1000 Miles of Life

There's a considerable difference between John Oates' second solo album 1000 Miles of Life and his first Phunk Shui, one that's evident just from their titles. Phunk Shui was jokey and, yes, funky, but this 1000 Miles of Life is reflective without getting solipsistic. This plays to two of Oates' underappreciated skills, his easy melodicism and his gentle touch with folk-pop, something that provided a cornerstone in early Hall & Oates but faded into the background in their aggressively modernistic new wave soul. Hearing Oates return to this sound is comforting, even reassuring, not just because he slips into this sound with ease, but because it shows how much Oates contributed to Hall & Oates, that it was a true collaboration. 1000 Miles of Life gently recalls Hall & Oates' '70s high points, particularly lovely Atlantic albums like Abandoned Luncheonette, but this evocation is never being self-conscious. Rather, it's a natural return to a sound Oates drifted away from, but here he finds that it fits him well once again.