Robert
Forster – THE EVANGELIST
Initially, the idea
of The Evangelist sounded unbearable.
Would you be able to live with it, to take it all in, to get away from the
horrible thoughts of what might have been had Grant not died so tragically and
so soon, had The Go-Betweens released another album, had Oceans Apart been but a taste of things to come?
But then the tunes
poured in, first slowly (“If It Rains”), then rising in intensity (“Let Your
Light In, Babe”), then gorgeously dying down (“From Ghost Town”). Robert’s
tunes, Grant’s tunes, and you almost forgot all. Melodies of such striking
charisma and poetic genius – The
Evangelist was both a healing process and the single most powerful,
emotional musical statement of the decade.
And you know what?
Seven years have passed since its release. 16
Lovers Lane and Danger In The Past,
Tallulah and Horsebreaker Star. I love those records dearly, I probably know
them by heart, but The Evangelist
remains the one Go-Betweens-related album I come back to again and again.
Best things are
created with the thought that it’s all over and this is your last chance.
Thankfully, this was not, not for Robert Forster. But God knows it sounds that
way.
