Robert Berry Discusses New 3.2 Album
Third Impression maintains the style of his previous two albums with progressive rock legend Keith Emerson.
Multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Robert Berry will release the third and final installment of a project that began 33 years ago when his Third Impression album — under the 3.2 band name — comes out on Feb. 12. It will be the culmination of Berry’s collaboration with Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson.
Berry and progressive rock superstars Emerson (keyboards) and Carl Palmer (drums) released To the Power of Three as the band 3 back in 1988. Many years later, Emerson heard a live album release from a 3 concert and got excited about the band again. Frontiers Records had been asking Berry about a follow-up and the label was willing to spend the money to get the album made — though not willing to put up enough money to lure the busy Palmer away from other projects and back to 3.
Berry and Emerson were planning to have Simon Phillips add drums toward the end of their sessions when they began work on the second release — calling the project 3.2. When the former ELP keyboardist took his own life in 2016, that album — The Rules Have Changed — nearly didn’t happen. Eventually, Berry was able to carry on with some prompting from Emerson’s son, and the record came out in 2018, selling well for the label.
One massive, nine-minute track that wouldn’t fit on The Rules Have Changed, “Never,” was all that was left over from the previous session, so when the label asked Berry for another 3.2 record, the veteran rocker wasn’t sure he could deliver.
“When Frontiers was trying to get me to do it and I had the one song I didn't use, I thought, there's no way,” Berry said. “I'm not ready, I don't have anything. I figured, The Rules Have Changed was it. That was a tribute to the band, to Keith, lyrically, and everything was all about my relationship and time with him.
“They just said ‘not many albums are this successful right now. You really have to take it to heart and give it a try.’ And I started writing. And I found that even though it took six months to write the songs I had to do before I started working on a “Never” again, it wasn't a struggle. What was a struggle was getting the special parts in them. That's what Keith always supplied. That took a little time because I needed to insert some more cleverness.”
The result of all that work is Third Impression, 10 songs that might not all feature Emerson’s input, but for the most part channel his spirit. Everything heard on the album was played or sung by Berry, who said he doesn’t believe in things like psychic powers, but he did feel as if Emerson’s aura or influence was driving him to complete the album.
The simplest way to describe Third Impression is to say that those who liked The Rules Have Changed will likely enjoy this new release. That isn’t to say there are no surprises. The opening track, “Top of the World,” features some Celtic-style acoustic guitar. One of the two nine-minute tracks that bookend the album, it begins with about a minute of acoustic guitar before the vocals kick in. The song eventually gets heavier and grows, straying dangerously — but not unpleasantly — close to Led Zeppelin territory at times. Berry said he wanted listeners to have to hear that first before getting into the more familiar musical territory later in the album.
The songs between the opening and closing tracks generally run between three and six minutes in length. Berry said long progressive tracks often fail to hook the listener so he wanted to keep them manageable, noting that bands like Yes and Genesis were exceptions who could write longer form songs that still managed to include plenty of memorable hooks.
After a short rocker called “What Side You’re On,” the Emerson keyboard influence can truly be felt on “Black of Night.” Some almost military-style drums in parts of this song give it a slightly Palmer-esque feel as well. Another shorter number, “Killer of Hope,” features an intricate keyboard solo, then gives way to the haunting “Missing Piece.”
The most emotional song on the album is “Bond of Union,” which Berry wrote for his mother.
“A song that's important to me, of course, was the single just put out, ‘Bond of Union.’ I lost my mom two years ago and I wrote that for her,” he said. “She was really sick and there was no funeral for her. We just had a little service. There was no way I could sing this song there and so it just didn't work out. And so, I wanted to honor her. So, I worked it up for this album and there's an acoustic version on the Japanese release, which is the actual version that I wrote for her. They changed a few words for this to make it more about your parents and everybody you know, raised by either a good or a bad parent, it still made us who we are today.”
The wonderfully phrased “The Devil of Liverpool” follows “Bond of Union.” It’s a song based on a story about a loan shark that he was told by a childhood friend of George Harrison. Taking a break from a press tour, his guide told Berry the story while he was touring historic Beatles locations with his wife.
“Emotional Trigger,” a bit of a softer, jazzier number with piano bits and keyboards that echo Emerson’s signature style, is another nice surprise on the album. That’s followed by the four-and-a-half-minute “A Fond Farewell,” which could have come directly off of To the Power of Three, if not an actual ELP album.
Finally, the ambitious and sprawling Emerson collaboration “Never” closes Third Impression. If not for this track, the entire album might not exist. Berry confirmed that there won’t be another 3.2 release, as there is no longer any material connecting himself as a solo artist to Keith Emerson.
“I don't have anything (left) that Keith and I worked together on. And if I can't work together with him then I don't feel it's an honest effort of a 3 album,” he said. “So, there's three albums to the 3 legacy. Two of them are 3.2 because only two of us did them. And I just can't do any more.”
Berry is in fine voice throughout, indistinguishable in quality from his 2018 sound and only marginally more weathered than he sounded in 1988 when The Power of Three was released. He sounds a bit like Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band at times. The instrumentation and mix are of the quality of albums with much bigger budgets.
As previously stated, fans of Berry’s past work with 3 and 3.2 will find plenty to like here. The album will be available on all the usual digital channels and in physical CD form at Amazon.
You can watch my entire interview with Berry on YouTube for more background on 3 and 3.2, a tour of his studio and equipment, stories about his work with the Greg Kihn Band, and more.
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