- Guy Forsyth
Love Songs : For And Against
Small & Nimble Records
By Michael Hansen
 When
I was a kid I spent a lot of time with my Grandfather. I found
him irresistibly heroic I suppose. He smoked a pipe, he'd been
an aviator, he had a tractor, and he once drove racing cars.
He called women dames and he had a room full of stuff from impossibly
romantic, primitive places like Borneo. I have a photograph of
him in his air force gear, standing there in front of a 'plane
with a wooden propeller looking bulletproof.
I suppose Grandpa was a larger than life figure, and the "Boys
Own" adventures just kept getting more exciting, more dangerous,
and more racy with each telling. He had a "partly fact,
partly fiction" approach to life and a litany of what I
guess was the jive talk of the day. One of his favourite sayings
was "whoa, this would kill a brown dog at twenty paces!"
I fretted big time for the dogs, but wondered endlessly why this
lethal capability was limited to the brown ones. I never found
out. Maybe dogs of other hues got whacked at closer range because
brown dogs were especially resilient? I didn't know, but what
DOES a nine-year-old boy know?
The brown dog thing was reserved for stuff that was particularly
potent. Not potent in a kryptonite kinda way, and it was uttered
with a grin in wide-eyed admiration, like "holy shit,"
or "way cool." Open a can of paint, recoil at the fumes
and say it. Same with his morning coffee which he took black,
or a slug of Scotch, and that preserved ginger in those pretty
china jars, things that give you a jolt, a rush or a thrill.
Guy Forsyth's latest recording meets all the criteria for Grandpa's
adage. Love Songs: For And Against would indeed kill that
brown dog. "Believe you me," he'd probably add for
emphasis.
Rewind ten years or so and we meet Forsyth fronting The Guy
Forsyth Band in his heavy-duty blues dude guise; the full white
boy blues package. We had the tattoo, the confident swagger and
the howling harmonica. We heard a snarling, leering take on JL
Hooker's "This Is Hip", and a ten minute flexing of
the biceps and the groin when Forsyth did his best Buddy Guy
vocals, Muddy Waters guitar licks and (Little or Big) Walter
harp on Muddy's "19 Years Old". It was (and still is)
good stuff, he had the chops and he had that bellowing voice.
Forsyth could understandably and legitimately have relaxed and
become a journeyman blues player, entertaining yet challenging
neither himself nor anyone else, or perhaps become the apprentice
to Kim Wilson's sorcerer and prospered.
Forsyth did neither, and sometime later appeared on a compilation
CD along with Lone Star cohorts Monte Montgomery, Jud Newcomb,
and CC Adcock called Young Guitar Slingers, Texas Blues Evolution.
It's doubtful that being dubbed a guitar slinger is something
Forsyth covets now and probably didn't back then. I suspect that
something like "a maturing, nicely rounded artist,"
or, if we must, "at the vanguard of progressive roots sensibilities",
might be more to his liking these days.
On his previous studio release Can You Live Without,
Forsyth presented as a prodigious talent standing slightly to
one side of a persona that was at once beautiful, mysterious
and aloof. The gorgeous cover art, the sensei like bearing, the
sprawling Zen musings of the liner notes and the daring if occasionally
quixotic songs added up to a bold statement. It was grandiose,
some may have said pretentious, others may have said contrived.
An alternative view is to propose that Guy Forsyth did Can
You Live Without because he could, and has now done Love
Songs because he should.
In her review of Can You Live Without a colleague,
doing her best Jon Landau / Springsteen / future of rock and
roll thing, proclaimed, "Guy Forsyth is someone we'll all
know about in the future of Americana music," and she has
continued to do so ever since.
Not only is this recording a giant step towards that level
of recognition in artistic terms, it is an extremely important
step for the Forsyth profile as it is his first release to be
supported by a national distribution deal. Last year I was fortunate
enough to catch Forsyth's Texan compadres Los Lonely Boys on
a brief promotional tour that involved only two showcase gigs.
