Jeff Berlin - 1998 "Crossroads"

To most listeners, Jeff Berlin is utterly unknown as a musician and composer; to progressive rock enthusiasts, however, Berlin is a god, ranked alongside Jaco Pastorious and Victor Wooten as one of the most exciting virtuoso bassists ever. Crossroads compiles his first two albums, Pump It! and Champion, into a single-disc "greatest hits" of sorts, although neither album had much impact beyond jazz-rock circles. Splashy keyboards and '80s slickness date the recordings considerably, but the new track order plays well, with Buddy Miles, Neil Peart, Ronnie Montrose, and Neal Schon being a few of the musicians contributing master chops. The set also features the first recordings of guitarist extraordinaire Scott Henderson and presents Berlin, surprisingly, in more of a supporting than a starring role, although "Manos De Piedra," "Dixie," and the incredibly melodic "Bach" show off some of his fantastic virtuosic soloing.

Jeff Berlin writes in the liner notes about Crossroads, “Back in the ’70s, fusion was hot. I had the good fortune to be in the middle of this era when it was at its peak, and I also had the great honor of playing with its most famous alumni. By recording and touring with these highly respected players, my reputation as a bass player spread and ultimately led to his being signed as a solo artist. “Champion” and “Pump It!” were the first two results of that signing; this CD includes most of the tunes from those records. Scott Henderson, Neal Schon, Frank Gambale and Paul Gilbert each contributed stunning guitar work, “Champion” being Henderson’s first recording session, and “Pump It!” being Gambale’s first session as well. All in all, these tunes capture the attitude and feeling I had about music over ten years ago. There’s some really exciting historical and musical elements going on here.”

Jeff Berlin has been one of my all time favorites for years. I first discovered his work in '85 with the release of Champion. The guest list on this album is an amazing one with the talents of Neal Schon and Steve Smith (Journey), T. Lavitz (The Dregs and solo), and Scott Henderson on most of the guitar tracks. Jeffs second offering was the '87 album entitled Pump It. This equally impressive release features the incredible Frank Gambale on all of the guitar tracks along with Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big and Racer X), Tris Imboden on drums and Buddy Miles singing an inspiring rendition of Crossroads. The album that you are contemplating purchasing is a compilation of those two solo projects that were originally released on the Passport Jazz label and are currently out of print. The only deleted track is the title song from the first album. Highlights on this CD will be Jeffs' bass solo on 20,000 Prayers and Frank Gambales guitar on Freight Train Shuffle. Enjoy!

 Track listing:

01     Crossroads    
02     Bach    
03     Joe Frazier (Part II)    
04     Motherlode    
05     Subway Music    
06     Marabi    
07     All The Greats    
08     Pump It!    
09     Dixie    
10     What I Know Now    
11     Freight Train Shuffle    
12     Three Nighter    
13     20,000 Prayers    
14     Manos De Piedra

Personnel:

Bass – Jeff Berlin
Drums – Steve Smith
Guitar – Scott Henderson
Keyboards – T. ... Lavitz
Rhythm Guitar – Scott Henderson
Vocals – Keith England

Jeff Porcaro Tom-Tom
Jeffrey Weber Vocals (Background), Producer
Ron Reinhardt Keyboards
Bryan Rutter Vocals (Background)
Jeff Berlin Bass, Main Performer
Brad Dutz Percussion
Paul Gilbert Guitar
Clare Fischer Keyboards
Chris Hughes Vocals (Background)
Tris Imboden Drums
Buddy Miles Vocals
Frank Gambale Guitar