Forrest McDonald – Songs from My Soul
World Talent Records
15 tracks/58 minutes
Forrest McDonald is a blues and roots singer and guitarist who switched careers from being a band leader to a solo acoustic artist. He covers topics ranging from love, faith, tragedy, hope and what life has dealt him. One cover and fourteen originals are featured here.
Now six decades into his musical career, McDonald originally hails from Texas and now resides in Virginia. After moving, he began performing at fifteen in Rhode Island and then was a Boston musical fixture. Then he spent time in LA playing in many bands and with famed artists. His time in Muscle Shoals helped him further hone his craft and his 2006 song “Going Back To Memphis” was selected as Blues Song of the Year!
Forrest starts with “On Your Life’s Road,” an homage to standing up for what’s right on your life’s journey. It’s a somber but cool tome with some nice guitar work and McDonald’s gritty vocals. “Blue Mood” is a slow cut with McDonald being blue but sharing his blues with some upbeat licks from this T-Bone Walker song. Then it’s “I Can’t Stop The Love,” with more slick finger-picking as McDonald testifies about how his woman makes him feel good. It’s rootsy and fun stuff.
“Take My Hand” follows, another upbeat cut about being there for his baby. It’s sweet and he bares his soul. “Spirit In The Night” is next; McDonald is giving thanks to his ‘silent partner” that helps him get through life. He does some more nice picking on his guitar on this one. “I Need You” is a moving plea for his woman’s love and companionship and includes a few double entendres to express his feelings and urges. Again, his guitar shines.
“A Girl Like You” is another expression of love and affection. “The Next Time” has Forrest reflecting on a relationship gone wrong and he tells his woman he won’t be back after the next time. Up next is “That’s How I Want Your Love.” Here we have another piece about his expectations for his next potential relationship, a sort of musical pre-nuptial agreement. He picks out some great stuff on guitar once more.
In “Make Love Not War” McDonald notes how things are going wrong; greed drives us to do the wrong things and McDonald suggests love would solve life’s problems and end the fighting. “Blue Morning Sun” expresses his sadness in losing a brother in a very moving cut. “I Had A Dream” tells of his disdain about what we’ve done to our planet. The finger picking is excellent, and his dream to bring back what we’ve destroyed expresses hope.
A full band and horn section accompany Mc Donald in “Misery And Blues.” He plays electric slide guitar and we get horns, piano, harp and a rhythm section on this fleshed out cool cut. He really sings the blues and the accompaniment embellish the feeling! “Wish I May” has organ, drums and bass along with McDonald on acoustic guitar and vocals. This one’s also quite well done. He concludes with “Trouble In Mind,” a short front porch blues with McDonald giving a slightly somber but hopeful conclusion to his well-crafted album.
This storied artist delivers us fifteen cool cuts, relating one story after another. It’s a fun and interesting acoustic album with songs expressing McDonald’s emotions on life as he’s lived it Well done!
