Album Liner Notes
Lifelike
Lifelike is not a normal one-band live album, and that is exactly why it is useful in Jeff Berlin's discography. Klaus Doldinger assembled material from several live contexts, so the record moves between the core Passport lineup and a very different guest-heavy setting where Jeff appears only briefly but memorably.
Overview
This album matters because it is not honest to treat it like a straightforward Jeff Berlin feature. He is not the bassist for the whole Passport record. He appears on two tracks, and those two tracks feel like a distinct satellite session inside a larger live compilation.
That distinction actually makes the entry stronger. On 'Sambukada' and 'Stormy Monday Blues,' Jeff is heard with Steve Jordan and Richard Tee, plus David 'Fathead' Newman, and on the blues feature Etta James and Brian Ray. That puts him in a very different live vocabulary than the main Passport material around it.
So the point of the liner notes is not to overstate his presence. It is to show exactly where he enters, who he plays with, and why those two performances stand apart from the rest of the album.
Quick Snapshot
- The album is a 13-track live release assembled from performances in Mainz and Stuttgart in June 1980, Montreux in July 1980, and one earlier Montreux performance from 1977.
- Jeff Berlin is only on 'Sambukada' and 'Stormy Monday Blues', both of which use a very different lineup from the core Passport tracks.
- That split matters: most of the record documents Klaus Doldinger, Hendrik Schaper, Dieter Petereit, David Crigger, and Kevin Mulligan, while Jeff turns up in a separate American-leaning all-star frame.
A stitched live album
Lifelike is assembled from multiple venues and years, which means the personnel and production context shift across the record.
Jeff only on two tracks
Berlin appears on 'Sambukada' and 'Stormy Monday Blues,' not across the full album, and the notes now make that explicit.
A different guest world
Jeff's two tracks pull in Richard Tee, Steve Jordan, David 'Fathead' Newman, and Etta James, which gives them a very different identity from the core Passport performances.
Listen For
Sambukada
Jeff's first track on the album pairs him with Richard Tee, Steve Jordan, Rafael Cruz, Sammy Figueroa, and David 'Fathead' Newman.
Stormy Monday Blues
The second Jeff appearance adds Etta James and Brian Ray, turning the album momentarily into a much more overt blues-soul crossover setting.
Ataraxia
A reminder of what the core Passport live band sounds like without the guest-heavy detour around Jeff's two tracks.
Track Listing
- 1. Introduction — 0:19
- 2. Shirokko — 6:38
- 3. Guna Guna — 5:13
- 4. Bahia Do Sol — 4:18
- 5. Morning Sun — 4:46
- 6. Fairy Tale — 4:38
- 7. Ostinato — 10:21
- 8. Jadoo — 7:38
- 9. Sambukada — 7:51
- 10. Stormy Monday Blues — 7:56
- 11. Ataraxia — 8:28
- 12. Dreamware — 5:37
- 13. Alegria (Earthbound Version) — 8:00
Musicians
- Klaus Doldinger: saxophone, keyboards, synthesizer, vocoder
- Hendrik Schaper: keyboards, synthesizer
- Dieter Petereit: bass on tracks 2 to 5 and 11 to 13
- David Crigger: drums on tracks 2 to 4 and 11 to 13
- Kevin Mulligan: guitar on tracks 2 to 5 and 11 to 13
- Alan Gorrie: bass on track 8
- Steve Ferrone: drums on track 8
- Jim Mullen: guitar solo on track 8
- Hamish Stuart: guitar on track 8
- Onnie McIntyre: guitar on track 8
- Roger Ball: keyboards on track 8
- Herbie Mann: flute on tracks 8 and 10
- Sonny Fortune: saxophone on track 8
- David 'Fathead' Newman: saxophone on tracks 8 to 10
- Dick Morrissey: saxophone on track 8
- Molly Duncan: saxophone on track 8
- Jeff Berlin: bass on tracks 9 and 10
- Steve Jordan: drums on tracks 9 and 10
- Richard Tee: piano on tracks 9 and 10
- Rafael Cruz: percussion on tracks 8 and 9
- Sammy Figueroa: percussion on tracks 8 and 9
- Brian Ray: guitar on track 10
- Etta James: vocals on track 10
Technical Credits
- Producer: Klaus Doldinger on tracks 1 to 7 and 9 to 13
- Mixing and mastering engineer: Tommy Klemt
- Recording engineer: Gene Paul on tracks 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11
- Recording engineer: David Richards on tracks 2, 6, and 11
- Recording engineer: Thomas Kukuck on tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, and 13
- Recorded live at Elzer Hof, Mainz, June 3, 1980
- Recorded live at Liederhalle Stuttgart, June 4, 1980
- Recorded live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 10, 1980
- Recorded live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 10, 1977