In a small alternative universe populated by erudite pop classicists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan are revered alongside Lennon and McCartney as songwriters of the highest order. For unfathomable reasons, the songs they wrote as The Go-Betweens never entered the public consciousness in the way that their champions anticipated. Since McLennon’s tragic sudden death in 2006, Forster has been a diligent custodian of their reputation. His memoir, ‘Grant & I’, was a loving chronicle of their friendship and he has curated three boxsets of Go-Betweens music. This final collection is made up of four LPs, seven CDs, a 112-page booklet plus, for the first 421 orders, a randomly chosen book from McLennan’s literary collection together with a specially printed bookmark signed by Forster to verify its authenticity.
The collection covers the period 2000-2006 which represented their second coming. They had originally split at the end of 1989 after a series of tours, many with R.E.M.at the stage where Athens, Georgia’s finest were on the cusp of transforming from cult act into one of the world’s biggest bands, to promote ’16 Lovers Lane’, the first without the departed Robert Vickers (bass) who made up the classic line-up that also included Lindy Morrison (drums) and Amanda Brown (violin).
Perhaps burdened by the weight of expectations, the Go-Betweens’ return in 2000 with ‘The Friends of Rachel Worth’ felt slightly underwhelming in comparison with their 1980s run. However, 24 years on, it is now evident that it was full of strong songs rather than being a tentative return. Opener, ‘Magic in Here’ is classic McLennan elevated by little organ fanfares and is followed by Forster’s wonderfully understated ‘Spirit’. ‘The Clock’ has a heavier bass sound courtesy of Adele Pickavance who was to become a permanent fixture in final period Go-Betweens. That rockier sound is maintained on ‘German Farmhouse’ which Forster imbues with his archetypal sense of place. In contrast, ‘He Lives My Life’, bolstered by a rich string arrangement, has a quiet beauty and air of regret. Sam Coomes’ keyboards, notably on ‘Orpheus Beach’, offered a new melodic energy. Guest appearances from Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein (guitar) and Corin Tucker (vocals) to McLennan’s sprightly ‘Going Blind’ contributed to the sense of a band experimenting with new ideas. On the sublime ‘When She Sang About Angels’, Forster reverently drops Tom Verlaine’s name who would go on to be mentioned again on ‘When I Was A Young Man’ from his 2023 album, ‘The Candle and the Flame’. In hindsight, the influence of such angular art-rock figures on their music explains why the Go-Betweens were always likely to be a cherished cult band rather than as huge as their champions imagined. Even ‘Surfing Magazines’, which seemed sleight at the time, has had new life, becoming a staple of Forster’s live sets with him conducting audience singalongs.
Their follow-up, ‘Bright Yellow and Bright Orange’, saw them returning to their tradition of having a double ‘l’ in the title. Somewhat overlooked at the time, reflecting the title it is revealed now as a punchy collection of pop songs which the production serves to emphasise. ‘Caroline And I’ has one of their brightest guitar lines, all shimmering bittersweet pop wonder, and ‘Poison in the Walls’ maintains that momentum. Even the Velvets inspired ‘Mrs Morgan’ has a muted sparkle to it. Forster’s ‘In Her Diary’ is particularly outstanding, the guitar lines and orchestration having a great resonance, while ‘Too Much of One Thing’ has quite a rush to it. The sound has rounded out, exemplified by ‘Old Mexico’ with its spiky guitar and keyboard intro together with its chorus’s melodic shift and Pickavance’s backing vocals adding an extra layer. ‘Something For Myself’ has Forster’s most enigmatic and unlikely observation, “want to get out folk and get into rare groove.”
What unexpectedly proved to be their final album, ‘Oceans Apart’ sees the Go-Betweens going out on a high with the best of their 21st Century albums. ‘Here Comes A City’ represents its full sound and it contains an observation that encapsulates their preoccupations (“why do people who read Dostoyevsky look like Dostoyevsky.”) ‘Finding You’ is one of McLennan’s finest pieces of euphoric sadness while ‘No Reason to Cry’ is up there with his classic subdued melodicism. There are new musical developments and a greater sense of freedom: ‘Born to a Family’ has an irresistible swing to it; ‘Lavender’ is decorated with divine clarinet; ‘Darlinghurst Nights’ builds from a quality Forster narrative to great riffs and horns creating a blend of melody and discordancy while ‘The Statue’ stands distinct from anything they had previously recorded with its stately and highly danceable groove.
