issue 38 working_Layout 1 12/7/2013 1:50 PM Page 27
blessing of Brad’s family, Charlie
gave the song his personal treatment and realized it was surely
the missing piece to round out
his new CD project. So much so
in fact, that it became the
album’s title and opening track.
It’s hard not to feel a certain
amount of sadness when first
hearing the song “Tuesday,”
however, it ultimately evokes
happiness as well, simply because this wonderful song now
sees the light of day for all to
enjoy. It is also easy to recognize the heart-felt ambition Farren poured into the track,
complete with his delicate
acoustic strums and strings
courtesy of Cameron Stone.
Then, “Hold Me Down and
Love Me” and “That Kind of Girl”
quickly turn the mood to a more
rockin’ vibe with slinky rhythms,
tasty guitar riffs and fun chorus
lines, (including wonderful backing vocals from Charlie’s lovely
and talented daughter, Veronica
on “Girl”) before the atmosphere
is reeled back to broken love
and hope with the acoustic-driven “Middle of My Heart” and
the jazzy-like “Enough of Blue.”
“A Night Away” is a more
upbeat love song featuring a
smooth vocal lead, velvety background vocals, perfectly placed
guitar solo and one bad-ass
bass line. The foot-tappin’
“Phony Balogna” is another
great number - all B-3, low-jazzy
vibe reminiscent (to this listener,
anyway) of “Wise Guy” from
Farren’s 2009 release Old and
Young - just a bit slower on the
delivery.
“Filling my life with love”
(co-written with Andrea Surova)
is a hopeful acoustic track filled
with smoky vocals in a strippeddown approach, while “Girlfriend
Maria” is a catchy, uplifting singalong that can’t help but make you
smile and of course, sing right
along. A song seemingly made for
the radio airwaves.
The set-closing “The Shock
and Awe of Love” is a song in
which Charlie seemingly opens his
heart to let these highly personable
feelings shine through. The track
also features more classic, perfectphrased electric guitar work and
yet another soulful solo. Truly a climatic ending to a collection of
songs that left this reviewer feeling
in the moment and satisfied.
The sessions were recorded
and produced by Charlie at his
home studio with the exception of
“Tuesday,” which was co-produced
with Anthony J. Resta (Blondie,
Megadeath, Elton John, Perry Farrell) and engineered by Karyadi
Sutedja(Collective Soul, Boston
Horns, Guster). The slick CD packaging includes a color, inner tri-fold
lyric sheet, which also references
all of Farren’s previous recordings.
Charlie Farren, once again, delivers a distinctive collection of original songs that display his
instinctive, ever-evolving songwriting ability, matched by his vocal
charm and tasteful guitars and instrumentation throughout… and
the man is also really getting to
know his way around that F Mansion Recording Studio of his, thank
you very much.
All-in-all, this is a memorable
work that deserves your attention.