Throughout his life, Duane Forrest has been in the thick of many cultures, and now residing in Toronto, has previously had the luck to have lived in Mexico, Honduras, and Puerto Rico amongst others. Perhaps then, it is no surprise that his adventurous life and Jamaican heritage has allowed Duane to so naturally weave the styles of Bossa Nova, Jazz, Reggae, and Soul to create an organic and diverse sound...

It's a bit of a lazy comparison, I know, but I'm going to have to start this review by comparing Duane Forrest to Jack Johnson. There, I've got that off my chest. Actually, it wasn't just me that thought so. No less than three members of our office wandered up to my desk to ask if I was listening to a new Johnson album as I reviewed The Climb. It's not just Forrest's vocals that are simple - it's the whole acoustic guitar sound. Nowhere is this more evident than in the track 'Midsummer Night's Dream'.

In fairness, this is doing a little bit of a disservice to Forrest. As debut album's go, they don't come much more diverse, polished and confident as this. The LP contains 13 songs (40 min, 36 sec) all of which are laid back, easy listening that incorporate elements of many world music genres. Each track could easily be released as a single in its own right. There's no b-side filler material here.

8

Nick Smithson