Forrester Rhett The Canadian Years (Re-Issue)

High Roller Records, When the late Rhett Forrester left the New York band Riot after their well-received 1983 album Born In America, it wasn't long before he began work on his first solo album. "Gone With The Wind" was originally released in 1984 on the French label Bernett Records. 1988's Even The Score was Rhett Forrester's second and final official solo album, as the legendary singer was shot and killed in Atlanta, Georgia on January 22, 1994 at the age of 37. Although "Even The Score" wasn't followed by another studio album, Rhett didn't stop recording new music. He worked with various musicians in different bands and projects over a period of six years until his untimely death in 1994. Two of them can be heard on "The Canadian Years". Dr. Dirty (the group was originally called Mr. Dirty, but was renamed Dr. Dirty because of the use of two D's as a logo) was the brainchild of guitarist Rob Robins. He explains: "Scot Gaines, the bassist, and I had been writing for almost a year when we met Rhett Forrester in Calgary. He had just finished his time with Rick Plester's Black Symphony. We were looking for a singer to join us where we were able to play a few gigs. Rhett was mentioned and we met up with him and he seemed like a good fit! We immediately played him the songs we had been working on. Rhett was always great in the studio and recorded his parts. A true professional. No matter what we put in front of him, Rhett always delivered a great performance." The actual demo sessions for Dr. Dirty took place from 1992 to early 1993. Rob Robins: "We recorded four songs in Calgary: 'Red Bone Rock', 'Smoking Gun', 'In And Out' and 'Coming Home'. In LA we recorded 'Rescue Me', 'Hold On', 'Love Song' and 'Too Little Too Late'. We originally had some interest from a label just as the project was breaking up. One of Rhett Forrester's most unusual contributions was in 1992 (just before the Dr. Dirty sessions). by The Black Symphony (consisting of the three songs "In The Beginning", "Redemption" and "End Of Time"). Black Symphony was the baby of Canadian guitarist Rick Plester, who explains: "I have pretty much all the material written for The Black Symphony's five albums. I took out ads in magazines all over North America for a lead singer and Rhett Forester got in touch. When he called me out of the blue, I was pleasantly surprised because I had already been a fan of Riot. A few weeks later we flew Rhett to Calgary, Canada, where I was living at the time. A few days after he arrived, we recorded three songs in a studio in Calgary. Rhett was very entertaining, fun to be with. I enjoyed his friendship. He was very committed and brought a lot with him. In the end it was sad that I had to let him go because of his drug problems and burned bridges."