Sacred Songs

Those whose familiarity with Daryl Hall is based primarily on the highly successful soul-pop confections he purveyed with John Oates will be startled by this early album, a collaboration with legendary progressive rock guitarist (and producer) Robert Fripp. Some of the music is deceptively accessible (like the tongue-in-cheek “Something in 4/4 Time”), but it only serves to set you up for surprises like the Frippertronics-based “Urban Landscape” and the forbiddingly aggro “NYCNY.” Sacred Songs is a fascinating and sometimes disorienting anomaly in the Daryl Hall catalog.