To most listeners,
Jeff Berlin is utterly unknown as a musician and composer; to progressive rock enthusiasts, however,
Berlin is a god, ranked alongside Jaco Pastorious and
Victor Wooten as one of the most exciting virtuoso bassists ever.
Crossroads compiles his first two albums, Pump It! and Champion, into a single-disc "greatest hits" of sorts, although neither album had much impact beyond jazz-rock circles. Splashy keyboards and '80s slickness date the recordings considerably, but the new track order plays well, with
Buddy Miles,
Neil Peart,
Ronnie Montrose, and
Neal Schon being a few of the musicians contributing master chops. The set also features the first recordings of guitarist extraordinaire
Scott Henderson and presents
Berlin, surprisingly, in more of a supporting than a starring role, although "Manos De Piedra," "Dixie," and the incredibly melodic "Bach" show off some of his fantastic virtuosic soloing. ~ Jim Smith