STEVE FORBERT-alive on arrival..Jackrabbit Slim

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jamestkirk
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STEVE FORBERT-alive on arrival..Jackrabbit Slim

Post by jamestkirk »

Samuel Stephen "Steve" Forbert (born December 13, 1954)
is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980.

I Blinked Once
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8TjUU1 ... E79UxDu7Xc


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Forbert signed a recording contract with Nemperor in 1978, and they released his debut album, Alive on Arrival that year. Allmusic noted that it "earned critical acclaim for its taut, poetic lyrics". Even though the sleeve of his second album Jackrabbit Slim (1979) stated that "Romeo's Tune" is "dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard," the song is not really about the Supremes singer who died in 1976. The song was actually written about a girl from Forbert's home town of Meridian, Mississippi, but was dedicated to Ballard because, as Forbert explained, "that seemed like such bad news to me and such sad news. She wasn't really taken care of by the music business, which is not a new story."

Jackrabbit Slim was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by John Simon, who had worked with The Band. On any comparison to Bob Dylan, Forbert said, "You can't pay any attention to that. It was just a cliche back then, and it's nothing I take seriously. I'm off the hook — I don't have to be smarter than everybody else and know all the answers like Bob Dylan." Jackrabbit Slim peaked at No. 54 in the UK Albums Chart.

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Forbert also had a cameo appearance in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video, playing her boyfriend.

In 1984, Forbert had a disagreement with his record company (Nemperor), which apparently did not want to release a recording he made. The record was shelved, and contractual issues prevented Forbert from recording for a number of years afterwards. Although he has never again recorded a song as commercially successful as "Romeo's Tune", his first recording for Geffen Records, 1988's Streets of This Town, has been credited with "intelligence and maturity that bested most of his previous work". His The American in Me follow-up in 1992 was praised as "equally strong". Forbert has made music "steadily ever since, writing songs and singing them, on CDs and on the road". His songs have been recorded by several artists, including Rosanne Cash, Keith Urban, Marty Stuart and Webb Wilder.


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After many successful years, Forbert sought out new inspiration and found it when he relocated to Nashville in 1985. Forbert's tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, Any Old Time, was nominated for a 2004 Grammy in the best traditional folk category. In 2006, he was inducted into the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame, and in 2007, Keith Urban covered Forbert hit "Romeo's Tune." The same year, Forbert's music was featured in the film, Margot at the Wedding starring Nicole Kidman.

Forbert has written new music in support of the Occupy Wall St. movement as well as re-releasing some of his earlier recordings on CD. One of his latest artistic adventures is photography. Using an old LG phone, an exhibit of his cell phone photographs opened at the Tinney Contemporary Art Gallery in Nashville in September, 2011.

He has released a series of recordings, including his most recent release, 2012's Over With You (Blue Corn Music) which was produced by Chris Goldsmith. Musical backing on the record included Ben Sollee on cello and bass, with Ben Harper guesting on guitar on several tracks. Reviews have been strong, with American Songwriter stating "it’s all lovely, melancholy, lyrically moving and beautifully performed."

Steve Forbert released a music video, "Sandy," to raise awareness about the storm and its aftermath.

Blue Corn Music has just re-released Forbert's career-launching first two albums - the aptly titled "Alive on Arrival," and its Gold Record follow-up "Jackrabbit Slim." 2013 marks the 35th anniversary of the release of "Alive on Arrival," and Steve will play that album in its entirety at a number of shows this year. That album was also chosen to be profiled as one of the greatest debut albums ever in the forthcoming book Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself

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Discography
Studio albums

* Alive on Arrival, Nemperor/CBS Records, 1978
* Jackrabbit Slim, Nemperor, 1979
* Little Stevie Orbit, Nemperor, 1980
* Steve Forbert, Nemperor, 1982
* Streets of This Town, Geffen Records, 1988
* The American In Me, Geffen Records, 1992
* Mission of the Crossroad Palms, Giant/Warner Bros. Records, 1995
* Rocking Horse Head, Giant/Warner Bros. Records, 1996
* Evergreen Boy, Koch Records, 2000
* Any Old Time (Songs of Jimmie Rodgers), Koch Records, 2002
* Just Like There's Nothin' to It, Koch Records, 2004
* Strange Names & New Sensations, 429 Records, 2007
* The Place And The Time, 429 Records, 2009
* Over With You, Blue Corn Music, 2012

Tonight I Feel So Far Away From Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLMftxqfBF8

Running On Love on Letterman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ynzbRIebU

Going Down To Laurel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEZvLXLwOWU

Cellophane City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmY9yLUhbHs
It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV27FvZjq-o

January
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpDwuMy ... 3bNCJUakbP

You Cannot Win If You Do not Play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EN9sHam7m0

Best Of -- full CD play 1+ hours of the best of Steve Forbert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PS1DJT4l5s
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".

-Aldous Huxley
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jamestkirk
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Post by jamestkirk »

ROMEO'S TUNE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE79UxDu7Xc


Although Jackrabbit Slim was Steve Forbert's best-selling album, containing his only Top 40 hit, "Romeo's Tune," and his only other chart single, "Say Goodbye to Little Jo," it took Nemperor (formerly part of CBS, now part of Sony) 17 years to put it out on CD (on September 3, 1996). It sounds as good as it did before, thanks both to Forbert's excellent songwriting (also included: "January 23-30, 1978," one of his best diary songs) and to John Simon's production. In a newly added note, Forbert says Simon was a late addition, after his producer was stolen by Barbra Streisand. If he means Gary Klein, who handled Streisand's 1979 Wet album, one can only conclude that he traded up. Simon, whose previous credits included the Band, understood Forbert's folk/rock/pop style perfectly, making this the best marriage of artist and producer on what is also the artist's best material.

Review by William Ruhlmann



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Oh To Be Back With You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGYmZtd1akg

Good Planets Are Hard To Find
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpqijsG1JVE

It Is What it Is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2S_bTglCo

Going Down To Laurel...studio version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWqACzeG2us


=)
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".

-Aldous Huxley
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