross, Maggie Reilly, Rick Fenn, Mike Frye, Morris Pert	3:25
7.	"Italian Girls"	Oates	3:17
8.	"Guessing Games"	Hall, J. Allen	3:15
9.	"Delayed Reaction"	Hall, Oates, S. Allen	3:59
10.	"At Tension"	Oates	6:16
11.	"Go Solo"	Hall	4:35

Personnel

• Daryl Hall – lead vocals (1-6, 8, 9, 11), backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizers
• John Oates – backing vocals, lead vocals (7, 10), 6 and 12-string guitars, electric piano, Roland CR-78 drum machine, Linn LM-1
• Larry Fast – synthesizer programming
• G.E. Smith – lead guitar
• Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass guitar
• Mickey Curry – drums, percussion
• Charlie "Mr. Casual" DeChant – saxophone
• "Little Italy Mandolinos" – Daryl Hall, John Oates and Tom "T-Bone" Wolk

Production

• Produced by Daryl Hall and John Oates
• Engineered and Co-produced by Neil Kernon
• Assistant Engineers – Bruce Buchalter, Barry Harris and Michael Somers-Abbott.
• Recorded at Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY).
• Mixed by Hugh Padgham
• Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
• Art Direction and Design – Mick Haggerty and Geoffrey Kent
• Cover Photography – Hiro (51)
• Inner Sleeve Photography – Larry Williams
• Management – Tommy Mottola

Chart performance

The album debuted at number 33 on the Billboard 200 the week of October 30, 1982 as the highest debut of the week; after eleven weeks it reached and peaked at number three on the chart on January 15, 1983; the album remained on the chart for sixty-eight weeks.[6][7] By December 1982 the album sold one million copies and it was certified Platinum on December 16, 1982; it was certified double Platinum by the RIAA on April 1, 1985 denoting shipments of two million.[8]

In the United Kingdom the album opened at number 31 on October 23, 1982, the next week it reached and peaked at number 24.[9][10] The album remained on the chart for thirty-five weeks and it was certified Gold by the BPI on March 29, 1983 for shipments of 100,000.[10][11]

Charts and certifications

Album

Weekly charts Chart (1982–83) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] 3 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] 7 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 32 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 30 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 19 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 8 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 24 US Billboard 200[20] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 8

Year-end charts Chart (1982–83) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[22] 70 US Billboard 200[23] 4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24]	3× Platinum	300,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[11]	1× Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[8]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles

The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.

#	Title	Hot 100	UK Singles[25]
1.	"Maneater"	1	6
2.	"One on One"	7	63
3.	"Family Man"	6	15

Notes

1. The duo is credited as "Daryl Hall + John Oates" on most releases of this album.[4]

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Daryl Hall & John Oates: H₂O". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
2. Berger, Arion (2004). "Daryl Hall & John Oates". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 358. ISBN 0743201698.
3. "CG: Artist 555". Robert Christgau. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
4. Daryl Hall + John Oates – H2O at Discogs (list of releases)
5. "RIAA Gold and Platinum Database". April 1, 1985. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
6. "Top LPs & Tape". Billboard - October 30, 1982. Billboard Magazine. October 30, 1982. p. 71. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
7. "Top LPs & Tape". Billboard - January 15, 1983. Billboard Magazine. January 15, 1983. p. 55. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
8. "American album certifications – Hall & Oates – H 2 O". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 23, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
9. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. October 23, 1982. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
10. "DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
11. "British album certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – H2O". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 23, 2017. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type H2O in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
13. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6284a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Daryl Hall + John Oates – H²O" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
17. "Charts.nz – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Daryl+Hall+%2B+John+Oates – H²O". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
19. "Daryl Hall & John Oates | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
20. "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
21. "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
22. Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Retrieved June 10, 2017.
23. "1983 Billboard Year-End Chart-Toppers". rockonthenet.com. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
24. "Canadian album certifications – Hall & Oates – H20". Music Canada. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
25. "daryl-hall-and-john-oates | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved June 10, 2017.