The four LPs are completed by ‘Nachtmix 99’, a recording of an acoustic Forster and McLennan 12-song session for Munich’s Bayern 2 radio station when they were promoting the Bellavista Terrace compilation. It displayed their peerless back catalogue and captures the easy repartee between the pair that would be familiar to anyone fortunate enough to have seen them when they did some shows as a duo at the time. The main (should have been massive) ‘hits’ from the pre-1990 era are all present and correct (‘Right Here’, ‘Spring Rain’, ‘Bye Bye Pride’). The acoustic setting really suits ‘The Devil’s Eye’ while lesser-known tunes such as ‘Haven’t I Been a Fool’ with its order to “tell the baker man that his bread tastes like wood” and ‘Baby Stones’ fully deserve its equal billing. They also throw in the new (at the time) and bleak ‘Suicide At Home’ with Forster having a rare excursion on piano, its mood fitting as it segues into the sweetly, melancholic ‘Dive For Your Memory’. A restrained, reflective version of ‘Clouds’ adds an extra layer to it, giving extra power to its line about associating achievement with pain. The rarely heard ‘Easy Come Easy Go’ fits comfortably into such esteemed company.
Amongst the seven CDs, there are myriad demo versions of songs from the final three albums but the most exciting development and biggest selling point, is a collection of 14 previously unrecorded songs, bundled together under the title ‘Love in Foreign Rooms’, that the duo recorded together in 1991. They offer a tantalising glimpse of how a 1990s full band Go-Betweens album could have sounded. There are some of the great lyrical snippets with which they are associated: “I threw away your keys / I threw away your birdcage” (McLennan’s heartbroken ‘One Million Miles From Here’) and “Everybody’s got to shed some skin / Everybody was naked to begin” (‘Falling Star’). ‘Tombstones’ (which appears on ‘Nachtmix 99’ as ‘121’) has one of Forster’s specialities, an enigmatic narrative and emotionally charged chord changes. His ‘Beyond Their Law’ is equally gorgeous with its downbeat chord sequences and rebellious spirit. ‘Locked Out of Love’ has the curious economical short-story details with which they are associated (telling of frigid Ingrid from Sweden), while ‘Backseat Drivers’ sketches family life and the circus coming to town. While it could reflect the recording session (two guitars, two voices), there is a folk feel to the likes of ‘The Dark Side of Town’, ‘The Presentation’ (in which they saddle up their horse, an old nag) and the Dylanesque ‘Perfect Beat’. ‘Baby’s On Ice’ has dramatic guitar lines that are up there with Forster’s finest. The standout gem is ‘I Want to be Quiet’ with its exquisite Spanish guitar and portrait of a world in which Garbo and Beckett are dead and a plea to avoid “this constant volume which brings me to my knees”.
Retailing at £199, the boxset is primarily a treat for the affluent, confirmed Go-Betweens obsessive. Whilst the cost might not seem much to Elon Musk or even someone who is prepared to pay dynamic ticket prices to see, for example, the vastly inferior Oasis, to a music fan on a limited budget that is a significant outlay. Most committed Go-Betweens fans are likely to already have the three 21st Century albums, albeit not in their remastered form. To latecomers, they would be advised to start their Go-Betweens collection with ‘Oceans Apart’ or the 1980s gems, ‘Liberty Belle and the Black Orient Express’ and ‘Tallulah’. That said, it has been an unfettered delight to dive into this boxset and if any band warrant delving down an obsessive wormhole, it is surely the Go-Betweens.
The Go-Betweens – G Stands for Go-Betweens: Volume 3 2000-2006 – Out 13 December 2024 (Domino)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
