The Friends of Rachel Worth | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 September 2000 | |||
Recorded | February 2000 | |||
Studio | Jackpot! Recording Studio, Portland, Oregon | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 39:49 | |||
Label | W. Minc (Australia) Circus (UK) Clearspot (Germany) Jetset (US) | |||
Producer | The Go-Betweens | |||
The Go-Betweens chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Friends of Rachel Worth | ||||
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The Friends of Rachel Worth is the seventh album by Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens, released in 2000, 12 years after their sixth, 16 Lovers Lane . For this album, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan were joined by all members of American indie rock bands Sleater-Kinney and Quasi as well as new bassist Adele Pickvance. The album was recorded in Portland, Oregon at Jackpot! Recording Studio by Larry Crane.
McLennan said, "Rachel felt really natural – it wasn't like Robert and I had separate managers or any of that industry bullshit. We'd always wanted to record in America, too, so that was a real dream. I think it has a really mysterious, otherworldly, 'lost' feel to it." [1]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100 [2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Consumer Guide | A [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Melody Maker | [7] |
NME | 8/10 [8] |
Pitchfork | 6.5/10 [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Spin | 8/10 [11] |
Uncut | [12] |
The Friends of Rachel Worth received generally positive critical reviews. It holds a score of 77 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [2]
All music by Robert Forster and Grant McLennan.
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout its existence. Drummer Lindy Morrison joined the band in 1980, and its lineup would later expand to include bass guitarist Robert Vickers and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. Vickers was replaced by John Willsteed in 1987, and the quintet lineup remained in place until the band split two years later. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new lineup that did not include any previous personnel aside from them. McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and the Go-Betweens disbanded again. In 2010, a toll bridge in their native Brisbane was renamed the Go Between Bridge after them.
Oceans Apart is the ninth and final studio album by The Go-Betweens, released in 2005. All the songs were written by Grant McLennan and Robert Forster. The album was recorded at the Good Luck Studios in London between November 2004 through to January 2005, except for "Boundary Rider" which was recorded at The White Room Recording Studio in Brisbane.
16 Lovers Lane is the sixth album by Australian indie rock group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several years in London, England; he was replaced by John Willsteed. The album was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney, between Christmas 1987 and Autumn 1988.
Grant William McLennan was an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. He co-founded the Go-Betweens with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977. In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens, he issued four solo albums: Watershed (1991), Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997). He also undertook side-projects and collaborations with other artists. McLennan received a number of accolades recognising his achievements and contributions as songwriter and lyricist. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association listed "Cattle and Cane" (1983), written by McLennan, as one of their top 30 Australian songs of all time. McLennan died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 48.
Before Hollywood is the second album by Australian rock band the Go-Betweens, released in May 1983. The album reached No. 2 on the UK Independent Charts and a single, "Cattle and Cane" reached No. 4. In 2001 "Cattle and Cane" was voted as one of the 30 all-time best Australian songs in an Australasian Performing Right Association poll of 100 music industry personalities.
Spring Hill Fair is The Go-Betweens' third album, released on 27 September 1984 in the UK on Sire Records. The LP was recorded during a "very wet May" at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France. Prior to the recording of the album, bass player Robert Vickers had joined the group, enabling Grant McLennan to move to lead guitar. The original release consisted of ten songs. In 2002, Circus released an expanded CD which included a second disc of ten bonus tracks and a music video for the song, "Bachelor Kisses".
Worlds Apart is a 7" vinyl EP by the Australian indie group The Go-Betweens, released on 7 November 2005 on LO-MAX Records in the UK only. It contains a collaboration with Sushil K. Dade, "The City of Lights", which was included on his 2006 album, Secrets of the Clockhouse. "The City of Lights" was recorded in Glasgow in 2005 with Dade producing. "Finding You", "Ashes on the Lawn" and "Crystal Shacks" were recorded during the Oceans Apart sessions at the Good Luck Studios in London between November 2004 and January 2005. "Sleeping Giant", however, was recorded in Brisbane in 2004.
