It's been almost 25 years since Steve Forbert burst onto the national scene. From rock cover bands and driving trucks in Meridian, Mississippi to starving New York City street busker to the next Bob Dylan, it all happened in less than 24 months. Looking back from our vantage point here in the 21st century, Forbert's meteoric rise to international stardom now seems even more unreal and unlikely, given that he was essentially a folky with country and roots rock tendencies whose arrival on the scene inauspiciously coincided with the height of the New Wave.

While the legendary CBGB's was booking the likes of Blondie, Television, The Clash, Talking Heads and The Ramones, CBGB's sound man Charlie Martin granted this bushy haired kid from the deep South an afternoon audition. Martin was impressed enough that he got club owner Hilly Krystal to listen. Krystal was impressed enough with Forbert to offer him numerous opening gigs at CBGB's in 1977-78, where alone with his acoustic guitar Forbert would play to crowds who had come to see the latest electric eclectic ripples in the New Wave.

A minor recording offer came along. Forbert took it. Within months of releasing the low-budget, critically acclaimed acoustic solo record "Alive on Arrival" he was living with the pressure of being "the next Dylan." With the subsequent release of his major label debut "Jackrabbit Slim" which included Forbert's signature monster hit, 'Romeo's Tune,' the Dylan comparisons only increased.

Now 25 years later, Forbert has released the music that didn't make it onto his first four albums, all recorded in those exciting, heady and utterly prolific days between 1978-1981. That the 20 selections on "Young Guitar Days" were considered outtakes and were not included on Forbert's records shows just how large Forbert's talent is and how critical he and his handlers were.

The first thing that is amazing about this collection is the sound quality and the quality of the players. Most outtakes that later are released have obvious flaws or miscues that marked them as substandard product, unfit for public consumption, particularly outtakes from the era we are focusing on, when most recording was done for labels. But there are no such easily identifiable mistakes on these so-called outtakes, no obvious sound quality failures, no missed licks or sour notes. Rather this is simply a case of over-production, of Forbert going into the studio with reams of quality lyric material and recording it, then going through the process of selecting the best 10 for an album (and we are still talking about the Vinyl Age here). No, these are no ordinary outtakes salvaged from the waste bin by a commercially hungry artist or an exploiting record company. These are better considered as works of art that have never been on public view.

The second amazing thing about this collection is how well it all fits together as "an album." The ordering of the songs has been given a thoughtful consideration and turned out quite well. While Forbert deals with downer themes and the hard side of living, even when he is wistful his music is light on the ear, the feeling is one of uplift, and musically Forbert's style is absolutely real and down-to-earth. There is an inherent, inarguable straightness and integrity and a complete lack of gimmickry and sham in these songs and performances.

Many of the tunes cover subjects that would be typical for any Southern youngster anchorless and out to sea in the world's biggest city, hungry for acceptance, scuffling to get by while waiting for "the big break," and indeed Forbert admits in the liner notes that some of this songs mirror his diary. But there are also songs about Elvis's death, songs about love and friendship and hard times and strained relationships. Poetry seems to have just gushed from the young Steve Forbert.

Burnin' candles, watchin' shadows
Long hours melt away in spider town
Sultry ev'nings, whisperin' windows
I sit and listen to the rain come down

Oh, Camille, read all about it in my letter
Oh, Camille ...

Howlin' wolves out chasin' deer make
Dark, ugly pictures for my soul to see
Pale pianos leave me wond'rin'
"How go these nights of yours in Italy?"

Forbert fans will enjoy the rarities and oddities this set includes. 'House of Cards,' lamenting the passing of Elvis Presley, was written in the Son of Sam summer of 1977. Forbert grew up in Meridian, Mississippi, the home of The Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers, and there is a live solo of Forbert performing Rodger's signature tune, 'In the Jailhouse Now' before a crowd in Meridian. Forbert nails the performance, right down to the yodels. Forbert also shows his musical range on the pretty-as-a-picture 'Steve Forbert's Moon River' and the moody love song, 'Oh, Camille' (written by candlelight on the night of the great New York City blackout) with its sultry, offbeat, jazzy musical nuances. There is also a masterful blues cut, 'No Use Running from the Blues,' a Dylanish roots rocker, 'Poor Boy,' and a bouncy accordion led Louisiana-influenced roots song, 'I Don't Know.' But perhaps the most musically interesting tune is Forbert's cover of the great Doc Pomus song and 70's radio hit, 'Suspicion,' with steel guitar by Weldon Myrick, one of the true giants of the instrument and one of the great Nashville session players, and with The Jordanaires, Elvis's backing vocal group.

Listening to this record and looking back with perspective, we can now see that the Dylan comparisons weren't really accurate, as Forbert's work is much more personal and accessible, and it lacks the psychedelic, revolutionary, apocalyptic and allegorical vision that Dylan projected. Steve Forbert is just Steve Forbert. And this fine record shows that that's more than good enough.

* "Young Guitar Days" is available at www.steveforbert.com and the usual commercial outlets. There is some very interesting reading on Forbert's website under the "Ancient History" link, in particular a Rolling Stone article from 1981 by the noted rock critic and frequent New York Times contributor, Robert Palmer.

Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook