Album Liner Notes
A Solitary Man
A Solitary Man is a keyboardist's album with a session player's sense of orchestration. The US Gramavision CD on Discogs breaks the album down track by track, and Berlin's bass appears on exactly half of the indexed compositions in that credit block.
Overview
The album alternates between Berlin/Almond rhythm-section tunes and cuts where Nick Moroch's guitar steps forward without Berlin in the personnel line for that title.
Levin's production credit is album-wide, while Alan Meyerson is named as mixer and Bob Ludwig as mastering engineer on the cited US CD.
The title track and several synth-heavy pieces show Levin leaning on programmed textures and overdubbed horns, so the record is not a live-band romp from start to finish.
Quick Snapshot
- Released in 1991 on Gramavision as US CD R2 79457-2, with parallel Swiss CD GV 79457-2 and US cassette R4 79457 listed on Discogs.
- Session chronology on the US CD page: recorded in New York, December 1990; mixed in Hollywood, February 1991; mastered in New York, March 1991.
- Jeff Berlin is credited on bass for 'Abraham,' 'Either/Or End Up -> Down,' 'The Sad Truth,' 'The Best Pasta In Jamaica,' and 'Through Rose Glasses.' The release note states no performer credits are listed for 'Colossus.'
Five-track Berlin footprint
Discogs documents Jeff on five named titles, not the full ten-track program.
Cross-coast production timeline
New York tracking in late 1990 and Los Angeles mixing in early 1991 are printed on the release page.
Colossus left open
The US CD includes an explicit note that performer information for 'Colossus' is unavailable on that pressing.
Listen For
Abraham
Opens with Berlin, Almond, Levin, Badrena, and Alex Foster in the same credited ensemble.
A Solitary Man
Title track led by Moroch and Levin without Berlin in the per-track bass line on Discogs.
Through Rose Glasses
Late-program Berlin track with sopranino sax color from Foster.
Track Listing
- 1. Abraham — 6:24
- 2. A Solitary Man — 6:14
- 3. Gil Sings With The Angels — 6:32
- 4. Either/Or End Up -> Down — 6:57
- 5. The Sad Truth — 5:00
- 6. Streetband — 6:32
- 7. The Best Pasta In Jamaica — 5:40
- 8. Through Rose Glasses — 6:10
- 9. Colossus — 6:08
- 10. 2069 (A Spaced Oddity) — 7:00
Musicians
- Pete Levin: keyboards, synthesizer, piano, programming, production; organ and vocoder on selected tracks
- Jeff Berlin: bass (tracks 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 on Discogs)
- Cliff Almond: drums (tracks 1, 4, 5, 7, 8)
- Manolo Badrena: percussion (multiple tracks)
- Alex Foster: saxophones (multiple tracks)
- Nick Moroch: guitar (tracks 2, 6, 7)
- Lew Soloff: trumpet (track 3)
- Ray Anderson: trombone (track 4)
- Alan Meyerson: rainstick (track 3); mixed by
- Jonathan F. P. Rose: executive producer
- Jason Baker: recorded by
- Bob Ludwig: mastered by
Technical Credits
- Recorded at Creative Audio Recording, New York, NY (December 1990)
- Mixed at Eldorado Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA (February 1991)
- Mastered at Masterdisk, New York, NY (March 1991)
- US CD: Gramavision R2 79457-2; marketed by Mesa/Bluemoon, distributed by Rhino per Discogs
- SPARS code AAD on cited US CD