Change the World With a Sound

Album Review

Rebbe Soul (aka Bruce Berger) looks at the world through a very Jewish perspective, but his vision is wide open and turned toward peace. The multi-instrumentalist, who specializes in fretted instruments, has his own material here, but more interesting, in many ways, is his interpretation of more traditional material, like "Tzamah L'Cha Nafshi," which includes a scorching rap from Prophet X, and his new version of "Avinu" (which he's covered on every album; this time it's an acoustic take). His own material isn't quite as strong, although "Kaddish," taking prayers for the dead from around the world, has plenty of power. The middle of the album sags a little — the material ends up with the same feel — but the bookends more than make up for that. While you can't really call Rebbe Soul a major artist, he's certainly found his niche and is mining it in an individual fashion, which makes him a real success.