Robert Derwent Garth Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and music critic. In December 1977 he co-founded an indie rock group, The Go-Betweens, with fellow musician Grant McLennan. In 1980, Lindy Morrison joined the group on drums and backing vocals, and by 1981 Forster and Morrison were also lovers. In 1988, "Streets of Your Town", co-written by McLennan and Forster, became the band's highest-charting hit in both Australia and the United Kingdom. The follow-up single, "Was There Anything I Could Do?", was a number-16 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. In December 1989, after recording six albums, The Go-Betweens disbanded. Forster and Morrison had separated as a couple earlier, and Forster began his solo music career from 1990.
"Streets Of Your Town" is a song by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their 1988 album 16 Lovers Lane. Featuring polished production, a prominent backing vocal by Amanda Brown and a guitar solo by bassist John Willsteed, "Streets of Your Town" is one of the band's most recognised songs. It was released in July 1988 in the UK on Beggars Banquet, where it reached #80 on the singles charts and in Australia in August 1988 on Mushroom, where it reached #68. In New Zealand, the song was issued in November 1988, and was a top 40 hit, peaking at #30—the band's highest-ever placing on any national chart.
FOC or Far Out Corporation was the only studio album released by Australian collaborative rock group, Far Out Corporation, in October 1998. Its title is an initialism of the group's name. It is the sole album from the group, which was produced by Tim Whitten and the FOC at Airlock Studios, East Brisbane, via Polydor Records.
Bright Yellow Bright Orange is the eighth album by Australian indie rock group The Go-Betweens, released in February 2003 on the Trifekta Records label. It was nominated at the 2003 ARIA Music Awards for Best Adult Contemporary Album, but lost to John Farnham for The Last Time.
The Evangelist is the fifth solo album by Australian singer-songwriter Robert Forster, released by YepRoc in 2008.
Glenn Thompson is an Australian musician who first came to prominence in Brisbane, Queensland, playing in the popular local bands Madam Bones Brothel with Pearly Black and John Rodgers, and COW with Robert Moore and David McCormack. Thompson played drums with Robert Forster of The Go-Betweens on his second solo album Calling from a Country Phone in 1993. He then toured Europe in 1994 with Forster and members of German band Baby You Know, Robert Pöschl and Michael Schott. For Robert Forster's world tour of 1996, Thompson was joined by Adele Pickvance on bass. Thompson and Pickvance were called Warm Nights after Forster's fourth solo release which was also titled Warm Nights.
"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records in February 1983 and reached No. 4 on the UK Independent Chart. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited.
"Spring Rain" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their fourth album Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express in 1986. The single was issued by Beggars Banquet in the UK and Truetone in Australia, failing to chart in the UK, but reached number 92 in Australia.
"Right Here" is a song by the Australian alternative band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their fifth album Tallulah. It was released as a 7" and 12" vinyl single on the Beggars Banquet label in the United Kingdom on 23 February 1987, with "When People Are Dead" as the B-side. In Australia it was released by True Tone Records, also as a 7" and 12" single. It was also released In Germany by Rebel Rec. and in the United States as a promotional single by Big Time Records.
"Finding You" is a song by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens that was released as the second single from their ninth studio album Oceans Apart. It was released as a promotional CD single on the LO-MAX Records label in the United Kingdom in July 2005 and by Tuition Records in Germany on 25 July 2015.
"Caroline and I" is a song by the Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their eighth studio album Bright Yellow Bright Orange. It was released as a promotional CD single on the Circus Records label in the United Kingdom in February 2003 and by Trifekta Records in Australia on 9 June 2003.
"Going Blind" is a song by the Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens that was released as the lead single from their seventh album The Friends of Rachel Worth. It was released as a CD single by W. Minc Records in Australia, on the Circus Records label in the United Kingdom and Jetset Records in the United States in September 2000. "Going Blind" was The Go-Betweens' first single since "Love Goes On" in 1989.
The Candle and the Flame is the eighth solo album by Australian singer-songwriter Robert Forster, released by Tapete Records on 3 February 2023. It reached number 32 in the German charts.