Band : Robert Berry
Album title : The Dividing Line
Label : Frontiers
Distributor : Rough Trade
Release date : 05/12/2008
Release : CD

Although I have to admit (much to my shame) never before having come in contact with the music of Robert Berry before,the man has a highly regarded reputation in the San Fransisco area, having performed during his career in both the smallest of clubs and the largest stadiums…albeit with different bands! Somehow, I feel a complete acount of the man’s career is warranted. Care to follow me into a véry long story (it’s the result of over a day’s work spread over a period of three days, but Berry deserves every minute I spent on the article)?

For Berry, it all started in the early ‘70s, when being the son of a music store owner already brought the youngster in contact with several locally established bands of the era. While still in 7th grade, he was invited to play the keyboards with The Reasons Why…who’d really taken him in the band in the hopes of being able to get free instruments off his old man…but it would bring young Robert the enticement to play music! Although the act disbanded after only a year, it díd also bring Robert an increased experience with performing, as the lead singer insisted Robert doing the backing vocals. He also struck a lasting friendship with guitarist Eddie Callahan, with whom he would venture to a couple of short-lived bands before ending up with 4th Street Exit (originally they’d only been looking for a guitarist/ singer, but Eddie put the others for the choice of taking Robert along, or failing to have him join!), the first band they’d play in which had a manager and regular weekend gigs! And at that time Robert was still a kid of only 13, mind you! The band went on to record a single which would have some considerable regional success, and would last until Robert did his sophomore year in hignschool! Eddie & Robert moved on. Robert joined English Rock act Blue Ash, which was the first time Robert was able to use & develop his writing skills…and be the lead singer. It was also a creative time with experiments with film, tape recorders and light shows. After his highschool days, Robert again joined up with Eddie, and in the search for other musicians to start up a new band they came across another friendship-for-life with drummer Mike Dimock (the son of another music store owner in San Jose, and by then already a well-known drummer and singer). Together they formed Herbie Squirrel, which would hit the dance club scene (thanks to a fake ID made for Robert). Around that time, Robert bought his first 4-track recorder, as he’d become interested in the technical side of recording at the time of the 4th Street Exit single. Although today the 22-track experimental “Rock Opera” he recorded (and from what I found out, some 100 copies were made on 12-inch vinyl) is something he really doesn’t want people to hear, it got the attention of the head engineer at Tiki Sound (actually one of the most popular studios in the San Jose area in those days). From inviting Robert to sit in on a couple of album productions, he promoted the young musician (who’d picked up quite some instruments along the way and had learned to play ‘em) to the resident studio musician and engineer, setting up a package deal for his clients where Robert would play all the instruments and arrange their songs for a fee.

By that time an agent from a booking agency came up with the idea to form a “local supergroup” with respected members from several recently disbanded acts. After the replacement of the original drummer and guitarist (Paul Keller would also become a key person in Robert’s further career – he even toured with 3 in the late ‘80s), Hush (don’t mistake for the hugely popular Australian Glam Rock band of the ‘70s, which reformed in 2004 but apparently failed to produce new albums since!) would deliver three very nice studio albums (of which 1982’s Hot Tonight won a 1984 Bay Area Music Archive’s Bammie Award for “Best Independent Album”) which combined demanding musicianship with Progressive and Hard Rock…before disolving (they played their last shows in June of 1985). Later that year Robert released his debut solo album Back To Back (a very rare album, printed on a rotation of 500 copies only, and containing a collection of songs that he’d written during the Hush years, but which didn’t  quite fit their style!) at Soundtek Studio (which he could call his own), enticed by his friend Ron Fowler. The album garnered quite a few raving reviews, and got distributed thanks to the Fowler bringing it under the attention of noted music lawyer John Espedal…whom in his turn enlisted the aid of Journey manager Herbie Herbert. The latter got the major labels interested, which meant Robert had to get a band together to showcase the songs in live conditions…which gave birth to The Robert Berry Band (containing also Fowler as guitarist/ backing singer and old mate Paul Keller on lead guitar: backing vocals, Robert himself would play the bass and do lead vocals). After a 3 months’ rehearsal, the band hit the local venues and with news about the new band spreading, bigger and bigger venues were sold out. The positive audience response indpired Robert to a very prolific writing period, and eventually The Robert Berry Band would be doin’ showcases for a bunch of music industry heavieweights in Hollywood, backed by Capitol Records.

One of those music industry people was Jogn Kalodner (of Geffen), who sent Berry to Canada to top producers Bruce Fairburn (now deceased) and Bob Rock, to record a participation to the soundtrack of the movie Out Of Bounds, wich somehow got under the attention of legendary drummer Carl Palmer (of ELP and Asia fame). Carl telephoned Robert a first time in Spring 1986, the two talking away over music making and ambitions. They made plans to meet in New Jersey with singer Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep purple, etc) and keyboardist Alan Greenwood (Foreigner) for a project together, and Palmer also arranged for Robert to meet his manager Brian Lane at an upcoming GTR (which he also managed) gig in San Fransisco. Besides meeting with Lane to talk over specifics of the possible project with Palmer, this event also enabled Robert to meet with GTR guitarist Steve Howe (which would have its significance later). The band with Turner & Greenwood  fell through, but it took a simple invitation from Carl for Robert to fly over to England for a project with Carl and keyboardist Don Ayres (see MSG, Ozzy Osbourne)…which eventually again failed to come to fruition. Around that time Lane called Robert to replace guitarist Steve Hackett (Genesis) in GTR. Robert dropped everything and relocated to London (which would be his home for the next 11 years). When not rehearsing with GTR, Robert was contributing vocals to a demo for Geoff Downes’ stage play based on his hit song “Video Killed The Radio Star”. He also wrote a song for Scottish Metal act Heavy Pettin (Downes was producing their album), and wrote music for the second GTR album, which was then “reviewed” by Steve Howe. Howe had, in turn, sent Robert some ideas…and liked very what he’d done with them indeed. Eventually, the fact that Robert and Steve wrote most of the material brought about tensions with the other members (especially with singer Max bacon, whom obviously objected to Robert singing), and to keep the peace, Robert decided to leave. The material written for the second GTR album would never be released, as the band was dropped by their label!

While preparing to go back to the States, Robert got a call from Lane asking him if he felt like meeting ELP keyboardist Keith Emerson. The two spent a wonderful afternoon, and Emerson then invited Robert to join him and Carl at his home in Sussex, where the threesome (first a quartet with the addition of lyricist/ singer Sue Shiffrin) started working on a more Pop-oriented Prog Rock (obviously, Palmer had already had a go at that with Asia, but Emerson wanted to try his hand at it too). A 3-track demo (including the track “Talkin’ ‘Bout”, one of the songs Robert had actually written for GTR) was enough to convince Geffen into giving the trio (who eventially settled for the bandname 3) a recording deal, and To The Power Of Three was released in  May of 1988. In the US things were slower to take up, especially since Rolling Stone magazine was very unkind in its appreciation of the album. However, thanks to a 3-month tour of the US single Talkin’ ‘Bout would eventualy hit the #6 spot on the Billboard Top 100 (the album reaching #9) anyway. Instead of following through on the achieved success to promote the album & band even more, the label decided the band had to go back into the studio as soon as possible again! Although the guys had already been writing some new material aand were finally getting into their niche, so to say, that decision of the label was eventually the reason for the band’s break-up!

Eventually, Robert decided it was time to put all his lost songs to tape, and released them on his 1993 solo album Pilgrimmage To A Point. To stay true to the significant title (having started to cover songs by the likes of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes and Keith Emerson with his band Hush, he’d come full circle by actually working with them) he also added a very early song from his beginning days, playing the song on vintage instruments. Around the same time he was again contacted by former Sammy Hagar Band members Gary Pihl (guitar) and David Lauser (drums), who had been looking forward to work with Robert since 1986. Back then, Hagar had just been lured away to front Van Halen, and the remaining musicians (the two mentioned plus keyboardist Jesse Harms) were looking out for a new ingredient to make a truly interesting band. Galodner at Geffen had given the trio a demo by Robert, and the guys had actually gone checking out The Robert Berry Band, but history lears that things don’t always go the way we want them to go. Robert was off to England, Harms joined REO Speedwagon, Pihl went to Boston, and Lauser would continue to work with Hagar. But the two latter still wanter to try their hand at something original of their own, and had recruited drummer Alan Fitzgerald (from the freshly split Night Ranger)…the only thing missing was Robert. The 4 gathered in Hagar’s studio in Mills Valley and started working on some stuff, feeding off each other’s individual influences. They immediately felt that there was magic was in the air, and from recording demos at Hagar’s place the quartet moved to Pihl’s studio in Boston for some more demo tracking. In spite of the fact that the band members were geographically removed from each other (Robert living in South California, Lauser in North California, Pihl in Boston, and Fitzgerald in Texas), they were also dedicated to make things work. Complicating things was the fact that Pihl was still with Boston, Lauser was still helping out Hagar with his Unboxed release, and Fitzgerald was the backstage keyboardist for Van Halen. At the same time Robert was also developing his solo career (releasing In These  Eyes – in South Africa only! –and Takin’ It Back in 1994 and 1996), while also contributing to the 1995 Yes tribute album All Our Yesterdays (issued through Magna Carta in 1995) and continuing to produce other artists. Still, the four kept writing and sending each other new ideas, occasionally meeting at Soundtek. Alliance’s European debut album eventually came with the 1997 eponimous album (material on it consisted mostly of the original demo material, and stuff which came off a Japan-only album Bond Of Union, released earlier that year. Europe responded kindly to the album, which enticed the foursome to continue their collaboration. Scheduling was again hectic, but things again worked out, and Missing Pieces was released in 1999. Alliance returned in 2008 with new album Road To Heaven.

