Originally released in 1988, marking a revival of his recording career after four years of legally enforced silence as he languished between labels (Nemperor and Geffen), Streets of This Town has a solid reputation among Steve Forbert fans. Since his debut, Alive on Arrival (1978), I've listened to about half of his albums, which show up reliably every two or three years. I don't know that I'd agree this is his very best, as a few have argued, but it's pretty good.

My taste in singer-songwriters leans toward those who have a distinctive personality and, obviously, compose songs that stick in the head. Though Forbert always manages to accomplish that, many who've stayed with him can still vividly recall the shock of Alive, a stunning introduction to a distinctive artist with a vision not quite like anybody else's. Or a voice, either; you'd never mistake him for a singer who is not Steve Forbert.

Another thing: his records are brilliantly produced and arranged, always with a small, top-flight band that also has its own sound augmenting Forbert's heavily strummed (mostly acoustic) rhythm guitar. The songs boast a range of melodies and outlooks. Even the earnest love songs, if not my favorites, eschew romantic cliches more often than not. In his younger years critics characterized him, in the popular cliche of the era, as a "new Dylan," which he wasn't. As one hears Forbert, one doesn't hear much Dylan echo. If anything, he's a kind of anti-Dylan, especially given his embrace of folk and rock influences most other singer-songwriters of the 1970s found impossible to escape. It merits remarking that his writing is more consistent than Dylan's.

Forbert's lyrics are carefully crafted and refreshingly straightforward. Listen to him over the years, and he begins to feel like a friend whom you are pleased to encounter from time to time. I like some of his albums (including his most recent collections of original material, The Magic Tree [2018] and Moving Through America [2022]) better than others, but there are none I don't like.

On Streets I especially like "Mexico," "Don't Tell Me (I Know)" and "Wait a Little Longer," but on next listening I may be more attracted to others. There's enough here to satisfy multiple listenings.