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REVIEW:
Singer/songwriter, Tom Forsey, spent thirteen
years honing his musical voice. In 1990 he settled in the DC area
and released his well-received debut CD, Another Chapter Down in 2000
produced by Chris Biondo (Eva Cassidy). The Pennsylvania native’s
influences run from the acoustic harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash
to the highly personal work of artists such as John Mellencamp, Vince
Gill and Tom Waits, and though he possesses a voice eerily similar
to the latter artist, Forsey’s sound is often more reminiscent of
the southern blues/rock of the Allman Brothers or Delbert McClinton.
Forsey’s follow-up release, To the Core (2002), continues in that same vein, grabbing the listener immediately with tightly focused riffs and solid musicianship. The record is truly a DC project, from the local musicians in the band and producer, Dave Hanbury, to tracks such as “Beltway Blues”, which name checks local DJs, Don & Mike, while bemoaning the ever-present headache that plagues our region. Especially memorable are the tracks, “Spare a Little Sympathy”, and the instrumental, “Pray for the Fields”, an ode to the long lost open spaces eroded by suburbia.
Forsey’s lyrics are fairly “workman-like”, and the CD starts to drag about halfway through and suffers from too much similarity of tone and structure, but overall, this is an aurally satisfying collection of contemporary “classic” (read: mainstream) rock that should please WARW (94.7) listeners. |