The brothers Garza and Forsyth share management and I somewhat
impudently asked why Guy Forsyth wasn't doing the same as they
are, moving 2.5 million units of his records and having his picture
taken with Paul McCartney. We are working hard, and we are very
excited about our next project I was assured. Well, so far so
good.
On Love Songs : For and Against, Forsyth is joined
by Austin cohort Mark Addison who produced as well as contributing
guitars and keyboards. Add Nina Singh on drums and percussion,
Josh Gravelin on bass and vocals, Wendy Colonna on hand drum
and vocals, and the admirably named Carolyn Wonderland providing
harmony vocals and some slide guitar, and they're rollin'.
In addition to his formidable vocal capabilities, Forsyth
brings his usual armoury of guitars; harmonica, musical saw and
hand drum to the party. It is notable that even though all of
Forsyth's collaborators here have independent recording or performing
credits this is ensemble playing of uniform excellence. But Forsyth
is clearly the driver and without exception these players fall
in behind providing the revs and the torque he needs to take
us on this stirring ride.
The almost poppy, propulsive and radio ready "Long Long
Time" opens proceedings with a megaphone style, rapid fire
boyhood version of the American Dream. It's crammed with water
guns; comic book heroes, Princess Leia and believing you could
fly. The innocent vision of wonder is soon slapped down as the
travellers on the road that goes on forever are diverted into
a cynical wasteland of opportunism, populated by "corporations
owning nations", the "self-medicated, half-sedated"
with a "spoiled, drunk 15 year old waving a gun in their
face."
Everyone wants to pull off the crime of the century
Steal 200 gazillion dollars, enough to buy my self an island
And get away with it, away with it
We Americans are freedom-loving people
And nothing says freedom like getting away with it
It's been a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long,
long, long, long, long time
Since I felt fine.
"Beautiful Mistake" has stylistic echoes of Sting
in Forsyth's yearning vocal and of U2 in the soaring refrain.
Matters of a heart with "tears and stains to make it real,"
confuse and confound.
You and I we are the same
Faded pictures in a broken frame
And I don't even know your name.
Forsyth's harmonica, Addison's guitars and lovely harmony
vocals carry the alluring melody to an engaging, uplifting conclusion.
Nina Singh's robust drumming is outstanding here and remains
potent and prominent as the record unfolds.
On the reggae flavoured "Brand New Day," Carolyn
Wonderland brings sweet and soulful vocal trappings to a spirited,
loping groove that doesn't quit. Word has it that Wonderland
is just about Austin's hottest live act just now and her performances
here do nothing to cast doubt on that claim.
With "Mamma's Favorite Son," we hear echoing drums
pushing a seductive, swaying samba as Forsyth delivers his strident
and compelling equivalent of John Walker's Blues. Thrown into
even sharper perspective by the London underground atrocities
the clashing cultural values seem irreconcilable.
Tell Fatima not to wait
I'm behind the golden gate
Lost in love and lead astray
One hundred years in Guantanamo Bay
"On My Own" is beautiful, sad and stunning in its
stark simplicity. Moody electric keys and resonator guitar underpin
a tender, lovelorn voice in a search for understanding. It's
as eloquent as it is heartbreaking.
The distinctive and seductive plunking of Forsyth's steel
resonator introduces a lilting masterwork on "Heart Shaped
Hole." Reflective in it's telling and moving in its delivery
the song examines the territory of the emotionally desolate.
The first clown who stares me down
Gets a blanket made of coal
It's like my momma told me, twice
I was born with a heart shaped hole
This is Guy Forsyth at his very best, his cohorts' gorgeous
harmonies adding a deep lustre to an intensely compelling performance.
"Rise Up," with it's funk bass line and it's slow
burn spoken word admonitions recalls the "Papa Was a Rolling
Stone" period Temptations before erupting with the fervour
of a Pentecostal tent show into a rousing call and response gospel
workout. Forsyth's call to "rise up" is met with a
fervent "wise up" with Wendy Colonna prominent in the
resonant choir. This is stirring stuff.
