Rick Berlin, "Me & Van Gogh" (Hi-N-Dry) FOUR STARS

Rick Berlin has been a mainstay on the Boston music scene ever since
he fronted the fabulous, underrated Orchestra Luna in the early 1970s. Since
then he's been the driving force behind a series of other class acts like
Luna, Berlin Airlift, Rick Berlin: The Movie and, most recently, the Shelley
Winters Project.

But this is Berlin the solo artist, accompanying himself on the late
Morphine singer Mark Sandman's acoustic piano, singing songs of passion and
depth, irreverence, long-lost innocence, love, mystery, beauty and always,
always honesty.

A confessional feeling flows forth every time Berlin steps behind a
piano, either on stage or in a recording studio. His brutal honesty might
make listeners squirm on occasion, as in a song like "I'm a Slut." But on
others like "Don't Talk About Joan," "Buddha" and "A Letter," a half-spoken
track based on a communication he received from a friend now in prison,
Berlin reveals why many of us believe he should have achieved the star
status of writers such as Randy Newman or Leonard Cohen.
One of the special treats here is a breathtaking, stripped-down
version of "Rock 'n' Roll Romance," a song that dates back more than 20
years, and one of the best in the songwriter's overflowing back catalog.

For purchasing information on the Internet, go to www.rickberlin.com
or www.hi-n-dry.com
Kevin O'Hare