Danger in the Past

Danger in the Past is the debut solo album by Robert Forster, formerly of the Go-Betweens.^[4] It was recorded in Germany, where Forster was soon to live.

Danger in the Past
Studio album by Robert Forster
Released	1990
Recorded	20 June – 4 July 1990
Studio	Hansa and Preussen Ton Studios, Berlin
Genre	Rock
Length	38:22
Label	Beggars Banquet
Producer	Mick Harvey
Robert Forster chronology
Danger in the Past (1990) Calling from a Country Phone (1993)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]
Select	[3]

Details

Forster had recently moved to Bavaria to be with his future wife, Karin Bäumler, who appeared on the album. He said, "I phoned Mick Harvey, who was up in Berlin, and asked him if he wanted to produce it, and he was very enthusiastic."^[5]

The album was recorded over 12 days. Musicians on the album included Bad Seeds Hugo Race and Thomas Wydler. Forster said, "It was a stressful time for Mick. He was - I'd call it co-managing The Seeds. But it was a beautiful atmosphere, it was going back to playing living, breathing music. It was the record I'd always dreamed of making."^[5]

Forster later said, "Our work method was simple. Thomas would listen to a demo; Mick, on bass, would talk him through the arrangement; we'd go into the recording room, play the song no more than four times, do a take, and then go on to the next number. In this manner we were doing three of four songs a day. I was skipping between the recording and control rooms exalted.^[6]

For the cover of the album, Forster was photographed in a similar to pose to a picture of James Joyce he'd found in a library in Ravensburg University, where Bäumler was studying, after he noted the resemblance to his grandfather. "I decided to replicate the photo for the cover and make no mention of it; just send it out in the world and see what people made of it."^[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Robert Forster.

Side one

1. "Baby Stones" – 4:07
2. "The River People" – 3:25
3. "Leave Here Satisfied" – 4:59
4. "Heart Out to Tender" – 4:14
5. "Is This What You Call Change" – 2:38

Side two

6. "Dear Black Dream" – 6:04
7. "Danger in the Past" – 4:50
8. "I've Been Looking for Somebody" – 4:20
9. "Justice" – 3:45

Personnel

• Robert Forster – guitar, vocals
• Mick Harvey – organ, bass, guitar, percussion, piano, vocals
• Hugo Race – guitar
• Thomas Wydler – drums
• Karin Bäumler – vocals

References

1. Danger in the Past at AllMusic
2. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 284.
3. Perry, Andrew (October 1990). "Robert Forster: Danger In The Past". Select. No. 4. p. 104.
4. Jenkins, Mark (23 December 1990). "The Byrds and the Go-Betweens: Joyful Rediscovery". The Washington Post. p. G4.
5. Clinton Walker (1996). Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977–1991. Pan MacMillan. p. 230. ISBN 0-7329-0883-3.
6. Robert Forster (2016). Grant & I. Penguin. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-6700782-2-6.
7. John Mulvey. "Robert Forster, Album By Album". Uncut Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2017.