Guy Forsyth

Guy Forsyth - Needle Gun - 1995 - Antone's

Here it is: Guy Forsyth knows how to provide a damn good time by way of gutbucket blues playing. He plays a mean slide guitar himself, and backs that up with the odd burst of dirty blues harp playing, and he has a voice that's a step and a half from Tom Waits, so the vocals have lots of character. The 14 songs on the album are played full force, and the band is as tight as can be -- the energy level is terrific, and the album as a whole produces the sort of excitement that makes for a great party record. © Steven E. McDonald, All Music Guide

Good trad. Texas blues rock 'n' roll album. Not his best album, but vocals, sometimes humorous lyrics, and musicianship is first class. The album could possibly do with a bit more guitar, and more tracks like Leiber & Stoller's "I'm a Hog for You", but on the whole, a good roots blues rock album, which contains a cross section of blues influences from all over the USA. The final "hidden track" is unnecesary, but that's a small quibble. If you like John Fogerty, you may like this album. On the Guy Forsyth Band website, they claim that the band "is more than a blues band. They're more than just Americana. When they take the stage, the audience begins to bounce and by the end of the set, all seats are empty and the dance floor stomps with rhythm." If you want to hear Guy Forsyth at his brilliant best, buy his album, "Love Songs: For and Against". There's a good article about Guy @ http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/2008/06/0607forsyth.html

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

Don't Stand Still (Snakeboy's Lament) - Forsyth
Johnny's Place - Forsyth
Death Gonna Hunt You Down - Forsyth
Needle Gun - Guy Forsyth/The Guy Forsyth Band/Gil "T" Isais
I'm a Hog for You - Leiber & Stoller
The Sweet Alice Blues - George Benson, Guy Forsyth
Roses from the Graveyard - Forsyth
Taxi - Forsyth
This Is Hip - The Guy Forsyth Band/John Lee
Don't Turn Me In - Forsyth
Son's House - Forsyth
Temperature - The Guy Forsyth Band, Walter Jacobs
The One That Got Away - The Guy Forsyth Band/Gil "T" Isais
Hometown Boy - Guy Forsyth, The Guy Forsyth Band
Hidden Track - Unknown

MUSICIANS

Guy Forsyth (Slide Guitar),(Guitar (Acoustic),(Guitar),(Harp),(Vocals),Vocals (Background),(Resonator),(Guitar (Resonator)
Keith Bradley (Guitar),(Guitar (Rhythm),(Guitar (Baritone)
Gil "T" Isais (Bass),(Vocals)
Rich Chilleri (Drums)
Wammo (Percussion),(Bongos),(Vocals),(Vocals (Background),(Washboard)
Stuart Sullivan (Shakuhachi),(Shaker)
Stan Smith (Clarinet)
Abra Moore (Vocals (Background)



BIO

Austin, Texas-based guitarist, singer, interpreter and songwriter Guy Forsyth is like a lot of Austin musicians. He leads his own band, as well as a group called the Asylum Street Spankers; when he's not performing with either of these groups locally, you can find Forsyth sitting in with someone else just for kicks. Forsyth is a rare combination: he's a talented guitarist, singer and songwriter, but also a diligent, conscientious student of blues, blues-rock and other indigenous folk musics. The Guy Forsyth Band issued their Discovery/Warner Bros. label debut Needle Gun in 1995. On it, his quartet reinvigorates the blues-rock form, taking the music into uncharted waters. Forsyth is accompanied in his band on Needle Gun by Gil T. on bass, Keith Bradley on guitar and Rich Chilleri on drums. The music on their debut is equal parts blues, rock & roll and Americana. Forsyth sings with conviction and plays harmonica and some smoldering guitar. Live, the band is what you'd expect from any good blues-rock conglomeration: loud, raw and raucous. Can You Live Without followed in 1999 and Steak a year later. © Richard Skelly, allmusic.com