Jeff Berlin: “Jack Songs” (2022) CD Review

Jeff Berlin has gathered a remarkable group of musicians together to pay tribute to the music of fellow bassist Jack Bruce on his new album, Jack Songs. Among those playing on these tracks are Sammy Hagar, Bill Frisell, Geddy Lee, and Gregg Bissonette. I was fortunate enough to get to see Jack Bruce in concert once back in the late 1980s, opening for The Moody Blues. He did several Cream songs, but also songs like “Theme For An Imaginary Western,” which is covered here. Most of the songs on this disc were written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown, with just a couple of exceptions. Jeff Berlin, in addition to bass, plays keyboards on these tracks, and provides some backing vocal work. On most tracks he is joined by John McCracken on guitar, Pat Coil on organ, and Bruce Guttridge on drums.

The album opens with “Creamed,” which is a medley of Cream songs, a good place to begin a tribute to Jack Bruce. As the track starts, we are treated to a bit of “I Feel Free,” presented without any vocals. The musicians then segue into “Politician,” and soon “White Room,” these with Ron Hemby on vocals. Interestingly, they at times combine a couple of different songs, which works surprisingly well. During another instrumental section, we get a tease of “Sunshine Of Your Love.” Alex Lifeson delivers some excellent work on guitar. There is also a little instrumental tease of “Spoonful.” They return to “I Feel Free,” this time with vocals. That is followed by “Theme For An Imaginary Western” (here titled “Theme From An Imaginary Western,” as it sometimes called), one of my favorite Jack Bruce songs. I suppose it is one of everyone’s favorites. It is a great song from Jack Bruce’s first solo album, Songs For A Tailor, and Jeff Berlin does a really good job with it. Ron Hemby is again on vocals, his voice containing the right amount of passion. Pat Coil is on keys. Special guest Gregg Bissonette plays drums on this track, and Eric Johnson comes in to deliver that great lead on guitar.

Alex Ligertwood then joins Jeff Berlin on vocals for “A Letter Of Thanks,” a song from Jack Bruce’s 1971 LP Harmony Row. Both Pat Coil and Michael Whittaker play organ on this one, and Pat Bergeson provides a delicious harmonica lead. But it is Jeff Berlin’s bass work that I love most about this lively blues track. Then Sammy Hagar sings lead on “L’Angelo Misterioso,” one of the disc’s most fun tracks. My appreciation for Sammy Hagar’s work has increased in recent years. I saw a video of him singing with Jerry Garcia at some tiny venue, and that is what caused me to take another look at his output. This track also features a brass section. Emmanuel Echem and Tyler Jaeger are on trumpet, while Tyler Summers and Don Aliquo are on alto saxophone, and Max Abrams plays tenor sax. And there is a great jam in the second half of the track, featuring Scott Henderson on guitar, and Gary Husband on drums. Alex Ligertwood returns to sing lead on “Rope Ladder To The Moon,” a song from Songs For A Tailor. This track also features Tracy Silverman on electric violin, a cool lead on guitar by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and of course some great work on bass by Jeff Berlin.

Bill Frisell is the special guest guitarist on a “One Without A Word,” which is basically the song “One,” with just a bit of “Without A Word” at the end. John Cowan joins Ron Hemby on vocals for this one. This track features some really nice work on drums. There is more good work on drums on “Smiles Story And Morning Grins,” which is another combination of songs, this time “Smiles And Grins” and “Morning Story,” both originally included on Harmony Row. On this track, Michael Dearling joins Ron Hemby on vocals. The first lyrics sung are from “Smiles And Grins,” and soon some lines from “Morning Story” are mixed in, and they go back and forth between the two songs. The most exciting part of this track comes approximately halfway through, when the jam begins, featuring a whole lot of talented bass players, including Tony Levin, Billy Sheehan, Michael League, Mark King, Ron Carter, Marcus Miller, Nathan East and Geddy Lee. That section helps make this track one of the disc’s highlights. Then Alex Ligertwood again sings lead on “Folk Song,” another song from Harmony Row. This track features some nice work on piano by Mariano Agustoni. Gabriela Sinagra provides backing vocals.

While most of this album is material written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown, the final two tracks were written or co-written by Jeff Berlin. The first of those, “Traintime Time,” comes on like a train, that rhythm pushing steadily along while Jeff Berlin’s work on keys plays over it. This is a lively and fun number, featuring a hopping harmonica lead by Pat Bergeson, helping to make it another of the disc’s highlights. Both Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and Johnny Hiland play guitar on this one, while Gumbi Ortiz is on percussion. I love how wild that bass gets toward the end. Then “Fuimos (We Have Been)” was written by Jeff Berlin and Pete Brown, and here we get a vocal performance by Jeff Berlin. He sings about a Jack Bruce concert performance seen on DVD, but the song really functions as a goodbye. “You cheated the reaper/Time and time again/Though the odds were steeper/As you paid the price in pain/You couldn’t go on forever/I really thought you would.” Mario Agustino is on piano, and Michael Dearing provides some backing vocals on this track.

CD 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)

Jack Songs was released on August 2, 2022.