Daryl Hall is capable of mutant soul genius. Look no further than 1980’s Sacred Songs callaboration with Robert Fripp (see Take 74, p135) and Hall & Oates’ Todd Rundgren-produced 1974 weirdscape War Babies for proof. But that penchant for oddness is disappointingly absent from the overproduced and uninspired white soul of Can’t Stop Dreaming. The voice is flawless, but there’s little here to do it justice. “Never Let Me Go” just about transcends dated production with a stratospheric Hall vocal, and “Holding Out For Love” gives him a decent winding melody to negotiate. But the airtight arrangements prove insurmountable, and the re-recording of “She’s Gone” is completely outclassed by the original. Hopefully the rumours concerning Todd Rundgren’s involvement in the next Hall & Oates album are true.