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-=AMG Review=- (by Mark Deming)

Nearly thirty years after Steve Forbert established himself as a singer/songwriter to watch, his muse doesn't appear to be contacting him as often as it once did, and while there was a three-year layoff between 2007's Strange Names and New Sensations and his previous album, the results suggests Forbert was hard-put to come up with something to say during the preceding 36 months. While "The Baghdad Dream" is a potent and passionate anti-war number, beyond that Forbert sounds most engaged on "Strange Names (North New Jersey's Got 'Em)," a would-be novelty number which tries to wring laughs out of the existence of towns like Ho-ho-kus, Hackensack and Cheesequake, and there's something a bit troubling about hearing Forbert trying to compete with the likes of Christine Lavin, especially since he doesn't sound that comfortable with the notion. Aging and loss dominate much of Strange Names and New Sensations (not hard to understand since Forbert turned fifty during the gap between albums), but "Middle Age" and "Thirty More Years" don't have much new or compelling to say about every person's war against time, and "Simply Spalding Gray," while obviously well intentioned, sound more like an obituary than an attempt to explore the tragedy of Gray's suicide. And it doesn't bode well that Forbert can't wring more drama or passion from his relationship with God ("I Will Sing Your Praise") than his musings over a girl he loves in New Jersey ("My Seaside Brown-Eyed Girl") ? or that he pads out this set with an instrumental ("Around the Bend") and a new recording of his biggest hit ("Romeo's Tune"). As a performer, Forbert still has charm and warmth to share, but Strange Names and New Sensations doesn't bode well for his future of Forbert as a tunesmith. 

-=Product Description=-

Steve Forbert has carved a unique place for himself in the folk music world and this new release captures these unique qualities at their best. With new releases of old favorites like "Romeo's Tune," this troubadour's music comes to life. 

ARTiST: Steve Forbert
ALBUM: Strange Names & New Sensations
BiTRATE: 179kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: 429 Records
GENRE: Folk
SiZE: 58.96 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 43min 43sec total
RiP DATE: 2007-10-22
STORE DATE: 2007-00-00

Track List:
--------
01. Middle Age                       4:22
02. Strange Names (North New         2:39
    Jersey's Got Em')
03. Simply Spalding Gray             4:31
04. Man, I Miss That Girl            4:59
05. You're Meant for Me              3:43
06. I Will Sing Your Praise          3:22
07. Something Special                3:30
08. My Seaside Brown-Eyed Girl       3:10
09. Baghdad Dream                    4:08
10. Thirty More Years                3:40
11. Around the Bend                  1:45
12. Romeo's Tune                     3:54