Robert Forster: The Evangelist

I can't wait to hear it.

I didn't hear anything about this! I'll get it as soon as possible.

(Three songs co-written by Grant too?)

From the bits in the podcast linked to above, it sounds pretty Go-Betweens-ish and breaking no new ground. Nor would I expect him to really, considering the death of Grant it's bound to be a bit retrospective.

That's a pretty badass photo of Forster on the cover.

http://bp1.blogger.com/_XXLFfiZCSxc/R77XXye2aAI/AAAAAAAAAQU/LWywj67GhLk/s1600-h/RobertForster_TheEvangelist.jpg

Damn

mp3 here: finestkiss.wordpress.com
sounds really nice. looking forward to this very very much.

I was wondering what he would do next, and here we are.

I like this song.

I've heard it all--the title track is aces and will make you cry.

it can be streamed here. just listening to the lushly orchestrated "demon days".

Just listening now... there are places I can hear where Grant's backing vocals would've been perfect. Sigh...

I love this record. There are moments that are just heartbreaking.

I should perhaps note that those two clauses are independent of one another.

OK, I've got this now and I think it's pretty great. "Demon Days" right up there with the best things Forster & McLennan ever did. An album pregnant with loss, but without ever becoming maudlin with it. Exactly the kind of album Forster needed to make following McLennan's death.

"It Ain't Easy" is the best kind of tribute: spry, casual, but unerringly precise. "If It Rains" is a terrific opener; instead of limning a situation, it captures a mood.

Good Syndey Morning Herald interview today

Anyone else get this yet?

I'm downloading this when my eMusic credits refresh in a few days (the full-album stream is still available on the Yep Roc website). In the meantime, I like Slant Magazine's (very favorable) review of the disc.

i'm planning on getting it soon! excited -- the clips I've heard are very promising ... anyone know if he's going to tour?

Not likely, he says.

"From Ghost Town" and "Demon Days" slay me.

Maybe it's simply that he's written his best batch of songs yet, but this is by far his greatest solo album.

(I'm not a fan of his solo years generally, Danger in the Past excepted)

man Alfred I would think you'd dig Warm Nights!

Warm Nights has got some good tunes on it, but something about the production/playing feels kind of listless to me. Which seems strange since Edwyn Collins is so involved with it -- his records usually sound great. Not sure what it is. But yeah, in general, I'd agree that Danger In The Past is the only essential Forster solo release. That Intermission best-of is worth getting.

Yeah, the production is what's wrong with a lot of those solo records. I heard the same problem on the Go-Betweens' otherwise terrific Bright Yellow Bright Orange.

I haven't heard nearly as much of this catalogue as I assume Alfred has, but I'm connecting better with this disc than almost anything else I've heard from either Forster or the Go-Betweens. Something about Forster's work, in particular, kept me at a distance/left me a bit cold. But there's a directness and guilelessness (I think that's the right word) about this disc in the lyrics. But maybe I'm hearing in it what I want to hear (in the wake of Grant McLennan's death).

And yeah, I also didn't like a lot of the production in the prior records. Too glossy and restrained, maybe?

I'm surprised no one's cited this excellent VV interview.

btw I love glossy Go-Betweens! They needed baroque arrangements to complement their reserve and a certain moroseness.

yeah, the problem with Warm Nights in particular is that it ain't glossy enough. sounds more like demos than the real thing.

I'm one who thinks that Forster's songs surpassed McLennan's on the last couple of Go-Be's records. McLennan's experienced no dropoff in quality, but he got complacent; Forster seemed to want McLennan's bluntness and mastery of melody, and got it in never-more-assured vocals and really surprising story-songs. I mean, he didn't stop growing.

Just listened to the Intermission Forster disc, and it's certainly good, but it is funny how it seems like he needed McLennan for some kind of pop sheen in the arrangements and instrumentation. And McLennan on the other hand needed Forster for a kind of ironic distance. McLennan's solo stuff is so heart on the sleeve, almost to a cringe-inducing point. It's probably been said before but those two were weirdly (and greatly) complementary songwriters. So it'll be interesting to see how Forster develops without Grant.

And yeah, i agree, Forster' songs were waaaay better on the last three go-betweens albums.

Jack Rabid talks with Robert

And yeah, i agree, Forster' songs were waaaay better on the last three go-betweens albums.

You all are mad. Ex. A: Finding You.

(A McLennan song from Oceans Apart, BTW).

It IS great, but he's written tons of songs at that level (the man was amazingly consistent), whereas Forster's "Born To A Family" and "Darlinghurst Years" are unexpected. When I interviewed him a couple of years ago I remarked that Forster was writing the autobiographical narratives which were once McLennan's specialty.

Darlinghurst Years is the kind of Forster song that I couldn't get into, for whatever reason. Born To A Family is great.

Ex. B: Boundary Rider. A companion piece with what I think is their best song -- Cattle and Cane -- and almost equal to it.

I'm going to run out of examples fast, tho. I don't have the deep knowledge of this group (or their solo efforts) that you do. I'm certainly willing to be convinced otherwise. Must pull out my copy of Oceans Apart again, and maybe finally get around to downloading those Intermission discs.

Another piece I'm surprised isn't linked yet -- Forster himself on the making of the album.

McLennan's experienced no dropoff in quality, but he got complacent

I find Forster on this album to be pretty complacent tbh, I wish it were better :-\

This is so good — not a weak track on it. My fav of the year so far.

Darlinghurst Years was great! But I felt Grant had the better songs on Oceans Apart still (Boundary Rider, Finding You).

Anyway, I finally did pick up a copy of the album but haven't listened to it yet. Might do so later this week when I find time.

