Customer Reviews

Friends of Rachel Worth

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, comeback albums are a dodgy prospect at the best of times. No, neither Robert Forster nor Grant McLennan had set the world alight with their most recent solo albums. Yet, from the opening acoustic notes of Magic in Here (which instantly recalls the intimate yet strangely elusive atmosphere of their 1982 classic Before Hollywood), it's apparent that a valuable partnership has been rekindled.

In some ways, not too much has changed. Apart from the fact that this album doesn't feature the ubiquitous double-L in the title, there are 10 songs, as always split evenly between the two songwriters. Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss does a great approximation of Lindy Morrison's unique style before those 80s production teams straightened her out, reinforcing the parallels between this and the Go-Betweens early work, particularly on the edgier Forster songs like Spirit and the obviously autobiographical German Farmhouse.

In other ways, of course, this is a completely different group and, at times, there is a nagging feeling that this is in fact not quite the Go-Betweens but two solo albums grafted together. If anything is really missing, it's the beautiful melodies and additional instrumentation that Amanda Brown gave the band's last two albums, Tallulah and 16 Lover's Lane.

In this sense, this album is not a continuation from where the Go-Betweens left off, but it's very definitely a worthwhile new beginning. Most of the album is very strong, and some of the songs rank with the pair's best work. Forster's He Lives My Life is the centrepiece, a wryly beautiful study of what might have been. And Surfing Magazines is one of his funniest ever songs, his charmingly flat singing not hiding a neat and very quirky hook.

McLennan, so long considered the more commercial songwriter of the band, is also in form. One doubts songs like The Clock, Heart and Home and the gorgeous Orpheus Beach will send this album racing up the charts anywhere, but then, this is not a just world.

And who cares anyway? The Friends of Rachel Worth is an album for the true believers, for those whose memories of a great and defiantly different group remain undimmed. For those new to the legend, who are approaching the Go-Betweens on the strength of their exalted reputation, you are in for a truly special treat - get this, then gorge yourself on the back-catalogue. Because pop music doesn't get much more sensitive or keenly felt as this.

The problem with some of the other reviews of this album (particularly Thoutah) is that they don't acknowledge that artists who write particularly personal songs are constantly changing their personal situations and perspectives on the world, which ultimately will change the type of songs they write and albums they produce.

With regard to the Friends of Rachel Worth, I would advise anyone not to obssesively compare this album to what the Go-Betweens released in the 80s. Yes, "Streets of Your Town" deserved the NMEs rating of the best single released in the 1980s, but that honor doesn't obligate the Go-Betweens to continue to write this song over and over again. Instead, view this album as Robert Forster and Grant McLennan bringing their individual life experiences in the 90s back into the collective enterprise that is the Go-Betweens. As the circumstances of Robert's life change (wife, children etc..) he like any person is apt to reflect upon his life, what it means that a generation after him now exists, and to contrast his current life to his past. For instance, "Surfing Magazines" is a brilliant take on Robert's view of himself as an outsider to the prevailing "surfie" culture that existed in the 70s when he was growing up in Brisbane. The song both simultaneously mocks this lifestyle and the fact that he once yearned for it. If that doesn't show progress in his writing, I'm not sure what does.

Similarly, Grant is showcasing his songs in a low-fi setting-somehat similar to the production values of Robert's solo efforts. So, even though his songs might not necessarily sound as "shimmery" and upbeat as his usual output, I think they are indicative of a maturing talent who is adjusting his expecations of the world and is thankful for what it provides him.

This whole notion of preserving a fixed viewpoint of a group and the individuals that make up the group is something that is common amongst people who never got to see a group perform in their original incarnation, and therefore can't relate to them as an organic group who will change as time and circumstances dictate, but instead regard them as a painting or some other artifact that can be displayed as demonstration of their own good taste.

Ignore the reviews, buy the album and enjoy the fact these two masters are working together again!

