Customer Reviews

Helium

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

 

 

I can't believe that anyone would fail to give this record five stars, and I can't believe that John Forster isn't a household name. A co-worker turned me on to this album, and the next day I ordered it and "Entering Marion" from Amazon.

It's hard to describe John Forster in such a way that you can understand how good he is. Perhaps it's best to say that even now, when I've heard this album about a couple of dozen times, I'd be afraid to put it on a portable player and listen to it in public. It's so full of laugh-out-loud moments that other people would think they were in the presence of a madman.

Probably the one best word to describe this is "clever." Forster has the knack of using exactly the right word to make you laugh. Where others would take a song with a single joke and run it into the ground, Forster's inventive songs stand repeated listening. This isn't just for the archly satirical lyrics, but also for the well-written and memorable tunes.

You could describe Forster by saying he's like Tom Lehrer - but that's just the start. He runs the gamut of many musical styles, and he and his musicians are masters of them. To me, the album's standout track is "Spores," where Forster and his wife skewer the romantic duet with some of the wittiest lyrics I've heard.

But this is just one side of his talents. He'll use rock, folk, bluegrass, and classical styles to great advantage, and there really isn't a dud item in the bunch. "Helium" will have you grinning in no time, and tracks like "I'm determined to be king" and "Mismatch made in hell" will crack you up.

John Forster's music should appeal to just about anyone who's ever cracked a smile. And discovering this album solved our holiday gift-giving for many of our friends; we just ordered a whole bunch more from Amazon.

If you think this sounds too good to be true, take a listen to the track excerts above, or go to http://www.com-www.com/JohnForster/johnforster-mp3.html and legally download some Forster mp3s. You'll be back for the albums, I'll bet.

This album is even more hit-and-miss than Entering Marion. Only a few songs (most notably "The Juice a la Seuss") really hit the funny bone; the rest seem overlabored ("Type A", Spores) or just too long for the slight subject matter (Figaro Todd, Helium).

And for some reason, the lyrics to "Robert Moses" don't stick in my head at all. I had to listen to the song 5 times just to figure out what he was trying to poke fun of...

At any rate, it's very literally a "sophomore" album-- hopefully the next few albums will graduate John Forster into the realm of the great comedy songwriters. For now, this is mediocre, with a few highlights.

John Forster reminds a lot of people of Tom Lehrer, which makes sense when you consider both are from Harvard and both write wickedly funny songs. Others will be reminded of Shel Silverstein and Alan Sherman, and still others will already know about Forster because of the songs he wrote for albums by Tom Chapin (e.g., "Family Tree," "In My Home Town"), Rosenschantz (e.g., "Family Vacation"), and the Olsen Twins (e.g., "Brother For Sale," "I Am the Cute One"). His lyrics showed up in the Broadway show "Into the Light" while his songs made it as far as off-Broadway in "Upstairs at O'Neals" and "Pretzels." However, it was not until 1994 that he finally released his own album, "Entering Marion," with this second effort, "Helium," coming out in 1997.

However, be forewarned, these are most decidedly NOT "kiddy songs." The title track sounds like it might be a drug song but turns out to be merely an excuse to do a few balloons so the song can be sung in a high-pitched voice, whereas "The Tragic Kingdom" gives us an accented tour of Euro Disneyworld, whether we want it or not. Then there is "I'm Determined to Be King," which begins with a re-enactment of the infamous taped phone conversation between Prince Charles and his beloved Camilla, and then becomes a song in which the heir to the English crown laments that if he cannot be a certain feminine hygiene product he is "determined to be King." You do not want your children hearing that song. For that matter, I do not want Ashley and Mary-Kate hearing that song and I am not exactly a big fan of the uber-tykes.

At least a couple of them should tickle your finger bone, although there may well be more songs in the take it or leave it category. You certainly cannot accuse Forster of finding one little niche and sticking to it. For "The Juice A La Seuss" Forster gives a live recitation of a poem regarding the O.J. Simpson case in verse reminiscent of "The Cat in the Hat" (Thing 1 and Thing 2 are now the blood in the Bronco and the low-speed chase in the Bronco). "Figaro Todd" provides his peculiar take on the opera. In between those two is "Type A," which is Forster's an updated version of Sherman's "Harvey & Shelia." If you have never heard Sherman's song, then you will be more impressed in hearing Forster's ditty. If you have, it certainly has its moments but loses credit for being a totally original idea.

"In The Closet" has some clever things to say about the "don't ask, don't tell" policy towards gays serving in the military. Enchanted by all of the new nations in need of national anthems, Forster enthusiastically offers up "My Macedonia" to a live audience, but as if often the case with many of these songs the idea is a lot better than the execution. The same thing is true about "A Mismatch Made In Hell," a concerted effort to document in great detail the types of opposites that could attract. "Spores" is a duet about what sex would be like if we reproduced the way ferns do (do not knock it until you pay attention to the salient points), and "The Ballad of Robert Moses" celebrates the New York City highway system, which has to be a really ironic idea that most of the country is not going to be able to appreciate. With the hits and misses I was thinking 3.5, but I round up for effort because if there is one thing you can never have too much of in this world it is satirical song writers.