I think "It Ain't Easy" is my favorite. I guess Grant wrote the melody and Robert the words?

And I swear you can hear McLennan on the chorus too.

And I swear you can hear McLennan on the chorus too.
Yup. His ghost is all over the album.
This record stands head and shoulders above anything else Forster has done solo and rivals the best of Grant's albums, I think.

Didn't he "write" 3 of the songs?

The interviews linked above will answer the question.

yuh..

I still think this is pretty dull

have you liked any of his solo albums?

It should be noted that Mark Wallis produced this one, which makes all the difference.

XP Yeah I do like his music a lot. Maybe i just think people seem to be going a bit too bananas over this album.

i'm yet to hear this but i've felt his solo albums to be a bit disappointing generally since danger in the past - compounded by my opinion that his contributions to the last 3 go betweens albums are pretty much better than everything he's done since DITP.. but i'm going into this with an open mind.

i don't particularly love any of grant's solo things, they have their high points but i've always found them largely anodyne

i really like this - it feels and sounds so much more like a go betweens album than any of the other RF solo albums. it doesn't have the dramatic edge that i love so much about DITP but i think it may be a stronger album overall

man I dunno how you guys feel about the Forster album Warm Nights but I think it's just incredible

it's been a long time since i've heard it, but i don't remember being particularly in love with it. i remember thinking it had a kind of 'jokey' feel to it..

it does, but for me, the more I've listened to it over the past couple of years, the more the jokes seem a little harder & darker

i'll dig it out again

I think "Loneliness" on Warm Nights is the best solo thing Robert's done (haven't heard the new one though) and most of the rest of the songs are fabulous. I've always wondered why it seems to be his least valued solo recording.

So good.

this video!

I assume this is a Prince parody and/or pastiche?

i'm thinking this is probably my favorite album of 2008 thus far ... even the stuff i wasn't nuts about on my first dozen listenings i've really grown to love. Anybody catch him on his all-too-brief US tour? there's a nice show up at www.nyctaper.com from last week. At the end, Forster says, in typical Forster fashion: "In my humble opinion that was the best 70 minutes of music we've ever played!"

Yeah, this is definitely top ten for me, on the strength of "Pandanus," the title track, "Demon Days," "If It Rains," and the wondrous "It Ain't Easy,". "

This holds up soooo nicely.

Was just thinking about this album the other day. Maybe I'll give it a relisten here.

Forster has an essay collection.

I agree with Forster's judgments no more than half the time and probably less--he's fonder than I would have thought of various folkies, and, in a contrarian/revisionist trend I have no use for, champions such ignored or half-forgotten MOR heroes as Glen Campbell, Neil Diamond, and Nana Mouskouri.

Glen Campbell is pretty well-liked on this board, no? Not sure about Neil Diamond or Nana Mouskouri though.

Anybody buy the collection?

Not as yet...

This record is so good.

never get tired of it.

also, i posted this in the 'Danger in the Past' thread; still marvelling:
http://medicine-opera.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/James-Joyce.jpg

^ it's james joyce

!!!
had no idea that forster cover shot was a reference

ikr!

Yeah, I love this record as much as any Go-Be's album; it's become my touchstone for how I want aging guitar-anchored male singer-songwriters to sound.

hsa this been posted? http://www.furious.com/perfect/robertforster.html

kind of cool - robert playing 2541 w/ Grant Hart in Cologne last month...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbC1oTDTsrk

This record is so good.

― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, April 26, 2011

it's been a while, wonder if he's got something new coming out soon? i haven't heard anything.

Was wondering that myself! Maybe just concentrating on the writing...

He's just started a new Facebook page with some news coming this week. Please let it be for a new album.

saw that -- yeah, must be a new album. been long enough!

There was news about a new album several weeks ago in Australian press, so that's definitely it.

http://pitchfork.com/news/60126-the-go-betweens-robert-forster-announces-new-solo-record-songs-to-play/

So excited.

nice

just heard it, it's good!

gave the evangelist a spin this morning -- started out thinking, "why don't i listen to this more?" and then remembered why, since the first few songs pretty much reduce me to tears.

and hey, here's a snippet of a new song! https://soundcloud.com/tapete-records/robert-forster-let-me-imagine-you

The title track is one of the most heartbreaking songs I know. Love that album.

Thrilled to be getting a new album from Robert. The video embedded in the P4K announcement is one of the better EPK's I've seen in awhile.

The title track is one of the most heartbreaking songs I know.

OTM. The funny thing is, the melody and his vocal are so profoundly sad, but the song is just about moving to Australia from Germany.

It's the way he sings

"But something’s not right, something’s gone wrong"

that is so heartbreaking. It gets me every single time.

his natural tact

xp think you're thinking of "demon days" which, yeah, is very heartbreaking

new track! http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2015/08/04/429022726/song-premiere-robert-forster-learn-to-burn
i like it

xp think you're thinking of "demon days" which, yeah, is very heartbreaking

― tylerw

You are completely right. I was just getting the titles mixed up in my head for some reason.

I like the new song, especially the high pitched vocals that lead into that awesome solo. Pre-ordered the limited edition vinyl this morning. Very excited for this.

gave this a go for the first time in well over a decade this morning and it's just such a ... (big sigh) pleasant album. very resonating and tyler sums it up well:

started out thinking, "why don't i listen to this more?" and then remembered why, since the first few songs pretty much reduce me to tears.

― tylerw, Thursday, July 23, 2015 7:19 AM

there's a thing where someone might make an album so bad, you stop paying attention. wondering an inverse phenomenon can be true: someone makes something so good, so late in the game that you just figure they'll never top it. kind of how it went with me and rf after this album.