Somewhere, somehow, I was reminded that a good critique starts off with something positive. Friends & Family, the new release from Colorado Music Hall of Fame band Firefall, is a hit and miss affair. That’s as positive as I can get.
For lifelong Firefall fans it’s likely a positive that they just released an album of covers from bands each of the current members were also in, shared stages with or collaborated with (the Doobie Brothers, Dan Fogelberg, Heart, the Marshall Tucker Band, Poco, Loggins and Messina, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, Spirit, the Band, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Gram Parsons). All legends, friends and family of the current members of Firefall.
The band’s core followers are now in their seventies and are proven to NOT be fans of new music. So, an album of covers from the aforementioned acts provides nostalgia – especially since Firefall hasn’t released an album of original material worth listening to or remembered since 1980, despite attempts in 2020 (Comet) and 1992 (Messenger).
It was the singular voice and song-writing of original founding member Rick Roberts, no longer able to perform, as well as singer-songwriter Larry Burnett, who left the band in 1981, that anchored the sound of Firefall for all time – they are long gone and so is the sound that elevated the band to national popularity between 1976 and 1982.
The only original member of the band is guitarist Jock Bartley, who owns the band name; so basically all we’re talking about here is a tribute/cover band with heavyweight national league players.
Whoever sequenced the songs on this album did the band a gross injustice. Listening to Friends & Family starting at track #1 (“Listen to the Music”) made me wonder if I should keep on listening. Skip “Listen to the Music” as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd track “Simple Man,” both of which were released earlier as lead singles. What the band lacks on both is a strong lead singer capable of carrying the weight on such classic hits.
Fleetwood Mac‘s “World Turning” and the Spirit classic “I Got A Line On You” -sung by the newest Firefall member, singer/bassist John Bisaha (the Babys) – are “hits.” A credible cover of Gram Parson‘s “Ooh Las Vegas” closes out the collection, showing the strength of the band – their ability to harmonize. This is a band that sings well together despite not having a “world class” lead singer.
Firefall isn’t what they were and never will be. The misses on Friends & Family don’t do justice to the Firefall of yore, the musicians that make up the band now, nor the original recordings. So, unless you’re a Firefall super-fan you might want to skip most of this album and enjoy the few hits it does offer.
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