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

 27 January 2020

The title track of Jay Ryan Beretti’s album, “Superman (Flying in the Sky),” poses the question: “Have you ever dreamed of flying in the sky?” If this is something you haven’t wished for, well, you’re a liar. It’s a childhood dream that lasts well into adulthood for many. It’s certainly a vivid desire of Beretti’s. Beretti is blessed with an especially smooth and strong singing voice, which is ultimately this album’s greatest selling point.

Beretti also has extremely eclectic musical tastes. Along with his own fine songs, Beretti covers The Cure’s “Love Song” and David Guetta’s “Lovers On The Sun.” In fact, Beretti transforms Guetta’s somewhat EDM work into a believably cool twangy rocker. Beretti, most significantly, closes his album with “Life Fades Away,” a song Glen Danzig – of all people -- wrote for Roy Orbison. This selection is most significant because Beretti’s singing voice – at its best – features a beautiful resemblance to Orbison’s. 

Although you’d likely never guess this from listening to his music, Beretti is a Frenchman. When he sings the blues on “Without My Baby,” which also features some impressive electric guitar soloing, he sounds just like a native-born American bluesman. The only place where Beretti’s national origin shows through is during “Hear My Call,” where his phrasing is a little awkward. However, the very next track (“Don’t Cry Baby”) finds Beretti singing an authentically Elvis-like ballad. 

True artistry is filtering diverse influences through one’s unique perspective. With Superman, Beretti has done just that. Whether it’s EDM, Gothic or punk rock, he takes all these sources and somehow makes the music his own. With his naturally fine singing voice alone, Beretti is well worth your listening time. When you add eclectic musical taste and a gift for arranging songs to that mix, this performer has many valuable tools readily at his disposal. No, he’s not Superman, but he’s nothing less than something special.

Dan MacIntosh - Dan MacIntosh has been a professional music journalist for 30 years and his work has regularly appeared in many local and national publications, including Inland Empire Weekly, CCM, CMJ, Paste, Mean Street, Chord, HM, Christian Retailing, Amplifier, Inspirational Giftware, Stereo Subversion, Indie-Music, Soul–Audio, Roughstock.com, Country Standard Time and Spin.com. 

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