By Bob McKillop

Fall 2007

At left: Joe Farren

An artist’s debut CD is a very important one, and the choices that he makes in song selection, arrangements, and production qualities say a lot about what he is trying to accomplish.  The CD can be a statement of who they are personally or artistically, it can be experimental, innovative, and improvisational, or it can be a showcase for their musical, performance, and songwriting talents.  Joe Farren has chosen the showcase approach for his first CD, “Till The Day”.

This is an album of twelve very different tracks, encompassing blues, jazz, rock, and acoustic folk, and starring Joe on piano and keyboards, acoustic guitar, organ, drums, vocals, and harmonica.  The musicianship that Joe displays on this record is very, very impressive, and he has a great, natural vocal style that is expressive, accessible and easy to listen to.  The variety in the music allows Joe to display his talents in many different contexts and combinations.

The CD contains a variety of guest talent as well.  Richard Griffin’s saxophone gets some well-deserved time in the spotlight in the lush, groovy, opening blues track, “Savannah”, as well as in “Last Chance”, and more subtly, in the cover of George Harrison’s “Something”.  Ozzy Osment’s diabolical fiddle work on “Lie To Me” give the song the frantic, angry feel that it needs.  John Hughry’s dobro is a very nice embellishment to “Away Forever”.  Rob Duquette’s drum kit and Lance Hoppen’s bass provide a solid foundation to a bunch of these songs.    

I count no less than twenty-one other musicians providing instrumental or vocal contributions to this CD, giving it a very eclectic texture.  Joe Farren’s performance talent is the dough that holds this musical pizza together; it is Joe who makes it a cohesive body of work.

“Last Chance” is the cut that I enjoyed the most, in terms of pure listening pleasure.  It is a simple, rollicking R&B shuffle, featuring slinky organ riffs on top of Joe’s plinking, tinkling piano and the afore-mentioned Griffin sax foundation.  Some sassy backing vocals by Krystal Louten provide the soul required in this tune, and Joe’s lead vocals come forward in this track a way that I wish they did on some of the other cuts.  The lyrics and melody are simple, easy to groove to, and fun.  Joe seems to be in control here, and injects his spirit and energy into the mix. I couldn’t help myself, I had to get up and dance to this one.

“Lie To Me”, in my opinion, is the best example of  Joe’s songwriting talent.  This is a plea from a soldier in today’s desert battlefield to his girlfriend at home – lie to me one more time and tell me that you still love me, even though we both know it’s over.  The soldier bitterly compares the easy life enjoyed at home with his war experiences.  The frantic, angry electric guitar, fiddle, and percussion tracks bring out the fear, anger, and frustration in the soldier’s point of view.

“You’ve been toasting to your freedom, The ignorant bliss I used to know /

When you were shooting down tequila, I was lining up the dead in rows /

We both know the fairy tale is over, but even so, how about one last night for this solder?”

Tom Acousti of Portland’s Sound Harbor Studios produced the majority of these tracks, and his vision for the album is very clear.  He gave Joe the chance to display his considerable musical talent in a variety of styles and themes across the twelve tracks on this disc.  He brought in a very talented crew of session musicians to augment and enhance the songs.  The result is a lush, sophisticated, and complex record, full of many-layered tracks that are a pleasure to listen to.  However, there are two songs on this record where Joe comes across in his most authentic style.

Joe’s cover of George Harrison’s “Something” (one of the most beautiful songs ever written, in my humble opinion!) is a great showcase of Joe’s piano skills and his vocal talent.  He digs into both the instrumental and the vocal parts on this song, and I’m betting they were recorded together, based on the groove with which Joe welds the two parts together.  Very nicely done.

The last tune on the CD is “Go On”, and this track also is very authentic.  Aside from some nice backing vocals from Mr. Acousti, this is Joe on acoustic guitar, Joe on Harmonica, Joe’s vocal.  This is what you’d get from Joe in an intimate listening room or coffee house, and it’s very, very nice.  Punchy guitar, plaintive harmonica, powerful, deeply felt vocals, and a melody and lyric line that brings it all to your heart.

“Just leave the door open, ‘cause as you walk out the whole world’s walking in /

When I swap out these old stings and start singing again”

There are a couple of tunes that fall a little short on songwriting, and Joe gets lost in the mix once in a while, but on the whole, this is a very entertaining record, and will definitely make you want to see Joe perform live.  He is a very talented musician, songwriter, and performer, and I highly recommend you seek out a live show and purchase this CD.

“Till the Day” is also available on CD Baby, via mail from Joe (see his website http://www.joefarren.com for more information) or at Starbird Music, 525 Forest Ave, Portland, ME. (207) 775-2733.