Robert Berry
The Dividing Line
Rating
Style: Melodic Rock
Release date: December 5th 2008
 

Robert Berry has been around in the music business for decades, and he has been a part of band constellations numbering San Francisco Bay Area celebrities such as Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer. The Dividing Line is his third solo album which is categorized as “melodic rock”.

I’ve had the opportunity to listen to this album quite a few times before writing this, and on the plus side I must say that it is flawlessly produced, the musicians perform very well and it all sounds very nice. On the downside, however, that’s my main grudge against The Dividing Line: It’s simply too damn nice in every possible way. After about ten spins in my CD player nothing really stands out. It’s pure Teflon – nothing sticks.

In other words, the entire album lacks edge and is incapable of keeping me interested, and at times I almost feel that certain tracks would fare better as entries in the Eurovision Song Contest (not a compliment in my book) than as part of an album that is more “melody” than “rock”.

I believe this is primarily an album of interest to fans of Robert Berry or the Bay Area scene, so I'll pass on this one.


Tracklist
01. The Dividing Line
02. One Good Man
03. Listen To The People
04. Faith
05. This Life
06. A Life Worth Livin'
07. Can't Let Go
08. I Gave You The Best of Me
09. Young Hearts
10. Wait
11. Life Is On Fire
Label: Frontiers Records
Promotion: Zink Music
Distribution: Bonnier/Amigo (Denmark)
Artwork rating: 60/100
Reviewed by: Martin Mathiasen
Date: January 3rd 2009
Website: www.myspace.com/therobertberry