Moe Berg: Summer's Over

When I say that Summer's Over is a Fans Only album, I don't mean to imply that that is a bad thing. Moe Berg and TPOH haven't exactly been chasing radio play these last 10 years or so.

As sales decreased after Love Junk (1988), Berg's writing became more and more determined in its adherence to his musical vision, and it is a great one. I had thought this growth had peaked with the bizarre and wonderful The Wonderful World Of... (1997). But no! Check this album out.

I laughed out loud the first time I heard Summer's Over, standing in a Sam's. I was stunned by its boldness and audacity. I couldn't imagine what Berg was thinking, starting off with a truly lousy Casio synth piece, "Introducing the Solution." (There are two of these bombs on the record - synthesizer-demo-sounding instrumentals - and let me remind you that Moe Berg is a guitar player.)

The whole thing is very lo-fi and eccentric, and Berg is at his most unabashed, self-loathing, nerdiest, bumbling high school boy-ish. The inside sleeve is graced with two large bible quotes, both of "Luke 6:37": "Forgive and ye shall be forgiven." Fair enough, because we do live in glass houses.

The lyrics reflect some of the great concerns and questions of our generation: Is there a purpose to life? If we're going to die anyway, why wait? and If your girlfriend dies and goes to heaven, is she free to date other angels?

	Is Heaven divided into cities
	Like Seattle and Shanghai?
	Will your name be in Heaven's holy phone book
	So I can call you up and tell you I've arrived?
		- How Will I Find You in Heaven

I really like this album a lot - so why is it so hard to write a straightforward and flattering review of Summer's Over? Why do all of my compliments sound like insults?

Maybe because this record is the best representation of Moe Berg's persona: it is the true work of a romantically inclined, self-hating guy. It lacks any of the bravado that Berg has when singing with The Pursuit of Happiness; it replaces that with quirky confessions and self-deprecation, which is a good reason for its being a solo album, rather than the sixth TPOH record.

	If you try to get close
	I'll just back off
	Either way, why bother with me
	If you're even half-pretty 
	I'll be leering like a pervert
	I'll make you so uncomfortable you'll flee
		- Butterknife Dull

The best moments on this album are sheer brilliance - "Angelique Is a Free Spirit" and the hidden "Vodka" song - and the rest is all interesting and fun. This is a great album, especially if you dig Moe Berg. Except for those synth songs. Forgive me, but they suck.

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Moe Berg: Summer's Over. Iron Music Group, 1997.
Review by jep. 1st issue, January 2001.

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