OK, I have to admit that I at first didn't want to tackle Kovac's stuff because of a) his picture scared me -- if I say something bad, will he shoot me? b) his description of his music from last year and now and c) I sampled a couple of tunes and I wasn't sure if I would "get into" his sound enough to do an accurate review. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised by The Rattle Bag right off the bat. It just goes to show that first impressions can be wrong.
Also in reviewing it is important to know the goals and aspirations of the artist. I mean if an artist feels that they can sell a million records with their album, that probably demands a different type of review than if someone only records once a year (just for RPM) and banged a bunch of pots together (musically, of course). But I don't know the mind of Kovac, so I judge it in one way: Does it move me? That is, does it challenge me to listen, are the lyrics interesting and novel, does the musicianship FIT the songs, etc, etc, pow!
Does it Move me? Here goes.
1) The Rattle Bag (Duet) - 3:10 Right away this song feels like it could be an Irish folk song and then the drums and bass kick in and it becomes a sparse indie-rock tune that Death Cab Cutie could have done. I liked the back and forth of the singers (was that "flocks of madri-gulls" that was sung, see I need the lyrics.) . I thought the vocal quality was fine. Some technical work could be done to make things sound better, but everything felt heartfelt. This is a good way to kick off the CD. I did have to look up "rattle bag" on google.
2) Waiting for the New Wave - 5:38 Hmmm, Interesting to put a song on Youtube with no video. Little rough in the beginning, but it seems to catch a groove. 1:20 is an awful long time for an introduction for a song that you want to sell on iTunes (see I read along on the YouTube thingy). Since your goal is to sell it and it is sort of poppy -- we have to ask, what is the hook? See, I have to go back and listen again to see if I can say OK what is the thing someone will sing after they hear it so they can go find it on iTunes and buy it. Is the the hook line "Waiting for the new Wave" -- I don't think so. I think as Randy on AI says it was "Aww-Right, man". I think it has some promise (it has a good groove), but if you want to a commercial thing, then you have to tighten it up and sell the hook!!!!!!!
3) The Protege - 5:28 Is that the Batman theme or Peter Gunn or something that you start out with, well it is sort of cool. You set the mood pretty well here and the lyrics seem to fit the mood pretty well. I couldn't tell if was a bodyguard for a rock star or someone in the high stakes drug game -- but that gets cleared up soon enough. The drumming was pretty decent for programming. I thought the middle section dragged on a little and the part starting at ~ 3:38 didn't work out for me. Overall, some interesting stuff going on with numerous sections that helped keep the interest up.
4) Everybody's Girlfriend - 3:38 Another YouTube with no video. I did notice that you have the same general text up about the iTunes thing, band, acoustic gigs, etc. I couldn't find anything to grab on to here. The singing might be a little too passive for the ansgst-laden lyrics. Dissonant keyboard was an interesting effect. You like the stops and starts a lot. Again, I have to assume you want this to be a commercial song -- I am not "getting" it. Now there may be those out there that love this type of stuff. Who are you competing with in order to get airplay or get someone to buy it? I listen to at least one Indie radio station here (and it is owned by Clear Channel -- go figure). This just might be a case where I am not the intended audience (LOL). Interesting stop near the end and then a fade in to repeat the hook over and over. That was effective.
5) The Devil Was Behind Us - 7:46 Couldn't find this song anywhere -- did I just miss it?
6) Anniversary Song (Instrumental) - 6:49 I like the way this one starts out and the guitar and bass stuff sounds good -- and again the percussion programming is pretty realistic. This one needs lyrics to hold my attention more. Seems like this could work in tv/film type background. If you are going to have a 6:49 instrumental, I think it needs a a stronger lead instrument that is really taking us places. I guess we would have to put this in a background "mood" category. Not doing much for me, unfortunately. Really liked the charged up rhythm guitar stuff at the end, though.
7) My Own - 6:43 Great percussion to start the song and the strummed guitar is a nice counterpoint to it all. This one has a nice bounce to it and it has an interesting set of lyrics for this -- -- this one has a "stalker" feel to it (ha ha). The lyrics and music are almost a juxtaposition, music happy and bouncy, lyrics full of mental anguish. Your singing style is staying basically the same from song to song. I guess it is good that I like your voice, but you might want to keep that in mind and go for more variation with the vocals. This song has some real promise.
8) Pride - 5:32 Couldn't find Pride anywhere either, sorry.
9) Book of Wisdom - 5:38 Loved the guitar sound at the beginning. This is a very enjoyable instrumental. Again, more of a mood piece for film type background -- never mind lyrics kick in at ~ 1:50 (LOL). The singing here works almost as another background instrument. Very laid back, low key delivery. This might have been a good song to crank up the vocal intensity. I like this song, but I have to sit back and say how would the singer from Counting Crows do the lead vox.
