Joe Fournier – Dirt Road Joyride
Dust cd 27 [2008]
The Wreck Of Tammy Whelan – Real Cool Car – I Drive A Wreck – Bad Record Collection – Real Cool Car – Stone Cold Heart – You’re Still Everywhere – Juanita Dog Walk – Thumbful – Sang Like A Bird – She’s My Speed – Bigger Than Actual Size
Joe Fournier is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Dirt Road Joyride is Joe Fournier’s fourth album, on which he plays almost all the instruments, except for the dobro and the fiddle respectively played by Charlie Haze and Peter Loughlin.
Fournier performs authentic American music, full of soul and sincerity, a simple man, true to his roots and his songs. Influences of John Fogerty can be heard, with a Bruce Springsteen-esque intonation here and a bit of John Mellencamp there, a touch of blues, and a good dose of Bakersfield. It seems that the term Americana has been created to fit Fournier’s records.
The songs are very well constructed, with catchy melodies from the first notes and perfectly written lyrics. No frills or words that are never used in everyday life: simple words, straight from the heart, like his music. These are also the most difficult words to master, but when you do, you approach the greats like Chuck Berry, John Fogerty, or Dave Alvin. Humor is also present in songs like Bad Record Collection, where Joe complains about his partner’s poor taste in music. With lyrics like “all these Top 10 songs are affecting my libido / turning my thing into a mosquito-sized bee / even though she’s standing there / wearing nothing but her long blonde hair,” it’s killer. I could also mention Bigger Than Actual Size, which is hilarious too: “…a little Botox here, a little silicone there / it was like The Exorcist with Linda Blair / she wanted to make it bigger than life.” And later in the song, this line perfectly sums up the Nashville music scene: “it was a Fender Champ and a beautiful Telecaster / clean as a whistle, you could feel it in your gut / the producer frowned, we need that sound / like in the ad for the trucks and the guys from the block / they took all the gear, you could barely hear / that sweet Telecaster twang is gone…”
And while he can make you laugh, he’s capable of making you cry the next minute; just listen to “Sang Like A Bird”.
In short, I could talk about it for hours, but just know that Joe Fournier is the real deal.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
