ALBUM OF THE SUMMER
Review by Bruce J Maier

Publisher, Damn Good Tunes

This is my review about the singer-songwriter named Bill Berry. I have been listening to his new album for about 3 weeks now and I have enjoyed it mainly in the car most occasions. Driving along in an automobile is a great opportunity for me to totally absorb all the new music that I am privileged to hear before many others do. I don’t have to answer telephones, I can just look straight ahead and play my music as loud as I want and not bother a soul. Lucky for me my friend Kaytea at Xo Publicity always sends me the latest cutting-edge music from some of the most exciting artists in the country and we have been reviewing her top picks for nearly nine of our years in business.
When I saw the cover of the CD which is to be released this July 22nd I cracked a major smile without even hearing the music as I see this Mr. Berry holding onto a huge cardboard cutout of the one and only comedian Steve Martin. And of course there is a song and a story All about Steve Martin and Bill Berry but I will leave that to our readers to investigate later. The criteria has been met for certain, this IS, the ” Album Of The Summer ” !
Though this is not a complete review of every track in depth , there are a few songs that really caught my attention; I’m At an Awkward Stage is one of the most poignant significant songs ever written by a middle-aged man who has ever been seeking true love maybe a little too late. The man in the lyric is in the company of a woman at least half his age or younger with parents who graduated high school just two years after himself. The character in the story actually goes home to meet “Mom and Dad “who are just two years his junior. Pop says to the effect, “so son, what are you planning on doing about your life?” He replies that the truth is he doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. How many of you men out there get this dilemma? All kidding aside I think this tune is an instant hit and that radio will respond quite well to it.

Full-throttle entertainment in this outstanding new record, I will be enjoying these songs for a very long time.
-Bruce J. Maier

Song choice number two is Big Heart, where we find our hero does not possess the best choice of words when trying to meet a beautiful woman in a bar and he talks about himself way too much. The implied entendre about how he has a big big …( and then you hear The kick drums go….) Thump Thump Thump heart, made me laugh way out loud the first time I heard it ! And then there are references to his size 13 shoes and, as he tells the young woman there could be something “very big” between them always goes back to his heart, though this listener thinks he may have meant something else. Now obviously a civilized woman in modern times is not going to listen to such an idiot and of course the young lady in the story walks away from him. He can’t just let it go, oh no -and he has to shout out about how good she looks walking away. Yes ladies he is a jerk. I have to admit we all know that guy and I think it was great that Bill Berry was able to comically create a biographical rendition of possibly one of the most hated male types in society.

Absolutely the most fun and at times funniest music I have heard in decades,
-Bruce J. Maier

The Piano Tuner With the Lazy Eye on the other hand is a well-crafted song that is not like pie in your face gut splitting funny but it is quirky and well said. The story is of a gentleman with an antique piano who calls up a professional piano tuner and he happens to notice that she has indeed one regular eye and one lazy eye. As interesting as the story goes the music it’s really very good orchestration with super great players but because there’s this part in there all about the piano being out of pitch, as she’s playing it the old upright and testing how well she’s tuned the instrument. A verse later in the song she obviously has completed her work on the piano, and now in the background what was recorded is now perfectly in tune. Brilliant!
The third song I would like to mention would be one of those you have to be improper company, you know your old drinking buddy from college type of best friend well you’ve both had a little too much 2 really appreciate the magnitude of the comedy in Crabs, or she gave me the crabs. Yes the song is funny in a Weird Al type of way and it has to be heard to be believed as it is produced just like a big Broadway musical with a full instrumentation and background singers. I could just imagine all of the dancers and actors on a big stage having uber fun in a song with a subject which no one hopes to ever experience!
Absolutely the most fun and at times funniest music I have heard in decades, I can’t just call Bill Berry the next Al Yankovic or Jimmy Buffet. It’s not even fair to make a comparison as the music productions are totally original and contain bits of the wits if you will of Bill Berry’s exquisite musicianship and vocals. Sometimes the horns and keyboards are jazzy in a “New Orleans moves to New York City for the night “moment. Full-throttle entertainment in this outstanding new record, I will be enjoying these songs for a very long time.
BILL BERRY / AWKWARD STAGE
Songwriter’s Square Records
All songs written and arranged by Bill Barry
Billberrymusic.com
Songwritersquarerecords.com
Thanks again to XO Publicity!