Jay Ryan Beretti - Superman  (click on image to watch video)

 31 January 2020

French rock ‘n’ roller Jay Ryan Beretti shines bright as a singer, guitarist, and lyricist on his latest set of songs, Superman.

Album cuts penned by Beretti include the vulnerable, melodic “I’m Down;” potential prom night playlist entry “Without My Baby;” guitar-slinging showpiece “Hear My Call;” and “Don’t Cry Baby,” a Memphis rock throwback co-wrote by the late Big Al Dowling. Each establishes Beretti as knowledgeable about early rock music and its blues and hillbilly roots and, more impressively, capable of incorporating those influences into fresh, forward-leaning material.

There’s also a handful of covers that reveal Beretti’s talent as a song interpreter while allowing us all to remotely flip through his record collection. Examples include a piano ballad version of The Cure’s “Lovesong,” a rockabilly reimagining of French producer David Guetta’s contemporary hit “Lovers on the Sun” and “Life Fades Away,” an operatic offering by two obvious influences, Glen Danzig and Roy Orbison.

Beretti’s voice, song selections, and stage presence suit Southern soul, blues, gospel and rock in a way that further shatters misconceptions that regional sounds from America should only be performed by locals from specific socio-economic backgrounds. Or you could say that Beretti’s as Americana as they come, despite hailing from France instead of rural Mississippi or Arkansas.

Bobby Moore

fShare

Tweet