Bad taste 80s mullet heroes Hall and Oates don't exactly challenge expectations with this pointless mish-mash of soul covers and original tunes.

Never ones to underplay the cheese factor, it's easy to accuse them of 'plastic' soul but this collection is nauseatingly safe - the aural equivalent of an airbag.

There are various cover versions here including The Four Tops' Standing in the Shadows of Love, The Temptations' Fading Away, Gladys Knight's Neither One of Us, Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady and tunes of a similar vein.

The songs are executed perfectly, though overproduced and the saccharine nature of some of the choices and soft focus goo of Hall and Oates' original tunes is a turn-off for all but the most hardened fans.

It's difficult to understand how such unchallenging music can actually stir anybody with all it's OTT ooohing, aaaahing and yeeeeaaaaaahing.

However, one should never underestimate the American music-buying public's appetite for what is frankly rubbish.

We should impose a trade embargo on it.

JS