Although Jackrabbit Slim was Steve Forbert's best-selling album, containing his only Top 40 hit, "Romeo's Tune," and his only other chart single, "Say Goodbye to Little Jo," it took Nemperor (formerly part of CBS, now part of Sony) 17 years to put it out on CD (on September 3, 1996). It sounds as good as it did before, thanks both to Forbert's excellent songwriting (also included: "January 23-30, 1978," one of his best diary songs) and to John Simon's production. In a newly added note, Forbert says Simon was a late addition, after his producer was stolen by Barbra Streisand. If he means Gary Klein, who handled Streisand's 1979 Wet album, one can only concluded that he traded up. Simon, whose previous credits included the Band, understood Forbert's folk/rock/pop style perfectly, making this the best marriage of artist and producer on what is also the artist's best material. ~ William Ruhlmann

Rovi