Guy Forsyth Takes Back What's His

All of the tracks sound great and do justice to Guy Forsyth and the band members - which is a pretty tall order. There is nothing that beats seeing them live - but this is damn good. The liner notes give the backstory of the songs that you usually get in the live shows, and more. For those not familiar with the story of this album, most of these songs have been recorded before, but because of issues over the rights, are not available to Forsyth himself to sell. So he recorded them all over again.

Favorite Differences

Title track "Calico Girl" sets the tone with a lonesome-sounding harmonica intro that wasn't present in the CYLW version and maracas that lend an almost wicked foreshadowing, countering Forsyth's more intimate "whisper-in-your-ear" mood.

"Faith" - With male voices instead of female backing up on this version, "Faith" takes on harder, heavier edge. The harp has a bit more prominence in this one too (listen around 2:05 for those playing at home.) Even with harmonica getting more of the 'spotlight', the guitar work still seems heavier than the Can You Live Without version.

"Children of Jack" - Forsyth's increased range really shows in this song. "Children of Jack" and "If I was Sick" both showcase the deeper range of his voice ten years later. Will Landin's base playing brings a lot to this rendering as well. Lean your head back, close your eyes and you can see the stripes on the road at night go by in time with Rob Hooper's beats.

As I mentioned above, Forsyth's voice is fantastic on "If I was Sick" and his increased range shows. Hooper's strength on drums also shows on this one - CG's version has a tightened up, more cohesive, powerful sound.

"True Friends" finds Forsyth sounding wiser, his voice a bit stronger on this track then he did 10 years ago. Like a fine wine, he's picking up some flavors of the people around him - but he's certainly not mellowing.

The new CD also has the fan favorite, and very timely "Hometown Boy" which really complements track list.

What's Missing from the CD

This CD is missing "I Like it When She's Easy," but the strength of the other songs is more than enough to round out this collection. (The players on Can You Live Without included the late "Mambo" John Treanor and Wammo on percussion - NOTE: Wammo plays on Calico Girl as well; George Rarey on guitars; The Mighty Gil T. on bass; Stan Stone on clarinet; Michael Ramos on keyboards; Karen deWitt on background vocals.)

If you've been to some of the live shows, or listening to KUT, you may have heard a couple of songs that you haven't been able to find anywhere. That's the bad news. They're not available yet. But you can listen to/view some of them below.

On Austin's KUT you can hear:
"Smoke" and "Thank You" on a recording of the broadcast from April 26, 2008:
KUT's broadcast

You can also have a look at Will Landin's Fender awesomeness (and Rob Hooper on cajon) in the "Thank You" video on Guy Forsyth's website. The video was shot at Austin City Limits Festival 2007:
Guy Forsyth's Website.
Or, see it here.

"Plant a Little Seed," which Forsyth wrote with Mark Addison before the birth of Forsyth's daughter in April 2007 can be viewed here.

Calico Girl Track List

Where'd You Get The Music?
Tattletale
If I Was Sick
Children of Jack
My Hometown
New Monkey King
Calico Girl
Can You Live Without
Don't You Mind People Grinnin' in Your Face
Leave Me Alone
Faith
True Friends
Heart of Sawdust

Visit Guy Forsyth's pagehere.

More Sources
For more information on Can You Live Without Reviews and Guy Forsyth previous reviews in other publications.
Houston Press: http://search.houstonpress.com/1999-07-08/music/son-of-jack/full
Austin Chronicle: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A521704