Local expatriate blues harpist, novelist and notorious Italian cult film actor, Andy J. Forest returns with his 14th release, Sunday Rhumba, a quirky but satisfying mixed collection of songs bursting forth with ecclectic local references and a distinct crescent city aesthetic. Recorded over a three day period last November, Sunday Rhumba, features less straight ahead blues in favor of a wide variety of styles mixing funk, swamp pop, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, folky ballads and even a bit of tongue-in-cheek country without losing its oddly coherent focus. Interweaved through the entire recording is a big dose of hometown humor and silliness that pervades this album without overwhelming it.
Forest has never been once to spend much time trying to disguise his influences and he proudly wears them on his sleeve on Sunday Rhumba. From the lilting Dr. John feel of the title track to the uptempto funky James Brown shuffle on “If You’re Rich” to the beautiful Dylanesque “Take a Look,” Forest manages the difficult job of taking the familiar and giving it an original creative wrinkle quite well. A big exception to that rule is the song “Waiting,” which was obviously lifted from the Marshall Tucker Band’s ’70s classic rock staple “Can’t You See,” featuring not only the exact same chord changes but vocals with an affected faux South Carolina accent.
A more notable track is “Hurricane George” a funky light hearted look at the hurricane that “never really hit town, but I swear it made the Mississippi turn round.” Mentioning riding out the storm in the confines of the Superdome with no booze and Entergy’s infamous mishaps during the clean up makes this track something of an inside joke perhaps best suited for local consumption. The final track, “Harpaway,” is a solo instrumental of blistering intensity which begins sounding a bit like R.L. Burnside at his heaviest and evolves into Hendrix’s version of “The Star Spangled Banner” before ending in a total meltdown.
A good deal of the success of this recording should go to triple threat Anders Osborne as producer, co-writer of most songs and multi-instrumental sideman. Wearing all of those hats would spread most creative artists thin, but Osborne handles all jobs well, particularly the production work which left me often thinking that Forest was blowing his harp in my living room. While much of the credit is duly given to Osborne this is still unmistakably Andy Forest’s record and a welcome one at that. In a recording career that stretches back more than two decades this is probably Forest’s best release to date and is a good way for the uninitiated to introduce themselves to Forest’s undeniable musical charms.
