Promo poster
"X-Static" is the eight studio album by Daryl Hall and John Oates from 1979. And it was produced by David Foster who also produced the previous album "Along The Red Ledge". It was the end of seventies when disco and punk were starting to become famous. So they were forced to change their style.
Photo shoot from press conference
This album set the first step towards a new sound. The previous 2 albums were exploring already possibilities for a new direction. On X-Static they introduced: punk, rock, disco, reggae and of course soul but in their branded Rock'n'Soul style. On this album the Rock'n'Soul sound from Hall and Oates came to live. I prefer this album above Voices because it’s more daring and experimental. The later CD releases includes “Time’s Up (Alone Tonight)” and “No Brain, No Pain” as bonus tracks which are gems that were hidden for some time. The previous albums "Beauty On A Back Street" (1977) and "Along The Red Ledge" (1978) weren't very successful. With "X-Static" they finally had a new hit in the charts: “Wait for Me” which reached #18 in the US.

And with their next album "Voices" the big breakthrough they waited for was finally happening.

Overall I can strongly recommend this album if you never heared it before. It is highly underrated especially by RCA records.
Album cover
X-Static
Woman Comes And Goes / Wait For Me / Portable Radio / All You Want Is Heaven / Who Said The World Was Fair / Running From Paradise / Number One / Bebop/Drop / Hallofon / Intravino / Time’s Up (Alone Tonight) /No Brain, No Pain