10) Sixeight - 3:46 Couldn't find this either. Are these songs really on your CD or did you replace them with others.
EDIT: Yup SixEight was there all along. I can see why this one was your favorite, it's a good one. Good melody, good flow and the instrumentation was well done. Good lead break. As always I look at "commercial" music as requiring as repeating hook that lends itself by being easily memorized by the listening public. Why -- folks like symmetry and familiarity. This song has a good enough of a melody to be a winner. I also believe that commercial songs for the most part have to have the title as the main hook. It is not required, but this "rule" should be broken all the time. Think of The Clash's "Train in Vain". Someone (the suits?) decided to change the title to "Train In Vain (Stand by Me)", because "stand by me" is the phrase that repeats and hooks. Great song by the way!
Overall Impressions: I am not sure if I the right reviewer for this music, but I did enjoy the chance to get outside of what I would normally listen to. I think this is a CD you should be proud to play for your friends. I definitely think you are close to developing a unique sound that is yours. Your musical sense is good and you do fantastic putting it all together by yourself. My major advice would be to really force yourself to vary the vocals. It would make each song stronger and more enjoyable. Great job! Where are those missing songs?????
I hope I made sense. I sort of rambled on and didn't do too much technical analysis. I hope it is helpful.
Kevin Emmrich cville ramblings.
Post edited by: KevinEmmrich, at: 2008/03/20 14:07
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What kind of music do you mostly prefer, so I have a frame of reference?
Missing songs: I never put up "Pride" and "The Devil Was Behind Us" because they didn't turn out well. "Sixeight" should be on my RPM page, but if for some reason it's not, its YouTube page is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIIRy6sN6o. It has the same text as all the other You Tube songs.
I also listed some YouTube songs from last year by accident. Oops!
1) The Rattle Bag (Duet) - 3:10 Thanks! This is a fun / sad song and I'm glad that at least the fun came across!
2) Waiting for the New Wave - 5:38 You're right that it takes too long to start. The Cure will often start their albums with a song whose first minute or two (or three) is instrumental, but it might be good to have a separate "single" mix of this song that starts sooner and puts the instrumental hook (the surfer lead guitar) more up front. As for the lyric hook...yeah, maybe I should do a repeated chorus or something. I would like to get on iTunes, but I don't expect to make millions. It would be enough to recoup the cost of making 20 CDs. Similar to New Order, a lot of my song names aren't in the song. I was tempted to throw some pictures of me playing onto YouTube, but I'm not made out of time.
3) The Protege - 5:28 You're right; the middle section is too long. Most of these songs are "first drafts," i.e. I throw in everything I think might be good and then strip it down in later drafts.
4) Everybody's Girlfriend - 3:38 I've no idea who my intended audience is, besides myself.
5) The Devil Was Behind Us - 7:46 I never put this song up. It didn't turn out very well.
6) Anniversary Song (Instrumental) - 6:49 See above comments about first drafts being too long.
7) My Own - 6:43 Great comment about my vocals needing variation! I'm not a singer but I was considering taking voice lessons to fix that.
8) Pride - 5:32 I never put this song up. It didn't turn out very well.
9) Book of Wisdom - 5:38 Again, good comments about the vocals; some screaming and yelling might be good. Cure and New Order fans (whom I guess are my target audience, now that I think about it) are accustomed to long breaks without singing, but I probably should do a "single" mix of this as well.
10) Sixeight - 3:46 I'm sorry you couldn't find this song; it was on my RPM page the last time I checked. It's my favorite song on the album so if you could listen to it... www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIIRy6sN6o
Thanks! You did a fine review. Was it my imagination, or were you struggling to find a polite way to say something you thought was too harsh? Like "this sounds like teeny-bopper '80s shit, but I guess it's decently-made teeny-bopper '80s shit"? I think it would be very helpful for me to know the less polite, possibly crushing thing you were trying to say more diplomatically!
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Ah yes, SixEight was there all along. I can see why this one was your favorite, it's a good one. Good melody, good flow and the instrumentation was well done. Good lead break. As always I look at "commercial" music as requiring as repeating hook that lends itself by being easily memorized by the listening public. Why -- folks like symmetry and familiarity. This song has a good enough of a melody to be a winner. I also believe that commercial songs for the most part have to have the title as the main hook. It is not required, but this "rule" should not be broken all the time. Think of The Clash's "Train in Vain". Someone (the suits?) decided to change the title to "Train In Vain (Stand by Me)", because "stand by me" is the phrase that repeats and hooks. Great song by the way!
Kovac: "Was it my imagination, or were you struggling to find a polite way to say something you thought was too harsh? "
If I thought it was lousy, I would have either said so or not chosen your songs to review. I try to be on the honest side and I tend to focus on the problem areas more than the good stuff -- mainly because feedback should try and help the artist improve their work (or at least improve it based on only my opinion).
