CD review: Steve Forbert's 'The Place and the Time'

STEVE FORBERT

"The Place and the Time"

Kindred spirits: Loudon Wainwright, Chris Smither, Willie Nile

Show: Wednesday at Rams Head Tavern. Show starts at 8 p.m. 410-268-4545. http://www.ramsheadtavern.com.

Steve Forbert takes several swings at capturing the current American mood on his aptly titled new album, "The Place and the Time." The Mississippi singer-songwriter swings and misses several times but eventually hits a few singles and a solid double.

Most of these songs lament the passing of better times -- a rock star's glory days, high school innocence, blue skies, past loves -- and wonder whether they'll ever return. These lyrics are easily read as metaphors for a nation.

But "Blue, Clear Sky" requires editing; "Stolen Identity" and "Write Me a Raincheck" need better punch lines; "Blackbird Tune" and "Sing It Again, My Friend" deserve less derivative melodies; and "Who'll Watch the Sunset?" needs subtler irony.

Much better is "The Beast of Ballyhoo," which seems to describe a Rolling Stones concert with a rich mix of skepticism and old love. Best of all is "Labor Day '08," the story of an unemployed suburbanite celebrating the holiday with beer on the back patio. A laidback Memphis groove camouflages the bite of the key line: "Summer's all but gone/It is the end of quite a binge."

-- Geoffrey Himes