Hall & Oates spat seeps into music

When Daryl Franklin Hohl and John William Oates joined forces to form the band Hall & Oates, they created the most successful musical duo of all time — a title awarded by the American record association in 1984. Until 2022, the two had sold more than 80 million albums and had been performing together on successive tours. But the band split over accusations of shady financial maneuvers. Amid the breakup, the two not only exchanged criticism and scorn. The spat has also seeped into their music, with both Hohl and Oates releasing solo records.

It’s not to be missed. John Oates has released his sixth solo album, paradoxically titled Reunion, just four weeks before Daryl Hall released his sixth LP called D. Was this coincidence? Think what you will, but Oates had not performed solo for six years, while Hall had not released his own new music since the LP Laughing Down Crying, which dates back to... 2011. What a coincidence.

The feud between Hall and Oates broke out last year, and shocked the world: no one could have imagined that the duo with half a dozen No. 1 songs in the U.S. charts and 16 more in the top 10 harbored so much bitterness against one another. But neither the power of lyricism nor harmony stands a chance against money, and the Hall viciously attacked Oates, when he learned that he had tried to sell his share in Whole Oats Enterprises — their joint venture — to an investment fund. The spat has not only landed in court, it has even led to a restraining order.

Hall & Oates had their golden age more than four decades ago, but the creators of such smash hits such as Maneater, Rich Girl, I Can’t Go for That, Sara Smile, Out of Touch, You Make My Dreams and Kiss on My List continued to perform live, and in 2014, they were included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

After D was released, Hall reserved his most scathing attack for his former musical partner for an interview with Billboard magazine, the Bible of the music industry. “I’ve been a solo artist my whole life, I was just working with John, mostly,” he said, adding that he now felt “free.” He also admitted that he had not spoken to Oates for “a long, long time.” “The last song I wrote with John was in 2000 and that was with somebody else,” he said.

It seems obvious, in short, that the duo have no plans of getting back together: Oates is 76 years old and Hall will be 78 in October. But fans can now enjoy, as way of compensation, the subtle and unusual creative rivalry that has arisen between the two. Because D and Reunion are extremely different albums, but with complementary sensibilities. In which the artists, although enjoying their sudden artistic bachelorhood, have sought out new musical partners.

Daryl gives a very large role as producer to his good friend Dave Stewart, once half of Eurythmics, and this summer, he also embarked on a joint tour with Elvis Costello, a surprising alliance even though the blonde (now graying) artist sung the backup vocals on Costello’s old, beautiful and rarely remembered song The Only Flame in Town.

John, meanwhile, has occasionally partnered with A. J. Croce, the son of the late Jim Croce (the singer of Time in a Bottle and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown) and an artist who deserves more recognition.

The prodigious and prolific musical duo have burned all their bridges with one another, and it seems Hall has made an effort to strengthen his position as the main vocalist and signer of the former band. From the first bars, D offers songs with gentle and identifiable familiarity, opting for the sugary and mellow Philly Soul of the 1970s (as heard on Break It Down to the Real Thing) that Hall elevated to a hallmark.

His former ally, however, has gone for a much more intimate and acoustic style: his record is filled with beautiful and introspective country-folk songs, situating it geographically and emotionally closer to Nashville than to Philadelphia. The name of the album — Reunion — was inspired by Oates’ father, who on his 100th birthday told his son about his imminent “reunion” with his late wife.

Those nostalgic for H&O will find in D a pleasant and familiar substitute, a Trompe-l’œil that brings back the spirit of Can’t Say No to You or The Whole World’s Better, those simple and effective songs that launched headlong into the chorus. But for listeners who do not want to relive times that will never again be repeated, Reunion is a very pleasant surprise from Oates, so often eclipsed by Hall, who now only resents his former musical partner.

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