Andy J. Forest has been around for as long as I can remember, playing his idiosyncratic blend of harmonica blues and boogie-woogie. His first album came out in 1979. Twenty-two albums later, he presents his latest, I Don’t Wanna Work – Modern Vintage Blues. It’s his first since 2015 and all of the songs predate the pandemic.

Not that it matters. His tunes are timeless.

The album opens with a statement of purpose. Though the word “determination” never appears in the song with that title, the message is clear in the slight lyrical shift of the chorus: don’t ever give up, give in or surrender.
Forest spends considerable time touring Europe, where he has a sizable fan base. He has two European booking agents, and his official bio is translated into both Italian and French, so it makes sense that six of the nine songs on the album feature Italian musicians.

But his heart is clearly in New Orleans. The lone cover on the album is the classic from Muddy Waters, “Louisiana Blues.”

“Frady’s One Stop Store” makes it personal. The Bywater mainstay is celebrated with droll lyrics and inventive nursery-like rhymes. “Epsom salts and cigarettes / Soda pop and food for pets / Hefty bags and aluminum foil / Pickled pig lips and baby oil.”

I particularly love this couplet, “No wi-fi you’ll just have to speak / with strangers and neighbors six days a week.” The rest of the songs on the album are filled with similar sly wordplay, all sung in Forest’s deadpan style.
Musically, it’s obvious Forest is a veteran. Though no one is credited specifically as producer, the album’s sound is pristine, and he surrounds himself with serious local talent including drummer Tom Chute and bassist Jesse Morrow on three cuts. Organist John Gros, pianist Tom Worrell, violinist Matt Rhody and trombonist Charlie Halloran all make guest appearances.

I Don’t Wanna Work – Modern Vintage Blues adds another excellent chapter in Andy J. Forest’s ongoing body of work.