Audio CD review:
Firefall - Elan

Firefall - Elan

Band: Firefall Title: Elan Rating: Release Date: 1995-08-15 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Strange Way - Firefall, Roberts, Rick 2: Sweet and Sour - Firefall, Bartley, Jock 3: Wrong Side of Town - Firefall, Burnett, Jack 4: Count Your Blessings - Firefall, Roberts, Rick 5: Get You Back - Firefall, Burnett, Larry 6: Anymore - Firefall, Andes, Mark 7: Baby - Firefall, Burnett, Larry 8: Goodbye, I Love You - Firefall, Roberts, Rick 9: Sweet Ann - Firefall, Roberts, Rick 10: Winds of Change - Firefall, Roberts, Rick 11: New Man - Firefall, Burnett, Larry 12: Headed for a Fall - Firefall, Roberts, Rick 13: Sharpshootin' at the Senator - Firefall, Burnett, Larry

Hello, Camp Curry !!! But the last Summer they did this was 1969. Every summer night at 9PM, The Firefall was tossed over the huge cliff at Glacier point in a certain National Park in California. . . but somebody in this band must have seen it because they named this Great Group after that event. "Elan" was the third release by Firefall and by this time they were on AM Radio with the hits "You Are The Woman", "Cinderella" & "Just Remember I Love You". FM Radio found them cool enough with "So Long" & "Mexico". The band always had an ying / yang thing goin' on between the Ballads of Rick Roberts that earned them big sales and radio airplay and the harder rocking edge of the songs of Larry Burnett that recieved more critical aclaim and audience approval. The big hit here is "Strange Way" that reached #11 on the pop charts and the band was riding high with all the excess that was afforded a 70's Rock Band. "Elan" was this band's most sucessful project and went platinum. Along with "Strange Way" , Rick does his ballad thing on "Count Your Blessings", "Anymore","Goodbye I Love You" & "Sweet Ann", he teams with Jock Bartley to write "Sweet and Sour" which "surprise" became another hit single. Larry Burnett has his moments here with "Wrong Side of Town","Get You Back", and does his own ballad with "Baby". "Winds of Change" is a Bluesy Rock Song written by Rick but sung by Larry and it is the final song from the original record. But on this Re-issue there are three "Bonus" tracks that were recorded for "Elan" but space limitations kept them unreleased all these years. "Headed For A Fall" is here in a sparse acoustic arrangement and this one had a major overhaul before it's offical release on the LP " Undertow". The other two are from Larry and they are good, the bluesy "New Man" and the edgy tale of an assassin "Sharpshootin' at the Senator" that caused a riff with their Record Company who would not release it. "Elan" along with "Luna Sea" are the best works from this great band and in a couple of years things would start to fall apart but right here Firefall was indeed on top of their game and producing great work. . . HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!. A Colorado band with their own sound. I liked their radio hits such as "You are the Woman", Livin' ain't Livi'" and the top 40 hit "Cinderella". I first heard this group in high school during the late 70s. Those were from the highly rated self titled album, "Firefall". I was very impressed with the cover art that helped put you in the mood for their unique sound. I eventually caught them in concert at the Aladin in Las Vegas which was great as well. This album has some hit & misses but I really got in to the tune "Baby" which is a beautiful melancholy ballad. I just wish I could have caught the group's recent concert here in Denver. You can see a complete list of all Firefall discography, or go back to the Firefall tabs