WHAT SOME CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT RICK BERLIN's "Old Stag"

"...brilliant lyricism (see: “Happy Lesbians in the Snow” and “John Lennon’s Nose”), tender and varied instrumentation, and Berlin’s tremulous vocal like a flickering bulb at the dark end of a creepy hallway. It may be his best recording yet — which is saying a lot. " (Michael Brodeur/Boston Phoenix)

"The old stag did it again in '08, but then, when doesn't he? For a lesser mortal, following '06's "Me & Van Gogh," might have been a near-impossible task. But Berlin's combination of frank, funny, and poignant storytelling and unvarnished soul-searching always sounds both refreshingly unfiltered and meticulously crafted. Plus, "John Lennon's Nose" is the song title of the year."
(Jonathan Perry/The Boston Globe)

"What do you call a record with songs like 'John Lennon’s Nose,' 'Happy Lesbians in the Snow,' and one about a prostitute roommate who doesn’t eat? Especially when it’s just voice, keys, some occasional strings, and recorded in a living room? I call it a small masterpiece. Berlin’s made all kinds of music here for decades, and never fails to surprise, but rarely does anyone’s material match its delivery with such finesse. It’s impossible not to feel his experience in your gut, as his voice floats from whimsy to heartbreak, from ecstasy to absurdity, from wisdom to mystification, all set to words and music that unspool countless reels of a life lived fully, gladly (I’m pretty sure), and recklessly. In a perfect world, he’d be writing Broadway scores, but of course he’s too smart and speaks a hundred times the truth of that swill." (Joe Coughlin/The Noise)

"...don't think for a second that this is a sentimental and polite excursion into modern lounge music – no fucking way. Leave it to a guy in his early 60's to write some of the most in your face, on the edge, thoroughly here and now lyrics regarding everything from straight boys drooling over lesbians and gay men lusting after twinks, race relations, sex, drugs, love, and rock and roll. In one solitary album, Berlin has captured almost  everything that encompasses what it is to exist in 21st century New England (even if Berlin's singing voice owes a bit more the South than the East)."(Nick Blakey/Your Flesh - Best CD '08)

"Old Stag (Hi-N-Dri), is an intimate affair. Even the string section ('recorded in a B.U. classroom) on 'Happy Lesbians in the Snow' feels homegrown and folksy. Berlin, who has been a recording artist for more than 30 years, retains his unique musical perspective, and continues to express himself for all who are willing to listen." (Gregg Shapiro/Bay Area Reporter)

"dazzling musical curiosities... lyrical magnum opus" (Tristram Lozaw/Boston Globe)

"...his most completely realized and thoroughly beautiful album, Boston’s legendary Rick Berlin has gathered another team of talented youngsters (most notably the string section of Joseph Simcox, Katie Franich, Christina Hornby and Meredith Cooper and Sand Machine singer Jay Dave Jeremy) in his Jamaica Plains apartment and an empty Boston University classroom and emerged with a baker’s dozen of musical treats. While the cracking heart-rending vocals and poetic pathos remain Berlin’s trademarks, the strings (arranged by Brendan Cooney) give the ensemble of lyrical observations a story without words." (Matt Robinson/Northeast Performer)

"A- The former Orchestra Luna frontman shows an uncanny ability for turning anguished poetry and sparse piano strokes into compelling music. Recorded in his Jamaica Plain living room and named for the Egleston Square bar, Berlin produces a theatric, gritty and emotional opera for the marginalized. With ambient street noise and the hushed sighs of a string quartet, his brand of art-rock cabaret recalls Lou Reed channeling Kurt Weill - and it’s just as spooky. Download: Your Light Is On." (Nate Dow/Boston Herald)

"...his wonderfully craggy voice -think Nick Cave meets John Cale. His lyrics are, fittingly, a heady brew of lament and cynicism, and his sound is a mostly successful, and often bizarre mash of baroque pop and folk." (Claire/Boston Tea Party.com)

"Rather than simply frame his arrangements with standard rock backing, he juxtaposes a string quartet against piano phrases, with his vocals adding a jarring, combative or sometimes just wry undertone. You could call Old Stag alternative rock with a folkie tinge, or even orchestrated Americana, but it’s certainly both stylistically different and very refreshing...provocative lyricist and edgy vocalist." (Ron Wynn/Nashville City Paper)

"a childlike faith in the way Berlin’s songwriting takes people just as they are. Not drawn to introspection - 'I’m tired of myself,' he laughs - Berlin’s songs tend to be humble, honest slices of sidewalk reportage, little stories about people he knows or things he overheard. Berlin cites a Nick Cave quote as the model for his style: 'He says there’s always a song walking down the street, and if you don’t catch it, someone else will.'...For him, people’s stories are just like songs. There’s always one walking down the street, waiting to be caught." (Brian Jewell/Bay Windows)

"From the delicate strings and even more delicate feelings put across on this latest album from one of the area's most beloved legends, 'Old Stag' simply reeks with beauty...It's simple. It's complex. It's low-tech. It's high art. It's beautiful." (Matthew Robinson/Music Dish)