John Oates “Arkansas” – Listen

‘Arkansas‘ is the title of the new album from John Oates, and to say it’s something of a change of direction from what one might expect from this artist is a reasonable statement of fact.  This is not blue-eyed soul.  There are no eighties synths.  John Oates is a big fan of Mississippi John Hurt,  and this album was conceived originally as a way of honouring that admiration.  And it evolved some as Oates expanded what was originally going to be the perhaps expected vocal and guitar sound to encompass a fuller band approach.  Asked about the album’s style and the sound of Arkansas, John Oates has said:  “It’s like Dixieland, dipped in bluegrass, and salted with Delta blues.”