Firefall was a country rock band formed in Colorado in 1974 by a former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and a former member of Zephyr. This album, Firefall (1976), was the group’s debut album, which featured a song, “You Are the Woman”, that reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single. Two other singles from the alum also reached #42 and #34 on the Billboard charts. According to the Wikipedia page for this particular album, no other album achieved gold status in the history of Atlantic Records. What’s also interesting about this album to me, is that there are songs from this album that are featured both the Apple Music Yacht Rock Essentials playlist as well as the Apple Music Country Rock Essentials playlist; I’m guessing it’s probably not the same songs on both playlists, but that’s an interesting intersection of genres contained in this album. With that said, I’m pretty excited to give this one a listen, so I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“It Doesn’t Matter” starts out with a really groovy mixture of acoustic guitar and bass. Holy smokes, this is super smooth and cool. I can already understand how this might be on a yacht rock playlist. Oh wow, the piano accentuations are super sweet. I’m really digging this track so far. Oh wow, the guitar really squeals into the soundscape nicely with some super sweet sounds. The percussion reminds me a little bit of Steely Dan’s Gaucho (1980), which was largely yacht rock in nature. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Love Isn’t All” starts out with a mixture of dry acoustic guitar mixed with some smooth tones from a bass guitar and a really slick electric guitar. Oh wow, this track is super sweet. There’s a really sweet combination of yacht rock and some slow soft rock that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the vocals pick up a really sweet country twang as the background chorus vocals become more apparent. Oh wow, there’s a flute that comes in with even more sweetness right as the track comes to an end. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Livin’ Ain’t Livin'” starts out with some hot flavors that and an uptempo feel that makes me think of a speedboat traveling out to sea while following the sun at sunset, as though on some sort of mission. I’m really digging the back and forth with the hot saxophone and the slick electric guitar, while some acoustic guitars seem to frame the soundscape from the sides, and the light and rapid congas/bongos keep things grooving while the bass stirs things around from underneath. Wow, great track.
Holy smokes, “No Way Out” starts out with a sort of bluesy lick from the guitar, and then the tune jumps into a smokin’ funk rock track. I really dig the funky effects on the guitar work in this track. The guitar work in this track really walks the line between Texas-based blues rock and Funkadelic funk rock, and I’m really digging it. So far I’m really digging the album and the variety of genres that are getting mixed together. Great track.
“Dolphin’s Lullaby” starts out with a recording from what sounds to be a distant storm or possibly the crashing of waves on the shore, and then an acoustic guitar comes in with sounds to be a folksy style at the start, but is woven towards a soft rock movement as the slow percussion comes in alongside some sweet electric guitar accentuations. Oh wow, the chorus breaks through to a movement that feels very reminiscent of Fred Neil’s original version of and Tim Buckley’s cover of “The Dolphin”. Oh wow, the seems to retain some of the momentum from the chorus during the next verse as more layers stay in compared to before the chorus. Wow, great tune.
Oh wow, “Cinderella” starts out with some very folksy acoustic guitar, and then gets grooving into some super interesting folk rock movement. I really dig the swishing of the harmonica in this track, which makes me think even more of Fred Neil in this track, though much more indirectly. Holy smokes, the twangy guitar work is super sweet, and especially so because the overall tone seems to walk the line between country rock and yacht rock with a nearly wet timbre, which reminds me a bit of Jerry Garcia’s tone from 1972. Holy smokes, this song is super groovy. Great track.
“Sad Ol’ Love Song” begins with some super sweet acoustic guitar that combines some country twanginess with a singer/songwriter feeling. Oh wow, the electric guitar comes in with some smooth countryfied yacht rock flavors. The steady beat of the drums keeps the track moving forward nicely while the bass keeps things grooving along. Holy smokes, the saxophone comes in and almost brings a jazziness to the track while simultaneously increasing the yacht rock flavors. I really dig the accentuations from the piano in this track, which really enhance the flavors of both the electric guitar and acoustic guitar in a really groovy way in a nearly rock and roll style. Great tune.
“You Are the Woman” starts out with some super slick yacht rock flavors with the acoustic guitar, flute, and light percussion from the congas/bongos alongside the traditional drum kit. You can almost feel a cool ocean breeze across your face while listening to this track. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Mexico” starts out with some really groovy guitar work from a couple acoustic guitars and an electric guitar that set an epic tone for the rest of the track. The tone of this track is almost like a yacht rock song hopped on the back of Harley to make some mythical journey south. The track started out with a sort of tinge of folk, but at this point has evolved to a really groovy mixture of blues rock and yacht rock. Holy smokes, the bass in this track somehow continues to pull me further into the grooves and dial the flavor of the track continually higher. Wow, great track.
Holy smokes, “Do What You Want” starts out with some distorted guitar chords and drops into a movement of a blues rock track played with the timbre of yacht rock, and I’m really digging the combination. I really dig the horns that come swelling into the soundscape, making these slick, bluesy jams even sweeter. Wow, awesome track, and a great way to end the album.
Holy smokes, I can understand how this album is the fastest to gold status in Atlantic Records’ history. The mixture of blues rock, yacht rock, and country rock is something that I don’t think I’ve thought of listening to, but now I’m interested in more of Firefall’s discography. If you’re into yacht rock and country rock, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A