Pfew…time to turn back time just a little notch! Having gotten better acquainted with Sammy Hagar (they had met first at a Bammie Award presentation where Robert, Emerson, and Palmer were handing out the prices) during breaks while recording the Alliance demos, the “Red Rocker” had apparently gotten a good feel for Robert, and so while working on Outboxed he had Lauser call Robert to ask him if he didn’t feel like recording some bass lines for the album. Robert didn’t think twice, hopped in the car and got himself over to the infamous Record Plant Studio. Once the album released, Hagar needed a bass payer to promote the album in live conditions, and since he was asked by the Van Halen brothers not to use Mike Anthony, he asked Robert in stead…whom obliged, of course! Since then, there’s an understanding between Sammy and Robert that, whenever Anthony wouldn’t be able to make it to the Cabo Wabo birthday bash, Robert would be in!

Back to our original timeline (1999, remember), Robert released the prestigious (A Soundtrack To) The Wheel Of Time which, as the title implies, was inspired by the series of novels by Robert Jordan (wildly popular since 1990). With music ssomewhat remeniscent of a “Celtic Pink Floyd”, readers of the nine novels which had appeared until then found a perfect musical accompaniment with the books. The album was officially autorized by Jordan, and cover artwork was done by Darrell K. Sweet, who’d also done the covers for all the books. Next up, Robert would collaborate with December People for the 2001 album Sounds Like Christmas, where the band arranged a collection of traditional Christmas tunes in a way as if they were performed by the likes of Sting, Queen, Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis, ELP Led Zeppelin, Kansas, Peter Gabriel, and King Crimson (with lead vocal performances divided among Robert, Steve Walsh, Trent Gardner, and John Wetton).

But 2001 would be a somewhat heavy year for Robert too, as his father died quite suddenly in August! In fact, if affected Robert in such a way that he lost all interest in music for a while, and it took his good friend Gary Pihl to call him and ask whether Robert didn’t feel like joining Boston as a touring drummer, for him to get interested again. So he got to practice, and eventually did go on an audition with Boston, but realised that playing drums in a studio environment is quite different from having to bash it out for two hours a day during several weeks in a row. So, in the end he didn’t join Boston. But his interest in music had returned, and that was the most important thing of all! He then went on the look-out for a band he might fit into and which might benefit of his energetic imput. Iron Butterfly had already contacted him with such an offer, and he was actually considering giving that a go…when he heard that the legendary Ambrosia had severed ties with their frontman. Excited, he called original Ambrosia member Burleigh Drummond, and after a positive discussion recorded two acoustic versions of Ambrosia songs and two songs written in the band’s style…adding a touch of his own…which he then brought to Drummond when he was playing a show in Sacramento with his solo band Tin drum, thus allowing for a face-to-face meeting. After that interview, a long wait…as Ambrosia first had to get through some legal hassle with their former frontman, and weren’t even certain that they would continue! Just as Robert was about to give up, he got a call, and two weeks later (we’re talkin’ June 2004 now) he was on stage with the band, starting an extensive tour throughout the Summer! Robert’s creative juices were flowing again, and he was eventually pushing the band towards recording a new album. But the band’s manager kinda blocked every imput of Robert’s and after a new tour with Ambrosia in the Summer of 2005, Robert decided to leave, the need to express himself being bigger than the regret of leaving this band of great musicians which had become friends.

