Joe Firstman is not a man with a single voice, his vocals go from the throaty voice in the album opener ‘Take The Rain’, to the sweet croon in the bouncy ‘Angel Moon’ or the bluesy howl in ‘Standin On The Porch’.
The singer-songwriter has released his 7th studio album, ‘Swear It Was A Dream’, and if Americana is the main tone, all the moods and shades of the genre figure in the album, from playful and light to serious rocking numbers.
In the eclectic sonic range, slide guitars shine on the slow ‘Wild Fire’, southern strings are all over ‘Carolina’, banjos shimmer on ‘Birthday Party’ and ‘Angel Moon’ – a tune so catchy you would swear you have heard it before – and keyboards give texture to ‘Take The Rain’ or ‘Who's Turnin Your Light Out’. The different soundscapes bring you in a journey through landscapes of South Carolina, Mexico, Nashville and Los Angeles, where the ten new songs were written and recorded in different studios. ‘I am gonna go to America soon/so I can sing my song’ he sings in ‘Angel Moon’, and, at this point, we are already on the road with him.
All along the album, there is a real acoustic feeling, as you would think you were in the same room than the piano or the guitar, but the vocals are always the center of attraction while you listen to the songs. Confident ,but at the same time carrying a real emotion, there is some kind of Tom-Petty-dragging-delivery-style in the first rootsy rocker number, but a wide range of influences can be perceived all along the album, from the likes of Jackson Browne to this California folk-country rock species which has produced so many power ballads. There is even some Ryan Adams ambiance sometimes,, especially in ‘Born Dreamer’, a textured country ballad with its delicate guitar, or ‘Falling White Flowers’, which simply starts with an acoustic guitar and a melancholic voice then later introduces an emotional haunting Adams-style chorus.
The Charlotte-born and Los Angeles-based Joe Firstman has been the band leader for the show ‘Last Call With Carson Daly’ on NBC for four years, and has attracted the attention of some industry heavyweights, like his hero lyricist Bernie Taupin, ending up touring with Sheryl Crow, Jewel and Willie Nelson.
‘Born Dreamer’ he repeats in the song with the same title,… a true California dream lived by a southern guy, with a voice conveying enough emotion to make his close-to-confession songs very personal.