Review Summary: Songs From An Open Heart
To put it in simple terms: Justin Furstenfeld has been through a lot of shit. A constant battle with suicide, depression, and a bipolar disorder we’re only the beginning of a life full of troubles. For the years that followed Justin’s career with
Blue October he would get caught up with his wife cheating on him, a series of anxiety attacks, getting dropped from his record label, losing the custody of his daughter Blue, and getting starting battle with drug and alcohol abuse. Though despite all that happened, Justin Furstenfeld never completely caved in under all the pressure. Eventually Justin Furstenfeld found light with his new wife and acquired the help he so desperately sought after for the last 17 years of his life. What makes Justin Furstenfeld such an incredible individual is that despite all that has happened, he has only taken the scars of his troubled past as a platform for his musical career and has worn it proudly on his sleeves.
“I’ve spent 17 years of my career bitching and whining about how hard life is. There were some appropriate things in there, sure. But I spent so much time screaming, ‘listen to me!’ ...but now I just listen’... I owe it to myself. I owe it to the band. I owe it to my managers. I owe it to my daughters. I owe it to my wife, who saved my life. I owe it to my parents, I owe that to everybody in my life. Because I sure did bring everyone down.”
Songs From An Open Book is the end product of every struggle Justin Furstenfeld has been through. Every rise and fall, every good and bad, and every journey his life has taken him through. There’s no fluff with this collection of tracks from the book of Justin Furstenfeld, only his life stories and a guitar for some animation. When you’re listening to
Songs From An Open Book you’re looking inside the mind of Justin Furstenfeld as he interacts with the crowd and journeys through all the rise and falls of his life from the very beginning of his career. Through the first song of
Blue October’s career, his tell all addiction of drugs
The Answer to his latest track
Not Broken Anymore we get to experience the process of pain and healing that Justin Furstenfeld went through from soft, acoustic renditions featuring his powerful, delicately woven vocal performance side by side. Hearing Justin’s progress from hitting the deep end to getting back on his feet is what makes the
Songs From An Open Book experience the most memorable of any. When you listen to
Songs From An Open Book you’re experiencing Justin’s life story and to an extent, a piece of your own. With a breathtaking performance being backed up with interesting stories and songs that are relatable and have been familiarized by the fans of Justin’s work,
Songs From An Open Book is a masterpiece of a product 18 years in the making.
