"Back To The Good Life", the second album from House Of Tunes is a mixture of various styles. Influenced by artists like Little Feat, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Taj Mahal, J.J. Cale, Tom Waits, The Doobie Brothers, The Neville Brothers and many others, "Back To The Good Life" is a journey through Rythm&Blues, Blues, Southern Rock, Ballads, Pop, Rock, even a little Funk and Jazz. The New Orleans atmosphere is never far away.
The album is created by two Dutch artists living in the south of Holland ; Jan Barten and Arnold Hoekstra (born and raised in Canada).
Most of the songs are sung by Stephan Wilkinson, a black bluessinger from New York, now living in Holland. Two other songs are sung by Jan De Bruijn, a wellknown singer in the south of Holland, and Jan Barten sang one song too.
Except for the last song, and the lyrics from "Don't Even Know Her Name" (written by Stephan Wilkinson), all songs were composed by Jan Barten and Arnold Hoekstra. We believe this album is worth checking out.
Because it's new, interesting and honest material, and despite the influences, it's a one of a kind.

This album contains powerful and catchy new songs and is a mixture of different influences. The style is (Rhythm & )Blues / Southern Rock, with a touch of Funk and Pop. It has a certain New Orleans atmosphere, even though it's composed by two Dutch artists: Jan Barten and Arnold Hoekstra. They were influenced by artists like Little Feat, Doobie Brothers, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, The Band, Tom Waits. Sung by a former New York blues-singer Stephan Wilkinson, the vocals are both powerful and emotional and give the music its authenticity. All lyrics were written by Jan Barten except "I'm Just A Country Boy" and "You Move Me", which were written by Stephan Wilkinson. In "I'm Just A Country Boy" Wilkinson describes his farewell to New York before coming to Holland.
The music was written, recorded and produced in Breda, Holland, by Jan Barten and Arnold Hoekstra.