Search - Richard Berman :: Holding Hands

RICHARD'S BEST YET...

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...and that's saying a lot, because I happen to feel that everything Richard Berman has written and recorded is first-rate material. Now and then even a consistently fine songwriter releases an especially shining work...and that's what's happened here.



The songs contained on this release are from the heart and soul of the writer...and they are guaranteed to touch the heart and soul of the listener. Richard writes with what I would call a 'studied sentimentality', as opposed to the knee-jerk variety. The feelings that he so eloquently expresses in these 12 tunes are deep and real...they've been grown and developed over the course of a lifetime. In 'The wedding dance', he can sings from the point of view of a dad dancing with his grown daughter at her wedding, musing on the gift of being a parent and taking comfort in the gentle touch of his wife's hand in his, and in the process illuminate the precious and rare treasures of the experiences without getting maudlin in the least. In 'The gifts', he has crafted a song that sits so comfortably in the bardic tradition of Ireland that it could easily be mistaken as traditional, a classic passed down orally through the years. 'The wild west' speaks from the heart of a man living at the cusp of the old ways and the new, knowing that change is inevitable, but aching for what will soon be lost forever.



Several of the songs relate the joys and pain of long-term, deep relationships...and all of us know that they're filled with both. Richard knows that we have to accept both happiness and sorrow as gifts, as opportunities for learning, growth and appreciation...and his songs convey that wisdom gently but firmly. 'We're not strangers' has one of the most poignant choruses I've ever run across: 'Is there something I cannot give you? Is it something that we had before? No one's as perfect as a stranger, and we're not strangers anymore.' At the same time the song acknowledges the bumps in the road, it asks the questions that too often go unasked...the reaching out that is so vital.



There is humor here as well: 'If you practice hard enough' is spoken over a Bach prelude played on the piano, illustrating one aspect of the related tale; 'Three men died and went to heaven' takes a joke that's been passed around for decades in many forms and makes it funny one more time.



Social issues are represented also: 'My soul is rested' is a moving memory of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, a call for us to reach out and grasp the brotherhood that still, sadly, eludes us too often; 'the album's title track, 'People holding hands', decries the pain we inflict on others whose lifestyle choices don't align comfortably with our own.



The album ends with 'Lying in this bed', a love song of the depth that few others can write.



Richard's voice and guitar are in fine form, as ever...and the choice of accompanying musicians is as near perfect as it could be. The arrangements are full where they need to be, and simple where it's appropriate...never too heavy or crowded, and never, ever thin.



Pass this album up at your peril...and if Richard comes to your area to play, by all means get out and hear him in person. Both are experiences that will touch your mind, heart and soul."