Ever since “unplugged” albums became all the rage in the early nineties, I’ve developed a very strong affinity for acoustic performances by otherwise electric bands. The sound you get with these “unplugged” albums is more honest than albums produced with excessive studio trickery and effects–sometimes true musical virtuosity shines through, but often weaknesses are exposed, and the listener is allowed to see a group of musicians without cosmetics, with only their skills to carry them. Some bands rise to the occasion; some do not, and some exhibit an entirely different musical personality than the one you’re accustomed to hearing.
Good Acoustics is technically not an “unplugged” album–some of the songs utilize the electric guitar for the solo, and there’s even a hint of the pedal steel in Love Of A Lifetime, one of Firehouse’s biggest hits. It’s still acoustic enough to give you a good look at Firehouse in a stripped down mode.
Remember earlier when I said that some bands succeed in the acoustic arena, some fail, and some exhibit a different personality? Well, Firehouse falls into the third category. Firehouse has long been known as a hard rock/metal band–I really don’t know a lot about Firehouse, but I am aware that this band won the Best New Hard Rock/Metal band award at the 1991 American Music Awards. The music I’ve heard in the past can be classified as hard rock or metal, albeit with a little bit of a fluffy edge, but Good Acoustics makes Firehouse sound like the poppiest band this side of Styx. Gone are the slamming drums, driving bass and searing guitars, replaced with bland acoustic guitars and vocals and accompanying harmonies that are reminiscent of Dennis DeYoung. With Good Acoustics, Firehouse is transformed from metal mavens to pop weenies, lacking only a healthy dollop of mustard to complete the picture.
But that’s not a bad thing–it’s just pure honesty, that trait that these “unplugged” albums are prone to expose.
About The Tracks
Good Acoustics has a total of eleven tracks–four are new releases and seven are acoustic versions of some of Firehouse’s biggest chart successes. The cover of Seven Bridges Road, heard here for the first time, sounds like it came straight from Nashville. Believe me when I say that you’ll see a side of Firehouse that you’ve never seen before.
You Are My Religion, Love Don’t Care, In Your Perfect World and Seven Bridges Road are presented on this album for the first time, and each of these songs have bouncy beats, good harmonies, and up-front acoustic guitars pushing things along. You Are My Religion cheats it a bit with an electric guitar solo, and Love Don’t Care succeeds with a clever hook line–“Love don’t care who you love”, and a tasteful acoustic guitar solo. In Your Perfect World works with a good percussion section and a tasteful acoustic backdrop, while Seven Bridges Road sounds like Firehouse has been performing country music for years.
Love Of A Lifetime and When I Look Into Your Eyes have an acoustic lightness that’s almost frivolous, a vastly different texture than the original electric versions. The pedal steel in Love Of A Lifetime plays a big role in redefining the song, while All She Wrote has some elegant acoustic guitar work that proves that the lead player doesn’t need effects to sound good. Other Firehouse classics show up here–Don’t Treat Me Bad, I Live My Life For You, and Here For You are all done with an emphasis on the acoustic sound, and the result is….well, you know…Pop! goes the Firehouse!
Anyone who’s a fan of “unplugged” albums should pick this one up–even though some electric instruments are used, the album still retains that acoustic texture that’s so revealing. Any Firehouse fan should immediately glom on to this one for a chance to see a whole different side to your favorite band. I’m not really a Firehouse fan, and don’t know a whole lot about them, but it was interesting to compare the songs that I’d heard to the acoustic songs on this album. I witnessed metal guys morphing into pop weenies, but the music was entirely satisfactory. I recommend it highly.
Thanks for reading.