Lazy waltz time crooning belies the gravitas of "You
Let Him Take Advantage Of You." Co-written with Darden Smith,
the swinging piano and comping guitars conceal the profound twist
in the tale awaiting us. An alternative take of this song with
an extra line appeared on this site prior to the 2004 Presidential
Election, along with contributions from Eliza Gilkyson, Kevin
Welch, and others. www.rockzilla.net/tuneage.html
Carolyn Wonderland co-wrote "Patient's Blues" with
Forsyth and the song takes us on a harrowing trip into the murky
bleakness of the chemically dependent psyche. Desperation, anger
and anguish drive Forsyth's voice to near breaking point as he
asks "how much longer 'till it carries me away?"
Doc, will this cloud my eyes, stifle my cries
I hope you realize, it all comes down to this
If I don't get my turn, it's gonna make me burn
And I'm not gonna walk away without my goodnight kiss
Remember this
Things heat up both musically and lyrically on "105"
(that's degrees F). It's a gritty romping stomping swamp blues
bursting with hooting, honking harmonica, snarling, snakey guitars
and an amped-up, righteous rhythm section thump. In the narrative,
taking the role of Bob Dylan's ubiquitous "Man In The Long
Black Coat," we have the omnipresent "man in a coat
and tie".
Not only is this shady figure seemingly impervious to the
heat, he's lawyered up. His uniform gives him the same anonymity
and freedom from accountability that the long coat gives to Dylan's
functionary. Try finding this man's number in the phone book.
No chance. Its 9AM, 105 degrees and our guy is "looking
for a place to hide." As any blues-man worth his grits would,
he goes "down to the edge of town, down by the riverside."
Upon his arrival:
There was a man in a coat and tie
Even though it was a hundred and five
He had a brand new ten-foot barbed wire fence
His attorney by his side.
And he said
This river is spoken for, this river is spoken for
This river don't belong to you no more.
Twelve hours later, his confidence buoyed after appropriating
the river and more of the town without too much trouble, coat
and tie man moves on from the temporal to the celestial.
At 9PM it was a hundred and ten
I didn't want to see that man again
So I curled up and died
And when I got to St Peter's gates
Guess who was by his side?
"So Hard" is one of those power pop/rock songs where
the kick drum smacks you between the eyes before brawny guitars
propel you headlong into four and a bit minutes of joy. This
is like Fastball bulked up for a new season, but even when rocking
out Forsyth keeps his eye on the topical ball.
"You said faith would lead to talk
I pictured us on a moonlight walk
But you just sit there and squawk about global warming"
"When It All Comes Down" is Forsyth's pre apocalypse
foretelling. Over flamenco guitar figures his compelling vocal
is replete with regret and foreboding. He sees "a different
time a coming" and "a bad taste in the wind",
and seeks solace in love and fidelity.
I hope I am with you when it all comes down
On the day the phones go dead
And the hungry come around
When the big boys lose their manners
And the children torch the town.
These are "hard times to be alone," and there is
gentle anguish in the voice as a solemn promise is offered.
"There's just what you brought with you
And can wrap your arms around
If the rapture doesn't take you
I will not forsake you "
This beautifully evocative song ends with the same tailing
off guitar note as Eric Clapton's "Layla" and it carries
the same emotional weight, the same belief in love.
Finally, we are implored to "Shake It In A Circular Motion."
It takes less than two minutes, so please do so forthwith.
Replete with commanding writing and at once astute and uplifting,
Love Songs : For And Against is it's own special way as
powerful a polemic as Steve Earle's The Revolution Starts
Now. Clearly not as beautifully brutal as Earle's propagandist
poet, the Forsyth muse nonetheless aims its barbs with passion
and a conviction that would surely draw a knowing nod of assent
from music's boldest proclaimer. Like Earle, Guy Forsyth has
a fearless heart. May both beat in perpetuity. And like Earle,
Guy Forsyth rocks.
Love Songs : For And Against is scheduled for release
on August 23rd , 2005.
CD Release Party is at Antone's, Austin TX, Friday, August
19th.
No dogs of any color were harmed in the writing of this review.
www.guyforsyth.com
Contact Michael Hansen at hansen-at-rockzilla.net
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