Just before getting the call from Drummond to join Ambrosia, Robert had already felt the need to try his hand at a completely uncharted musical territory, and so he got together with female drummer Gina Montel, stand-up bass slapper Mike Park (owner of Ska & Punk label Asian Man Records, for whom Robert had produced already many a record), accordeon player Gene Perrault, and trombonist Tom Swanson (Robert’s brother-in-law) to form Schleptones, a band which combines Ska with Punky Rock and Polka, and serves it with an additional sause of humour! Originally just a band for live fun, the act eventually recorded a couple of songs in June 2007 which they then offered for download at myspace.com/schleptones. A week later, they also posted a humourous video.

Over the years, Robert had frequently worked with the Magna Carta label, both as a performer and producer, and in 2006 the label issued the album Robert Berry: Prime Cuts, which was a collection of tracks which Robert had previously contributed to tribute albums (to Yes, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Genesis, ELP, Rush), two songs off the A Soundtrack For The Wheel Of Time album, one off the December People album…and enhanced with a previously unreleased track (Robert’s hommage to Ambrosia). 2007 then, saw the release of a sorts of (2-CD) Alliance compilation album on Escape Music issued in May 2007 (in a sense it was a re-issue of the self-titled debut and 1999’s Missing Piece, with 5 tracks taken off the Japan only release Bond Of Union, and three previously unreleased tracks), and obviously that brought about the return of the band with their third album in April. But after having gone for a different musical approach for a couple of years (blue eyed Soul with a slight Progressive touch and a lot of easy Rock with Ambrosia, lunacic Polka Ska with Schleptones), Robert must have felt the need to express his Melodic/ Prog Rock roots again, of which The Dividing Line became the direct result!

According to the bio provided by the label, the material on The Dividing Line “…leans towards timeless Melodic Rock, similar to what Robert has been playing and composing for 3 and GTR during the ‘80s…,” but never having heard that material I have no way of either confirming or contradicting that statement. Don’t expect an album  which draws from the same influences with each track though! Nay, if anything can be said of The Dividing Line, it’s that it’s a very varied album indeed! Although most songs àre primarily keyboard-supported and guitar-oriented Melodic Rock with a pleasant degree of complexity, there’s some in which the guitar takes a main role (check the rather groove-laden “One Good Man”, for instance, or “Can’t Let Go” – which however doés have some nice keyboard parts as well), and a couple of more piano-based ballads (“Faith”, “I Gave You The Best Of Me”;). Quite a few of the songs start off in a calmer mood like a ballad, but then find guitars kicking in with exhilerating energy (like “Wait”, which starts off being a guitar-oriented ballad, and then gets a keyboard passage)! Album closer “Life Is On Fire”, which is slightly longer than the rest with it’s 6:06 length, seems to have been written as if for Yes! With song themes dealing with life, love and human relationships, the lyrics (printed in the booklet with short additional liner notes) show Robert from his most personal side, the only guest performances coming on the track “A Life Worth Living”, where friends David Lauser and Gary Pihl provide drums and guitar respectively…the whole with the very nice topping of Robert’s incredibly attractive voice. Besides the great music, it’s that voice which has excited and exhilerated me throughout every listening session I gave the album. And when you consider that I’ve been able to listen to the album at least a good 15 times during the last days without loosing any of that excitement on àny of the songs, you might understand that this otherwise easily…nah, saying “bored” would be too strong…listener has a soft spot for this Robert Berry!

At myspace.com/therobertberry, yoù can listen to samples of the three first songs on the new album (for an additional sample of “Wait”, check out the discography section on robertberry.com) as well as some other stuff (at Robert’s own website, you can find samples of tracks off some of his other albums, also with Alliance, December People, & Hush). If the material at hand doesn’t convince you of the fact that this is indeed a truly great artist and performer with a nicely charismatic voice to boot…I don’t understand you! I mean, if you’ve taken the trouble to read on this far (yeah, I’m sorry I took so long to finish Robert’s history…nót!), it’s that you at least took an interest in what you read…the music behind it, that is…!!! As far as I’m concerned personally, this is the Stuff Of The Great! Year-list material, baby…definitely! Oh…before I forget, the finished product also contains a video for the track “Wait” (which I actually neglected to watch until this review was finished – nice psychedelic touches!!!).

98/100

Tony.