Country/folk rock band Firefall have recently put out their new album ‘Comet’, their first studio release in what seems like ages, 2007 in fact.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Firefall
ALBUM: Comet
LABEL: Sunset Blvd Records
SERIAL: CD-SBR-7988
YEAR: 2020
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Jock Bartley – vocals, guitars * Mark Andes – bass, backing vocals * Gary Jones – vocals, guitars * David Muse – piano, organ, synthesizers * Sandy Ficca – drums, percussion
Additional Musicians: Jim Waddell – keyboards * Steve Weinmeister – backing vocals * Tudie Calderon – percussion
TRACK LISTING: 01 Way Back When * 02 A Real Fine Day * 03 Hardest Chain * 04 Nature’s Way * 05 Younger * 06 There She Is * 07 Ghost Town * 08 Never Be The Same * 09 Before I Met You * 10 A New Mexico
RATING: 70/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Country/folk-rock band Firefall have recently put out their new album ‘Comet’, their first studio release in what seems like ages, 2007 in fact. There have been a couple of live albums in between, considered more as stop-gap measures than anything else. Firefall still features three longstanding members including Jock Bartley, Mark Andes and David Muse, the trio appearing on the 1976 debut all those years ago.
The album has been released by Los Angeles based Sunset Blvd Records, a new label to me but they’ve been around since 2012 and have a roster full of 60’s and 70’s artists, many of whom are featured here at Glory Daze.
The Songs
Leading off with ‘Way Back When’ it reads like a musical trip down memory lane, starting off at 1965 then heading upward in time. The mostly acoustic flavoured ‘A Real Fine Day’ is a song of hope with rays of bright sunshine poking through. Vocally, Jim Peterik‘s solo material makes for a good fit.
‘Hardest Chain’ is a cool song, pleasant on the ear, whereas ‘Nature’s Way’ an introspective song upon first listen typifies the Firefall approach to songwriting, something they’ve been doing for decades. The lyrics to ‘Younger’ reads like a bucket list of things that the protagonist would like to do before departing this mortal coil. Quite clever actually, this one sounds like a country tune written out of Nashville.
Firefall lift the energy for ‘There She Is’, lots of guitar zing as well as some entertaining brass work. An R&B special. ‘Ghost Town’ is (literally) the most haunting song here, the lyrics refer to a bloke who has lost his love, turning his heart into a ghost town. The flute makes a welcome return to the Firefall palette of sound.
‘Never Be The Same’ is the melancholy ballad on the album, the mandolin making an appearance giving it a rustic vibe. ‘Before I Met You’ an acoustic track mostly, didn’t set my chakras spinning, unfortunately, whereas ‘A New Mexico’ might have indicated something hot and spicy, like a chilli and salsa, but we only got mild and medium instead.
In Summary
‘Comet’ has an electrified sound despite the country folk tag associated with Firefall and though it has a vintage sound, you’ll need to be of a certain age group to appreciate it. With similarly sounding colleagues like Louisiana’s Le Roux and The Outlaws also releasing albums this year, the classic rock sub-genre is still alive and doing ok.
Video
Way Back When