I was a little worried about the prospect of a reunion album from Grant and Robert. I had the good luck to see the two of them live a while back and it was very much a nostalgia trip with the audience moist-eyed and adoring - but the music a little thin without the rest of the band. The CD however, is great and grows on you really quickly. 'Magic in here' is typically sweet and Grant-like. 'Heart and Home' is similarly catchy and sweet. 'Orpheus beach' is also a classic Grant song, dark to start with but opening up to a great chorus. The Robert songs are also good, particularly 'He lives my life', which is not quite 'Clouds' but almost 'Twin Layers of Lightning'. Overall there's not a bad track on the CD. The single 'Going blind' is getting a lot of airplay on 'alternative' stations in Australia meaning we have the inestimable pleasure of driving along on sunny spring days at the moment listening to the Go-Betweens on the radio - something that hasn't happened since 'Streets of your Town'. Since it's unlikely you'll hear them on your radio station (in the rest of the world), you'd better buy the CD.

Imagine the band Luna joining forces with early 80's R.E.M... The Friends of Rachel Worth is something that might result from a such a union. Song for song, this record is certainly one of the greatest rock/pop albums of the year 2000. I was never a fan of the band in their hey-day - mostly because I had never heard them! While driving around LA last month I heard the opening track on the radio (KCRW) and drove straight to the record store. This is the kind of music that a lucky few experienced on indy free form radio during the 1980's. R.E.M. stole the limelight but many worthy bands churned out lots of great music as well. This reunion album features the mighty Sleater-Kinney and the other half of the excellent Quasi as a backing band. Every track shines. I can't recommend this album enough. Run , don't walk.

Being almost of an age with Robert Forster and the now late, great Grant McLennan, I find the transformation of the Go-Betweens from the wry, literate indie 80's band nobody ever heard of to a mellower version of themselves (best described as a sensitive, articulate adult-contemporary duo-combo nobody seems to have heard of yet) to be entirely logical. RF could not possibly have maintained the high energy level in 'Rare Breed' and 'To Reach Me' - nor would he have wanted to, because by 2000 less is more in 'Spirit' and 'He Lives My Life', sung by a wiser man. The angular side of him becomes more subtle and mischievous in 'German Farmhouse' and the delightful 'Surfing Magazines'. Methinks his old friend GM has rubbed off on him... And as for McLennan, he is more tuneful than ever, his songs now refreshingly outside of time. His voice, no longer so reedy, could still belt out 'Bachelor Kisses' and 'The Wrong Road' if he wished, (as in fact he chose to), but bear in mind what a pleasure it is to hear each and every contribution he makes to this album. 'Orpheus Beach' takes one's breath away, and 'Going Blind' is pure fun that takes me back to my childhood days while still sounding entirely fresh. (After all, we are almost of an age, the Go-Betweens and I.....)

A lovable keeper, an innocent pleasure from start to finish.

This is a very even-handed album, and, to tell the truth, I like it about as much as "Tallulah." The Go-Betweens aren't the world's greatest singers, so a lot of their appeal, in my opinion, depends on sincerity, literacy, something in there. I mean, my favorite song on "Tallulah," "Spirit of a Vampyre," isn't exactly a model of on-pitch vocalizing, but the guitar, the pacing, and the air of crafty self-revelation combine to make it a great song. The songs here are quite simple, and the words are too. But, again, the melodies aren't all that compelling. Just a nice, laid-back album, and sort of inevitable-sounding in the way that "folk" music often is. That being said, I will risk offending the 20,000 Go-Betweens fans out there and say that, as much as I enjoy them, they're kind of overrated in the way that most cult bands are. Certainly excellent in their way, but nothing earth-shattering. Still, this is a fine piece of work, and I listen to it all the time, so perhaps I myself am overrated.

These are truly beautiful songs. The nearest I can compare this album to is a Turner painting, full of life and colour. The songs, like Turner's paintings leap out at you reflecting what is real and true. Some themes return that we have seen throughout McLennan and Forster's earlier work with the Go-Betweens and in their solo careers. Time is one of these: "... and then the clock turns.... and it's now...... and it's you" (The Clock), reminds us of "...from time to time, the waste.... Memory wastes" (Cattle and Cane) and the image in the background of the video to that classic, with the hands of the surrealistic clock on the barn wall. The sound recording is superb enhanced by the guest musicians and vocalists who blend seamlessly into the whole. It features Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney on drums, Adele Pickvance, on bass, Sam Coombes from Quasi and Elliott Smith on keyboards. Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker from Sleater-Kinney play guitar and sing on one track. Two songs on the album deserve to be Top 40 hits : "Surfing Magazines" (Forster) and "Going Blind" (McLennan), to make up for the earlier era ones that weren't (Bachelor Kisses, Spring Rain, Right Here). My favourite tracks Magic in Here, The Clock and He Lives My Life are masterpieces that equal anything from the earlier albums : Send me a Lullaby, Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair, Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, Tallulah, 16 Lover's Lane. To make up for the e-commerce record sites that in the new millennium can't seem to source a track listing of songs here it is: Magic In Here/Spirit/The Clock/German Farmhouse/He Lives my Life/Heat and Home/Surfing Magazines/Orpheus Beach/Going Blind/When She Sang about Angels.

