Friday, August 16, 2002

The arc of every VH-1 "Behind the Music" special seems to be the same: A band experiences a rags-to-riches ascent to fame, then falls prey to either drugs, infighting or alcohol, breaks up, then reunites because the group has learned they love each other and the music after all.That, and the next mortgage payment is due.But when the video network decided to tell the story of Daryl Hall and John Oates, they ran into a problem."They didn't have any skeletons to drag up," says Oates during a phone interview. "They didn't have that classic VH-1 story, where you fall from grace and manage to claw your way to some sense of normality. ... Our story is about survival, and if that show brought that out, that's all you can hope for."Hall & Oates will play the Amphitheatre at Station Square on Monday with special guest Todd Rundgren.It seems hard to believe that the careers of Oates and longtime musical partner Hall now span five decades, having started performing together in Philadelphia in the late 1960s. The duo's muse was the soul music of their hometown, especially that of hitmakers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff; at one time, Hall sang backup vocals for Philly soul groups including the Stylistics, the Delfonics and the Intruders.Right away, they gained acceptance from what might be considered their most difficult audience."When we started out in Philadelphia, the first songs we did as teenagers were only played on black radio stations," Oates recalls. "We had acceptance in the black community for a long time. One of our goals when Daryl and I started was to get on white FM rock radio."Oates says the band's success came from its approach. Rather than mimic or try to sound like their influences, "we tried to make music that came from Philadelphia," he says.Hall & Oates did go through a period when they were packaged as a folk duo (1973's "Abandoned Luncheonette") and as glam rockers (on the garish, silver cover of the album "Daryl Hall & John Oates" in 1975). Success came with a string of hit singles - "Sara Smile," "She's Gone," 'Rich Girl" - but it wasn't until the 1980s that they became stars. One couldn't turn on the radio or MTV without hearing a Hall & Oates tune, be it "Private Eyes," "You Make My Dreams" or "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)."But Oates says he and Hall never once changed their approach to music."The motivation for everything that Daryl and I have done has been a love for the music," he says. "We always made music we liked. We were proud to have all of those hits in the '80s, but it was just a case of radio getting in sync with what we were doing. We never did anything we didn't want to do."After a period of dormancy through most of the 1990s, Hall & Oates have returned to a regular touring schedule. The VH-1 special, Oates says, along with a special on the Bravo network, has made an "unbelievable difference" in terms of recognition. They're even back on the charts with a song, "Do It For Love."All they had to do, Oates says, is wait for the pendulum of taste to swing back their way."Music is kind of coming back to a style of realism, just people playing their instruments," he says. "The world in general is getting back to that. I think that's what people seem to want, and that's what Daryl and I have always done."Hall & Oates

After 30 years, John Oates finally has gotten around to releasing his first solo album, "Phunk Shui."Not surprisingly for a guy whose stock in trade has been Philly soul, the release is mostly melodic, soulful pop music."Not because it's soul music," Oates says, "but because it comes from the heart."Although Oates wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album, a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" is notable. It's an understated version of the tune that Oates handles quite well."Jimi Hendrix used to play guitar for Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions," he says. "When I heard it as a kid, I thought, 'That's Hendrix trying to do Curtis Mayfield in a psychedelic, whacked-out way.' I kind of wanted to de-evolve the song, and take it back to what I thought would be in his mind. So I decided to do it like a Curtis Mayfield song - with acoustic guitars instead of electric, of course."- Regis Behe