Steve Lieberman (The Gangsta Rabbi)- The Rabbi Is Dead
2011, J-Dub Records
2011, J-Dub Records
The Gangsta Rabbi is back. NewYork's reigning king of garage punk, Steve Lieberman hits harder than ever onhis 3rd album for J-Dub Records, The Rabbi Is Dead. Lieberman's insightinto social, political and religious issues is as wonderfully skewedand-yet-somehow on the mark as always. With 50,000 albums sold, 2 milliondownloads and 100K YouTube views, The Gangsta Rabbi is an undergroundrevolution.
The Rabbi Is Dead traverses the socio-political landscape, touching onsubjects such as STDs, taxes, prejudice, puppies, the Police reunion and thefall of commercial radio. As always, you'll need a lyric sheet to have any ideawhat Lieberman is singing about, the music is entertaining, and Lieberman'slyrics deciphered offer a slightly twisted yet viable understanding of theworld as it is, and perhaps how it should be. Highlights include the wild"A Dove Flies Over Baghdad", "Jewish Boy In The Moshpit","Plus Sized Girls (Always Rock My World)" and "Over The Sea OfReeds".
Lieberman fleshes out the sound thistime around, adding six-string guitar into the mix, augmenting the usual drums,bass and flute sound and giving his songs more sonic weight and density. It wouldbe nice to listen to a Gangsta Rabbi record without a lyric sheet, but itsomehow just wouldn't be right. The Rabbi Is Dead is certainly anacquired taste, but if you really get it, you'll love it.
Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about Steve Lieberman at www.gangstarabbi.com or www.myspace.com/gangstarabbi. TheRabbi Is Dead is available from Amazon.com as a CDor Download. The album is also available via iTunes.