It may be unfair to compare "FORW" to the Go-Betweens' rich, past body of work. Over 10 years elapsed since they recorded their last album, "16 Lovers Lane," and creative nucleus Robert Forster and Grant McLennan both spent the ensuing decade pursuing fairly productive yet stylistically divergent solo careers. A lot has changed since then, and we can't necessarily expect them to pick up where "16LL" left off. However, it's hard to shake the feeling that "FORW" sounds like a tentative and cautious return, rather than the triumphant, melodic pop masterpiece some might've expected. Instead, the beautiful and inventive melodic tendencies of the past are muted here, while the simplistic arrangements and bone-dry production further inhibit the duo's knack for melody.

For the most part, McLennan's songs here tend to be stronger, with the lovely "Magic in Here" and the catchy "Going Blind" being the closest "FORW" comes to echoing past glories. Some Forster numbers like the uncharacteristically hard-rocking "German Farmhouse" and the summery, melodic "Surfing Magazines" are loaded with his trademark lyrical blend of irony and wit, yet musically are only marginally interesting. Forster's strength here lies in his ever increasing lyrical sophistication, while McLennan's is crafting hummable pop melodies.

A big drawback is "FORW's" flat, colorless production. Whereas previous Go-Betweens albums often utilized reverb and rich arrangements that leant the songs a subtly spacey texture and sophistication, "FORW" has a dry, no frills, low-fi, contemporary "indie" sound, sounding like any run-of-the-mill Belle and Sebastian wannabes.

The Sleater Kinney involvement doesn't always help either. While highly talented S-K drummer Janet Weis supplies the songs with tension and muscle, distorted guitars (presumably added or influenced by S-K) and aimless riffing on songs like "German Farmhouse" and "The Clock" add a toughness that buries one of the Go-Betweens greatest qualities: understated subtlety. Yet, ironically, Carrie Brownstein is credited with "Going Blind's" *extremely* McLennan-esque lead melodic guitar.

As a longtime Go-Betweens obsessive, I'm overjoyed that they're back in action, yet I can't help but feel that "FORW" is kind of a buzz-kill. It doesn't sit comfortably with the previous six albums, and it makes more sense to view it as a continuation of their respective solo work. Some of "FORW" retains the low-key appeal of their solo albums, but none of it recalls the mind-blowing glory of "Liberty Belle."

It's just not been the same since Forster and Mclennan split up. My last sighting in 1990 was the greatest singer songwriter combo since Lennon & McCartney standing on the front edge of a stage in London banging out "Apology Accepted?" as if their lives depended on it. Of course their solo careers turned up some classic songs , as anyone who's seen Forster spellbind an audience with "Danger in the Past" will testify. This album brings together two very well differentiated solo careers. There had always been differences in approach and style - Forster as flamboyant as a cross between Oscar Wilde and Iggy Pop - and McLennan as flamboyant as a plumber's mate , albeit a plumber's mate with a wicked ear for a catchy tune. Somehow they moderated and fed off each other creating a magic that some feel had no equal since the aformentioned Scousers. The F.O.R.W. is like another first album in many ways , the guys finding their way as a duo again , and I think a lot of the songs were already written before they reunited. The talent is obviously undimmed , McLennan's "Magic in Here" is as good as "Batchelor Kisses" and "German Farmhouse" as devil-may-care as "Draining the Pool" , but I think if they make it to that difficult "2nd Album" then things may get very interesting indeed. Here's hoping.

This album is like a shimmering, laid-back roadtrip, from the wonder of "Magic in Here", the melancholy storytelling of "He lives my Life", and ending with the heady ambiguity of "When She Sang About Angels". They just got better with age, jettisoning everything that was unnecessary - and (perhaps controversially, from reading the other reviews) this is my favourite Go-Betweens release.

To quote "I've got tickets, to the best show in town if you want to come on down and listen".