In the last couple of decades, the creative output of Hall & Oates – the long-running, enormously successful duo of John Oates & Daryl Hall – has slowed to a stop, their last record of any kind being a 2006 Christmas album.
The duo remained a popular live attraction, however, touring regularly through 2022. Even that aspect of their partnership, though, has now come to an end.
The fracture came last year, when Oates sold his share of the duo's publishing, to which Hall responded with legal action. Despite the proceedings, Oates says he isn't losing any sleep over the end of his longtime partnership.
Speaking to GP on the back of his Americana-informed new album, Reunion, Oates said of Hall, “We have no relationship at this point, he’s doing his thing, I’m doing my thing.”
Though the situation may seem dramatic to outsiders, Oates insists that their “legal issues are basically rooted in very boring business details, which unfortunately, due to the nature of sensationalism and celebrity, got blown up out of proportion. It’s really down to just finalizing some business details and we’ll move on with our lives.”
Reunion – recorded in Nashville, and featuring a cover of John Prine’s Long Monday – is indeed a long way from radio-conquering Philly soul Hall & Oates smashes like You Make My Dreams.
As one does when you're an artist at his level making a record in Nashville, Oates had his pick of the city's countless ace guitarists for Reunion.
Reflecting on the process of selecting the right musicians, Oates said of late Hall & Oates producer Arif Mardin, “He had the exact right players for the exact right moment, and he gave them enough freedom to be themselves.
“I approach my records that way. It’s not easy to do, but when you have a wealth of talent around you like you do in Nashville, with some of the greatest musicians on the planet, it helps.
“Vince Gill told me something a while back,” Oates continued, “‘When you’re producing in Nashville, it’s almost like you’re the director of a movie. You’re casting the players for the exact right character of what you need for that song.’ And he was 100 percent right.”
To read the full interview with Oates, pick up a copy of the new issue of GP at Magazines Direct.
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