Soul Kiss is the latest release by Jim Roberti. Soul Kiss departs from Roberti's first two releases in that he assembled a four-piece band of great friends to demo and record the project. The result is a punchier sounding disc with some great individual performances. Recorded in Atlanta, GA (FMG Music) and Allentown, PA (9th Street Studios) the disc boasts 10 Roberti originals. Among the highlights are Museum, If You Don't and My Time. Lots of backing vocals and guitar tracks give the disc a very lush sound, while Roberti's lyrics are familiar if not a little neurotic. Songs like Soul Kiss and Italic Dream leave the listener with an array of possible interpretations, while Shellfish, Salami touches on Roberti's penchant for dark humor. Sand or Snow, Last to Remember and If You Don't address the familiar theme of hopeless helplessness in human relationships. Gary Wehrkamp, founding member of the progressive rock group Shadow Gallery and co-producer of Soul Kiss adds his smart, wasabic guitar style. Kevin Leggieri, a founding member of one-time Atlantic recording artists Solution a.d. adds his solid, understated bass flavor, and Paul Cipriano, an attendee of the Berklee School of Music hits drums.
Blend (1999) is the second solo CD from Jim Roberti. Dominated by acoustic guitars and light keyboards, Blend has an earthy quality. Aberration, She Went Down, and Love Myself are live favorites. The song PSE (Psycho Sexual Emergency) is also a well-known live number. Blend was produced by Roberti, engineered by Jeff Boyer (Menagerie, Saylorsburg, PA) and mixed by Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery, 9th Street Studios) and Roberti. Mastering was handled by Gene Paul at Db Plus in NYC. Roberti plays guitars, basses, and keyboards and sings lead/backing vocals on Blend while Paul Cipriano plays drums and percussion. Roberti's mood on Blend is somewhat somber, while enjoying moments of silliness in songs like Love and Rent.
Maybaby (1997) is the first solo CD from Jim Roberti and was recorded between April of '96 and April of '97 at the Menagerie in Saylorsburg, PA. It was produced and mixed by Roberti and Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery, 9th Street Studios) engineered by Jeff Boyer, and mastered at Sloyer Sound in Bethlehem, PA. An exercise in self-indulgence, Maybaby wanders from pop to eclectic to acoustic. Roberti played all instruments (with few exceptions) and wrote and arranged the disc, making Maybaby a unique-sounding record. People from all age groups have connected with the timeless elements in songs like Sister's Lament, Child Waiting, and Someday.
Yellow (1995) is an album of ten songs that preceded the production of Maybaby. It was recorded on four-track cassette and features a drum machine instead of live drums. Despite the obvious production limitations that come along with this format, Yellow is a collector's item for Roberti fans. It includes demo versions of Child Waiting, Sister's Lament, and Bleu Kordaroi as well as the live classic Love Myself. Other highlights include, Young White Body, This Town and the title track. Roberti used his experimental curiosities to produce a unique home demo and his maturing talent for producing and arranging music is evident. Yellow is only available by special order through JimRoberti.com.
Feel Say Be Live (1993) is an EP of five songs Roberti recorded with a short-lived four piece band in the early '90's called Ark of Puppets. The disc contains mostly live-in-studio versions of some of the bands more popular live originals. All songs were written by Roberti and the disc is only available by special order through JimRoberti.com.