"Blend" (6/1/99) is second offering from Pennsylvania artist Jim Roberti. The disc features some of Roberti's best writing, playing and singing to date. Dominated by acoustic guitars, "blend" has an earthy quality and boasts some serious hits including Aberration, She went Down, and Love Myself. The disc was written, arranged and produced by Roberti, who played all guitars, basses, and keyboards and did the lion's share of the backing vocals. Roberti's mood on "blend" is somewhat somber, while still enjoying moments of silliness. Individuality, duality and sexual preoccupation dominate... Jim Roberti is a musician's musician, having extensive live performance experience since the age of 13. He has a unique vocal quality and perseverance under demanding gig schedules and plays guitar, drums, bass and piano/keyboards. Roberti has been making a name for himself in the Northeast PA region, New York City and colleges in the Northeastern United States for over 12 years. Having a successful touring/live schedule has allowed him to write, produce and finance his own albums outside of the influences of musical trends. Roberti's biggest influences include the Beatles, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Phish and most importantly, his own experience learning a wide variety of covers and playing under diverse circumstances. One Amazon.com reviewer wrote: This is one of the best C.D.'s of the year!, September 20, 2000 Reviewer: A 3-year old music fan from Freeform radio/wnti/ Northwest New Jerseyww.wnti.org This new c.d. recently released by Jim Roberti is a stunning collection. Mr.Roberti's musicianship and vocals are flawless! In fact the thing I like best is that Roberti is an extremely gifted singer and wordsmith. Clever and tasty do not accurately describe him. He seems to borrow influences from many varieties of music while reeling in the big one in the sense that he kows what he wants and takes you their musically. Every cut is a pleasure and the c.d. should be listened to in it's entirety! My favorite cut (if pressed) is "Down...she went" a playful working of metaphoric double entendre that is superbly crafted and presented by Jim and his fine band. I recommend it highly for those who want to be exposed to excellence. Comparisons to other artists of the mainstream are impossible for this talented musician who follows no leader and boldly creates music that comes from his heart. He is one of the premiere freeform artists, as he is doing his own thing honestly, and straight on. DON'T MISS THIS C.D. it belongs in your collection! Ralph Drake/The Rough Draft Radio Program - Fridays 4 to 6 pm New York time /Program director Freeform 91.9 wnti ww.wnti.org broadcasting on the World-Wide Web.