Jeff Liberman – Solitude Within (1975) review
(Original release on Librah/1975; reissue on Out-Sider/2016)
The second
of three Liberman albums reissued by Out-Sider (with liner notes from our
editor) is a little more ballsy than his debut, from the ferocious bluesy stomp
of ‘I Can’t Change’ and the funky ‘Rock Or Roll Me’ (note the subtle change
from the expected in the title!), to the sexy strut of ‘Life Is Just A Show’,
which finds Liberman in his Elvis mode, as does ‘Woman’, which might stray a
tad too far into a lounge lizard routine. Although Liberman is obviously having
fun with himself and his listeners.
of three Liberman albums reissued by Out-Sider (with liner notes from our
editor) is a little more ballsy than his debut, from the ferocious bluesy stomp
of ‘I Can’t Change’ and the funky ‘Rock Or Roll Me’ (note the subtle change
from the expected in the title!), to the sexy strut of ‘Life Is Just A Show’,
which finds Liberman in his Elvis mode, as does ‘Woman’, which might stray a
tad too far into a lounge lizard routine. Although Liberman is obviously having
fun with himself and his listeners.
Still, there is time for strolling through
the park or lying in the grass and staring at the clouds while listening to the
crispy, jazzy licks of the evocative ‘Springtime’, and spacey, electronic
interludes like ‘A Myopic Euphoria’ alter the pace and mood and inject a little
fun into the set. The title track and ‘Soft and Tasty’ are both
self-referential/self-explanatory instrumentals that are, indeed, quite tasty,
and closer ‘Transition’ has an easy going, jazzy groove that did indeed point
towards Liberman’s transition in a more jazz direction on his next album,
despite the abrupt about-face midway through into roaring rock territory that
also plays off the song’s title!
the park or lying in the grass and staring at the clouds while listening to the
crispy, jazzy licks of the evocative ‘Springtime’, and spacey, electronic
interludes like ‘A Myopic Euphoria’ alter the pace and mood and inject a little
fun into the set. The title track and ‘Soft and Tasty’ are both
self-referential/self-explanatory instrumentals that are, indeed, quite tasty,
and closer ‘Transition’ has an easy going, jazzy groove that did indeed point
towards Liberman’s transition in a more jazz direction on his next album,
despite the abrupt about-face midway through into roaring rock territory that
also plays off the song’s title!
– Jeff Penczak
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