JOHN OATES – Good Road To Follow (2014)

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Fusing rock ‘n roll and rhythm & blues, rock&pop – and at places in their career – dance and even AOR, Hall & Oates achieved their greatest fame from the late seventies to the mid-1980s. Later both Daryl Hall and John Oates continued their career as solo artists.
Now, recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame JOHN OATES is releasing his latest solo project “Good Road To Follow”.

John Oates could very easily have coasted out the remainder of his career touring with musical partner Daryl Hall and their multi-platinum band Hall & Oates and done just fine. He could have released a few safe albums of solo material in the same Hall & Oates vein to fill gaps between tours.
But Oates remains a musical risk taker, a fact driven home throughout “Good Road to Follow.
The worry might have been that his on-going Nashville residency would lead to a turn toward the soft commercialism of modern-day country music. Instead, he’s emerged with a hard-edged Classic Rock / Americana romp.

“Good Road to Follow” is an atypical release from the marketing view, comprising 15 songs into a 3 physical CD’s, yes, only 5 tracks per disc.
For the past year, Oates has been experimenting with how music is released with a series of monthly digital releases of new material. In an interview last year, Oates said his idea was to approach the iTunes generation by going back to his past years and releasing what is the digital equivalent of a 45 single.
“When I was a kid, maybe like yourself, singles were everything. I’d save up my money and go to the little store in my town and buy a 45 and I’d bring it home and play it until the grooves wore out. And that’s kind of come around again, it’s come full circle.”

What started as a yearlong series of digital singles has culminated in a three-disc set of genre-specific EPs aptly named Route 1, Route 2, and Route 3. Unrestricted by musical barriers, Oates has collaborated with some of the world’s brightest music makers ranging from Grammy winning songwriter / producer / rocker Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, to pop band Hot Chelle Rae, to country music icon Vince Gill, to Americana legends Jerry Douglas and Jim Lauderdale.

This kind of ‘one at a time’ distribution method freed Oates from worrying about the cohesiveness of an album and allowed him to follow whatever road interested him. And his interests are admirably varied. “Good Road to Follow” is organized into three 5 song EP of loosely related material.

Route 1 sees Oates experimenting with the past, present, and future of pop music. The album’s lead single, “Stone Cold Love” was written and performed with Ryan Tedder, and combines ’80s radio rock with a modern day pop via a fist-thumping, foot-stomping beat and a fantastic Moog bassline leading it. It’s like an Eighties tune transported to the new millennium and I love it.
He also works with Nashville based pop group Hot Chelle Rae on the catchy “High Maintenance”, vocalists Bekka Bramlett and Wendy Moten on the lovable Tom Petty-like “The Head That Wears the Crown”, while “Pushing a Rock Uphill” reminds you Mark Spiro.

Route 2 takes Oates on a trip to New Orleans to explore the rich musical heritage of the deep South. This EP is where Oates shines most, working with Americana superstar Jim Lauderdale on two songs, including the album’s standout track “Six Men”, a pure Classic Rock tune complete with organs and bright guitars.
Another winning track is the smooth soulful feel of “Lose It in Louisiana”, co-written by drummer Chad Gilmore and produced by heavyweight Craig Wiseman.

Route 3 brings Oates back home, to the American roots where much of his solo work has dwelled in the last decade. This EP kicks off with “Don’t Cross Me Wrong”, co-written and performed with country legend Vince Gill, but the song is classic bar rocker with a bouncy rhythm section and shuffle bluesy electric guitars.
“Bad Bad Love” rocks with great guitars and a groovy vocals by Oates, while “Different Kind of Groove Sometime” spreads a soul feel over the organic, classic instrumentation and with female backing vocals all over.

Such wide influences make for a bit of a scattershot album, but the grouping into three EP rather than putting all 15 songs on one CD helps with cohesion. But if you ask me, if put together in to one single CD, it would have been extremely successful too.
Because “Good Road To Follow” it’s a fantastic album any music lover can delve into.
It features ’80s Rock&Pop, Classic Rock, Americana, Blue Eyed Soul, etc, a true compendium of the last forty years in American Rock-related music, and the best part of it is that it’s made with passion.
John Oates not only sings great, he’s a skillful songwriter and an unquiet artist not afraid to explore his vast influences and take the risk to collaborate with young musicians creating a fascinating collage of music on “Good Road To Follow”.
No matter the genres, this is Classic Rock, and as said, a fantastic album any music lover should delve into.
Highly Recommended.

You’ve seen it first here, at 0dayrox

CD 1:
01 – Stone Cold Love
02 – The Head That Wears the Crown (feat. J. Douglas & W. Moten)
03 – Pushing a Rock Uphill
04 – Believe in Me (feat. Bekka Bramlett)
05 – High Maintenance (feat. Hot Chelle Rae)
CD 2:
01 – Close
02 – Stand Strong
03 – Lose It in Louisiana
04 – Save Me
05 – Six Men
CD 3:
01 – Don’t Cross Me Wrong (feat. Vince Gill)
02 – Bad Bad Love
03 – Edge of the World
04 – Bad Luck and Trouble
05 – Different Kind of Groove Sometime

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