Review by LarryG
3 stars out of 4
The reunion of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, the
singer/songwriters from the Australian band the Go-Betweens, was among
the best music news of 2000. The Go-Betweens were one of the best,
most literate pop bands of the 80's, making elegant music, from short
story quality lyrics, with a good sense of drama and fun. With no
other former Go-Betweens present and each artist only adding a little
guitar and voice to the other's songs, The Friends Of Rachel Worth is
more like two intertwined solo eps but Forster and McLennan both bring
strong songs.
The lead Go-Betweens have usually presented distinctive
personalities. Forster was the more dramatic character on songs like
Spring Hill Fair's Part Company and Draining The Pool and Tallulah's
You Tell Me and McLennan the straight forward regular guy on 16 Lovers
Lane's Love Goes On and Tallulah's luminous Bye Bye Pride. On Rachel
Worth, McLennan seems especially earnest and sincere compared to the
very relaxed Forster but his decency usually comes out. Magic is a
sweet, if somewhat bland, love song. Orpheus Beach is heavy handedly
portentous. McLennan does better on his faster songs. Clock starts as
an edgy, mystical rocker but soon McLennan's likable voice and
strumming create a more hopeful mood. Heart and Home is open hearted
like McLennan's solo songs Easy Come, Easy Go and Open Your Eyes. It
has fresh ways of expressing longing like "stop breathing the fumes of
those other grooms and we really will be blessed" and an uplifting
mood from McLennan optimistic, honest vocals and nice, overlapping
acoustic and electric lines. McLennan's most fun contribution is
Going Blind, his frustrated but amiable suggestion to the object of
his affection to "try letting go". It has an easy pop mood with
McLennan's unassuming vocals and steady guitar, nice backing vocals
and a bit of weird synth at the end. Carrie Brownstein's guitar line
is a little squiggle typical of her Sleater-Kinney work, but it gives
the song a good hook and momentum.
Forster has a large share of Rachel Worth's attention grabbers.
He's evolved as a writer. On 1988's 16 Lovers Lane, the Go-Betweens
pre-breakup CD, Forster refined his writing to a brilliant essence on
Clouds and I'm Alright. He has also became even more of a character in
his solo work. Confident and having a good time, Forster effectively
combines flamboyance and gracefully minimal writing on Rachel Worth.
He starts fairly quietly with Spirit, a nice, simple acoustic number
that's mostly Forster's voice and acoustic guitar. He drops in a bunch
of good, wry lines like, I'm not the trouble "that I used to be when I
was somebody's double" and "do you have any whiskey? I don't like to
drink but I like to know it's along there with me." Forster moves into
high gear with German Farmhouse. German Farmhouse has a fun contrast
between a great stomping guitar riff and steady drumming from
Sleater-Kinney's Janet Weiss and Forster's self contained, flamboyant
half spoken vocal. Forster sings that he spent a couple years of happy
seclusion, "just drinking beer" and "every day I woke up with a smile
from ear to ear." He adds an aside about Pavarotti doing a benefit
concert and gets into the giddy mood enough to let out a rock n roll
"whoo". Forster gives He Lives My Life an appropriately overdramatic
reading then mischievously sings, over a vaguely Hawaiian guitar,
about a previously unrevealed passion on Surfing Magazines. Rachel
Worth finishes with perhaps its finest moment, When She Sang About
Angels. a subdued song with acoustic guitar and a hint of strings.
Referring to Patti Smith, Forster sings about tolerating an idol's
excesses and missteps, in her case a tendency to accompany her work
with obvious imagery. Even if he'd prefer Smith singing about Tom
Verlaine instead of Kurt Cobain, there's no doubt he's a fan.
The Friends Of Rachel Worth is a good showcase for two
singer/songwriters from similar places, geographically and musically,
with interestingly differing personas. While the CD doesn't have that
much of a band feeling, Forster and McLennan were apparently spurred
by a friendly rivalry to contribute some of their best songs in a
decade. The quality of the songs is high and the mood is comfortable.
In the past, some Go Betweens songs like Right Here, where McLennan's
love for Amanda Brown might have led to a mix featuring her violin a
little more than necessary, were a little overdone. The Friends of
Rachel Worth has modest arrangements. Weiss and bass player Adele
Pickvance are generally inobtrusive as McLennan and Forster, older and
calmer, unflashily make their points with guitars and voices. The five
songs that each offer whet your appetite for more of their quality
music in the near future. If you need a quick fix, I recommend any of
the Go-Betweens records, especially Tallulah or 16 Lovers Lane or the
Go-Betweens' very good Bellavista Terrace compilation, and McLennan's
good 19 song 1993 solo CD, Horsebreaker Star.
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