Songs to Play
| Songs to Play | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Robert Forster | ||||
| Released | 18 September 2015 | |||
| Recorded | Wild Mountain Sound Studio, Mount Nebo | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Universal Music Australia, Tapete Records | |||
| Producer | Luke McDonald, Robert Forster, Scott Bromiley | |||
| Robert Forster chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Guardian | |
| PopMatters |   |
Songs to Play is the sixth solo album by Australian singer-songwriter Robert Forster, released by Universal Music Australia in 2015. It peaked in the lower reaches of the German and Austrian charts.
Scott Bromiley and Luke McDonald of the band The John Steel Singers played many instruments on the album and were also credited as co-producers. Forster had previously produced their debut album, Tangalooma. Forster said, "from very early on I wanted to work with Scott and Luke from The John Steel Singers. I had most of the album written by about 2010 or 2011, and I had them over to the house and I just said, 'Look, I'd love to work with you on the next album, and you take the songs where you want to take them. I'm not just having you over here to play bass and guitar — go with it. Bring your sensibility into the songs and we can work together on them.'"
It was also the first of Forster's album's to feature a strong contribution from his wife, Karin Bäumler, something they had wanted to do for some time.
Forster was insistent that the recording be analogue. Forster claimed, "that was very, very important. I didn't want a screen. I wanted the musicians to play in a room and then come back inside and not stare at a screen. I wanted that atmosphere, I wanted that openness in the studio. And I like the sound of analogue as well." The album was recorded at Wild Mountain Sound, about a half-hour drive from Forster's home. Forster said, "The recording budget was lower than anything I have ever done and I found that liberating. You find another way to work. I had the feeling, I can do whatever I want." Twelve songs were recorded, with two omitted and intended for future release.
Songs to Play reached number 57 in the Austrian charts and 60 in Germany.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Songs to Play received an average score of 79, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The Guardian said listeners should "imagine Reed narrating a Talking Heads album (it could be 77 or True Stories) and you’re getting close to the feeling of Songs To Play. For all its antecedents, though, Songs To Play is Robert Forster at his most singular. It's the sound of Forster starting anew, and the spring in his step is welcome."
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