Berlin, Jeff: Jack Songs

Jack Songs is bassist Jeff Berlin’s tribute to his hero Jack Bruce, featuring music inspired by Bruce, and arrangements of some classic tracks. This is a star filled tribute that I am sure was a labor of love for Berlin, and a blast for all involved. For guitarists you get Eric Johnson, Alex Lifeson, Scott Henderson and Ron “Bumblefoot� Thal who give excellent performances. “Smiles Story and Morning Grins� is a bass players dream featuring Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, Billy Sheehan and Marcus Miller to name a few. “L’Angelo Misterioso� jumps with the addition of horns and Sammy Hagar tackling the vocal duties, this one is fun.

Opening with the track “Creamed�, Berlin brings in some of the best musical parts of famous Cream tunes as a tip of his cap to that era of Bruce’s career. As one would expect, Berlin’s bass stands out in the mix, but with such a cast, there are many stellar moments. “Rope Ladder To The Moon� features some tasteful guitar from Thal as Berlin and drummer Bruce Guttridge groove underneath, and bits of tasty violin courtesy of Tracy Silverman are subtle but perfect for the track. "Traintime Time� saves the backend of the album from completely running out of gas, an excellent instrumental that rips with Johnny Hiland on guitar. In addition, between Berlin’s bass and his piano/keyboard playing, they blow the roof off here. The odd vocal feel of “Smiles Story and Morning Grins�, the light crooning of “Folk Song� and the closing track bring everything to a grinding halt, which is truly unfortunate. If the energy of the early tracks had continued, you would have one stellar album.

Track List:

1. Creamed
2. Theme From An Imaginary Western
3. A Letter of Thanks
4. L’Angelo Misterioso
5. Rope Ladder to the Moon
6. One Without a Word
7. Smiles Story and Morning Grins
8. Folk Song
9. Traintime Time
10. Fuimus (We Have Been)

Added: October 17th 2022
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artist Website
Hits: 710
Language: english

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