Robert Forster
DANGER IN THE PAST/CALLING FROM A COUNTRY PHONE
NEEDLE MYTHOLOGY
An essential part of The Go-Betweens’ appeal was that they were blessed with two uniquely talented yet complementary songwriters. The late Grant McLennan possessed an effortless facility for uplifting melody and romantic, lovelorn themes, while Robert Forster operated in broodier territory - sculpting songs slowly with dark wit and intelligence. After six albums of memorable, idiosyncratic grown-up pop, the pair disbanded, and solo careers were embarked on. Forster’s first two outings, Danger In The Past (1990) and Calling From A Country Phone (1993), have been long out of press until this welcome campaign from the almost nascent reissue label Needle Mythology. On his stunning opener, imbued with a new sense of freedom and channelling Guy Clark and John Phillips, Forster attempted to record one of those “classic debut albums by singer-songwriters who had ‘lived’.” And he succeeded. Produced at Berlin’s Hansa Studios by Nick Cave’s trusted lieutenant Mick Harvey and with a bunch of Bad Seeds thrown in, Danger In The Past is a wonderful collection of superior songwriting. Standout tracks such as Baby Stones, Is This What You Call Change? and I’ve Been Looking For Someone are up there with the very best of his canon. Calling From A Country Phone saw Forster return to Brisbane, working in the studio where some of the earliest Go-Betweens recordings took place, and the location switch produced a different record from the first. The introspective coherence of Danger… has evaporated to be replaced by a looser, unrestrained set of songs of no less value. As Forster puts it: “I hear my first two records as a pair. An odd pair but they talk.”