Q: In a certain way, "Marigold Sky' feels
almost like a career retrospective album, in that almost every era of Hall and Oates is
addressed throughout the songs on this album. You can hear a little of the acoustic soul
of "Abandoned Luncheonette." You can hear those 80's beat-heavy rhythm tracks in
some of the songs.
JOHN: I don't think that was an intentional
direction, but I think it's a logical one--having come all of this way with those various
recordings as background and now we're back together after seven years. I think what we
did is try to treat each song with an appropriate arrangement and approach--we have the
ability to draw on all of those various production techniques and styles.
Q: When you were going into the studio, was there
anything consciously in your mind, the kind of music that you wanted to create for 1997?
JOHN: I think we both were in sync about one thing:
we knew they had to be terrific songs. Everything is based on the material. It wasn't
going to be the kind of record that required a production to make the song come alive. If
the song wasn't alive before, in the songwriting stage, than it wasn't in the running. I
think we both wanted a very real, honest record, the kind of record we could play with a
band.
Q: HALL and OATES were pretty much known for
pioneering that blend of Philly soul with rock. When you open the history books yourself
one day, is there anything you want to read about HALL & OATES that people
somehow didn't say through the years or they didn't grasp one aspect of you?
JOHN: You know, I think the blending of rock and
soul is certainly part of it. We've taken our careers and our music very seriously. We've
had fun with it and we've been known to be pop stars and Top 40. We had the reputation of
being hit-makers and that connotates a kind of assembly line, crank out-the-hits kind of
mentality which we've never really felt. Our hits came probably more despite ourselves
than because that's what we were actually shooting for. We always just tried to write the
best song we could and we got on a roll and everything we wrote turned to gold in the
mid-eighties. It was just one of those things that happens to artists occasionally.
Q: Obviously, this is your first year of eligibility
for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. HALL and OATES have lasted in a business where
many artists and groups collapse, bust up or are just simply forgotten by the public. So
how does it feel for you, 25 years after the release of your debut album, continuing to
release new music?
JOHN: Considering the fact that world of pop music
is so changeable and so fickle, I am very grateful and appreciative to still be making
records and there are still people who want to hear what we do. I don't take that lightly.
I really appreciate the fact that we still have the ability to make a living at what we
love to do. I think that's probably the key to life, as a matter of fact. As I said, I
take that very seriously and am very grateful for that opportunity
Daryl Hall and John Oates
German Website
