More than anything else, Charlie Farren is a romantic. Yes, he is a hard rocker, who leaped out of Boston’s late-70s/early-80s club scene onto a national stage when he became the lead singer for The Joe Perry Project, Aerosmith’s co-founder’s side gig. He went on to form Farrenheit, a mid-80s MTV favorite, playing arenas throughout the country. But he’s a romantic rocker, putting his rockin’ life on the back burner for 22 years while he worked local IT jobs to support his wife and family. Nowadays he is a solo act, jamming occasionally with Joe Perry and frequently “special guesting” for REO Speedwagon, Three Dog Night, and, most recently, Jay Leno.
Now, I love all Charlie’s music — a bluesy, jazzy, rock’n’roll mix. Most of all I love his ballads. My current favorite, “In My Movie,” comes from the 2011 CD “FBI,” by Farren Butcher Inc., his collaboration with Jon Butcher, another product of Boston’s late ’70s music scene. I’ve had the CD and song on constant loop for the past week. Can’t get enough! Thought you all might like it, too.
Note: I borrowed this pic from one of Charlie Farren’s recent posts re his current America’s Special Guest tour. Don’t know who the photog was, but most of Charlie’s tour pics are credited to Jonathan Keating. Hope neither he nor Charlie mind my using it.
Helen’s Song Lyric Sunday theme this week — lost— gives me the opportunity to introduce you to one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Charlie Farren.
Counting bands such as Aerosmith and Boston among his contemporaries, Charlie is one of the talented musicians whose skills matured in the incubator of Boston’s fabled 70s music scene. He’s a local boy from Malden, MA, who had had a couple of regionally successful bands of his own when Aerosmith’s Joe Perry recruited him in 1980 to be lead singer in his side gig, The Joe Perry Project. Together they wrote four songs for the Project’s second album, “I’ve Got the Rock ‘N’ Rolls Again,” which also included two pre-Project Farren songs. In 1986 Charlie teamed up with drummer John Muzzy, and Project bassist David Hull (who changed his name to Heit) to form FARRENHEIT, releasing their eponymous album in 1987. Written by Farren and Heit, “Lost in Loveland” is one of the album’s three singles that, together with MTV exposure, signaled the debut of an exciting new rock act.
Two years later, after nearly 20 years as a full-time musician, Charlie impressively took a detour. With the birth of his first daughter, he chose to put music on the back burner while raising his family. For the next 20-some-odd years, his career path was in information technology. He continued to write, record, and publish CDs in his home studio, playing occasional gigs in the Boston/New England area. He returned to music full-time upon retiring from HP several years ago. Charlie’s music these days tends more toward jazzy bluesy solos than arena rock, so I’ve also included a snippet from 2014 more reflective of Charlie’s current style.
(I was unable to find lyrics on the internet, so I’ve transcribed them as best as I could from the video published on Charlie Farren’s channel. It’s not quite the same as in the 1987 recording, but if Charlie published it, I guess he approves.)
Lost in Loveland
I’ve been runnin’
Round in circles
Just waitin’ at the station
Oh yeah
All around me
Lovers laughin
I think they reached their destination
C’mon now
I don’t want to go there
If you’re not there with me (I don’t want to go there, no)
I don’t want to be there
If you’re not waitin for me (I don’t want to be there, baby)
I don’t want to stay there
If you’re not there, baby
Baby I’m stranded
Empty-handed
Just get our love in motion, honey
Oh no
Not til I find you
Til I’ve got you by the hand
And you come with me to loveland
I don’t want to go there
If you’re not there with me (I don’t want to go there, no)
I don’t want to be there
If you’re not waitin for me
I don’t want to stay there
If you’re not there, baby,
Well baby
I wonder, I wonder
(Lost in loveland)
Oh baby I’m lost in loveland
Lost in loveland
I’m lookin
Oh baby I’m lost in loveland
I been lookin for your love, baby
I lookin for you
I can’t seem to find you, no
Where are you, baby
Until I find you
Until we’re together
I’ll keep on lookin
Til I find you
I don’t want to go there
If you’re not there with me (I don’t want to go there, no)
I don’t want to be there
If you’re not waitin for me
I don’t want to stay there
If you’re not there, baby
I’m lost in loveland, honey
I’m lookin
Oh baby, I’m lost in loveland
I been lookin for you
Lost in loveland
J.E.M. Wildfire 