Search - Joe Pagetta :: Joywood

The latest record by the Jersey City, NJ - native/ Nashville residing singer-songwriter Joe Pagetta, Joywood is an exquisite pop and folk rock collection of beauty, struggle and reconciliation. Produced by Bonnie Raitt sideman and original member of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, George Marinelli Jr., the album's rhythm section features some of Nashville's finest including bassists Dave Pomeroy and Dave Jacques and drummers Paul Griffith and Brian Barnett. "Bette Davis Eyes" icon Kim Carnes takes a guest spot ("When She Moves") as does Cole Slivka ("Haven't Seen Myself") and Kathy Crow ("Break Down," "Lift You Up," and others). While Pagetta's previous releases have been more acoustic-flavored, Joywood'?s electric guitars and fully fleshed-out band arrangements take center-stage around Pagetta's voice and masterfully crafted compositions. The majority of the album was written and demo'd in Pagetta's East Nashville home on a small handheld digital multi-track recorder before he stepped into Marinelli's Wing Ding Studios to record. It takes its title from the Joy Wood neighborhood in East Nashville, a once bustling and beautiful section of the city that has since fallen on hard times. The thought of something that housed so much beauty and is struggling to find itself again, with a need to reconcile its past with its present, is a theme that runs through the album Joywood, as its songs' narrators' look back to find the joy that once was -- without regret. See the metaphor of "Cherry Baby" and the personal "My Biggest Enemy." Highlights from the collection include the pop-rock drive of "When She Moves" and the tender piano ballad "Lift You Up." The wealth of Pagetta's influences shine throughout. The bar-rocker "I'll Be Right Back" and the anthem "Going for the World" come straight out of Jersey; the mandolin and waltz time of "Break Down" signal Nashville; the iconic "Ebeneezer Scrooge" (reworked here after initially appearing on 2001's Small Worlds) and "Talking One Thing" speak to Pagetta's Greenwich Village folk roots. Even Burt Bacharach gets a nod on the smooth "Say Goodbye." It's a record for the everyman, and elite gormandizers alike. It is the seminal work of Pagetta's career.