Cover albums can actually be a lot harder to record and produce than originals are, primarily because of the high bar set by the composers who made the material famous in the first place. It takes nuance and finesse to put something like this together properly, and for Jeff Coffey, it apparently comes as second nature. Coffey demonstrates his ability to pick up whatever classic you request of him in the new album Origins – Singers and Songs That Made Me, and for what I look for in a crossover pop/rock cover piece, it’s as good as it gets this season.
URL: https://www.jeffcoffey.com/
I searched through all fifteen of the tracks on this LP, but I couldn’t find an oversupply of Coffey’s ego to save my own life – a far cry from what I would say about a lot of the mainstream content I’ve heard in the past two months. There’s swagger for us to behold in “Who Wants to Life Forever,” “New York Minute” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” all of which feature Michael Omartian, but it never comes in the form of an arrogant approach to the lyrics or the beats they accompany. The humbleness in every harmony only adds to the greater narrative here.
MORE ON JEFF COFFEY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Coffey
Although it was likely tempting, Jeff Coffey didn’t recycle any of the strongest cosmetics we’ve all come to recognize in the original “Ask the Lonely,” “Maggie May,” “This Is It,” “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You.” The textures, the tones, even components of the rhythm in a track like “It’s Only Love (feat. Payton Taylor);” all of it stands apart from what we might have heard on vinyl. You can’t trump a cover album that sounds this fresh, and a big part of that is because of intricate details other artists would just as soon have ignored altogether.
Jeff Coffey’s delivery on lead vocal in “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “When We Dance” actually made the lyrical emotion in both songs a little more multi-interpretive than it already was (and that’s definitely no small statement for any critic to make). You can tell he has a lot of creative depth, and while he might not have been applauded for his singing abilities with the release of his last album, I think he’s going to get a very different response to Origins.
PREVIEW/DOWLOAD LP: https://www.jeffcoffey.com/music
I’ve been listening to this artist for a minute now, and I’m really impressed with the continuous growth he’s shown in the last decade in particular. It’s not common for veteran performers to have the kind of graceful aging this player has been enjoying, and if that were debatable in the past, Origins – Singers and Songs That Made Me is going to influence the critical consensus in more ways than one. Jeff Coffey scores another big win here, and though it’s a high point beyond question, I’m really hoping it doesn’t represent his ultimate peak as a musician and creative mind. He has a lot in the tank, and you needn’t give this LP more than a single listen to agree.
Troy Johnston