John Oates is showing fans who he really is musically with his new solo album, Reunion, which is out now.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer tells ABC Audio the album is a true reflection of where he is now as a musician, compared to his days in Hall & Oates.
“I don’t want to be, you know, out there kind of flogging the past,” he says. “As I get older and older and older … I want to make sure people understand who I am as a person and as a musician.”
Oates says the album’s title and title track were inspired by his 100-year-old father, who was talking one day about reuniting with Oates’ deceased mother.
“It really struck home to me, and I thought about the idea that there’s all sorts of versions of reuniting,” he says, adding the music he’s making now is helping him reunite with himself.
“I’m getting back to the true essence of who I really am,” he shares.
The 76-year-old Oates has been making music for more than 50 years, and while some artists may be ready to hang it up after all that time, Oates seems more energized than ever before.
“Considering my age, I feel like I’m playing better than I’ve ever played, I feel like I’m singing better than I’ve ever sung and I think I’m writing better songs,” he says, noting that he wants to embrace that feeling while he still can.
“I don’t want to waste that opportunity because I know that there’s a limit to it,” he says. “There’s going to be an end to it somehow or another. You know, I hate to think like that, but it’s true.”
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.