Kovac: "What kind of music do you mostly prefer, so I have a frame of reference?"
That's a hard one to answer. For the past 1 1/2 years I have spent most of my music time listening to unsigned indie stuff that you find here at RPM and a couple of other forums I belong to. One of the songwriting sites I visit most frequently (www.jpfolks.com ) is mostly country and "story" type songs, so that is where my focus has been for awhile. I do listen to a indie type station here -- but I never find out who the artists are! Anyway, I enjoyed your CD and best of luck in the future -- keep writing and recording. You have a good singing voice, let 'er rip.
I guess no one wants to tackle my CD -- maybe my music is scaring them away!
Kevin cville ramblings
Post edited by: KevinEmmrich, at: 2008/03/20 14:08
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kavin
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Re:Critique of the Critique thread - 2008/03/20 13:32I like Book of Wisdom a hell of a lot! Even with the BIAB canned beat and dissonant guitar solo. Must check out this Cure of which you speak....
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Night Driving
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Re:Critique of the Critique thread - 2008/03/20 13:56cville, i'll be glad to review your album when i get a chance, regardless of whether someone else will do it in order to be next in line. i have a few story songs of my own (including one of complete fiction that grew until it was 8 minutes long!) so maybe we'll be on similar pages. if i get to work in the small quiet room at work today, perhaps ill be able to take a crack at it, but only the gods of business and boredom have a hand in that matter.
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How's this for alternate / additional titles based on repeated lyrics?
1. The Rattle Bag (Be My Love) 2. Waiting for the New Wave (I'll Wait with You Forever) 3. The Protégé (Take the Money...or The Guns are in the Briefcase) 4. Everybody's Girlfriend (Sooner or Later) 5. The Devil Was Behind Us (these lyrics actually appear in the song...but only once) 6. My Own 7. Pride (also appears near the end) 10. Anniversary Song 11. Book of Wisdom (You Have Made All Things) 12. Sixeight (When the Party's Over)
Yeesh, besides "When the Party's Over" I think they all sound kinda lame.
For what does BAIB stand?
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Night Driving
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Critique Thread: Want Opinions on Your Album? - 2008/03/20 18:32Looks like someone's still gotta do Cville Ramblings. I have been running around at work unfortunately so I cannot it this afternoon. Hopefully someone else has the chance, and will be able to keep the thread rolling.
(and hopefully with the same subject line!)
Post edited by: Night Driving, at: 2008/03/20 18:36
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KevinEmmrich
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Re:Critique of the Critique thread - 2008/03/20 18:33BIAB = Band in a Box, software from PG Music ) that allows you to enter a chord progression and have it build a song for you. A lot of folks use it to build bass and drums and some keys and then add everything else themselves. It output midi files so you can use high quality plug-ins to get realistic sounds out. (it also can output WAV and MP3 files).
Kevin
Post edited by: KevinEmmrich, at: 2008/03/20 18:33
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tangmo
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Re:Critique of the Critique thread - 2008/03/20 18:38I'm downloading Kevin Emmerick's album now on my 26kbps connection. Since I've already been reviewed, don't let that stop anybody from joining the queue. If somebody else reviews it, I either will or won't do one myself.
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bkoz
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Re:Critique of the Critique thread - 2008/03/20 18:46Since there is no else to review at the moment I offer up Geezer for review. If someones wants to review it, I will be happy to review thiers in return. Does that violate the rules??
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kovic
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Re:Critique of the Critique thread - 2008/03/20 19:00Oh yeah, and thanks Kavin! I'm glad you like Book of Wisdom! I'm trying to get it on CD Baby as we speak.
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The goal is to create a perpetual thread in which everyone must wait for their own review until after they have reviewed another. So, you can choose to review one now and yours will be next in the queue, or you could wait a bit until you found something you wanted to review instead.
And RPMers! Please try to make sure that when you post in this thread, you keep ths subject line reading "Critique Thread: Want your Album Reviewed?" so that people see it on the right side of the screen and know what it is all about and join us!
This may mean that if you reply to someone else who has posted with a different subject line, i.e. "Critique of Critique Thread" or something of the sort, you should go in and change the subject of your message to "Critique Thread: Want your Album Reviewed?" because the subject of whatever you are replying to will show up as your subject.
Thanks guys, and looking forward to hearing and reading more!
Post edited by: Night Driving, at: 2008/03/20 19:24
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lyman
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/20 19:35I'll review Kevin's album! I have to run out on my lunch break but I will be able to start listening in a little while. I know somebody else offered to review it, he said his album was already reviewed, but I don't see why we both can't!
-Jonathan Hall
Post edited by: lyman, at: 2008/03/20 22:21
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BenDrake
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Re: - 2008/03/20 21:13KevinEmmrich wrote: "Looks like someone's still gotta do Cville Ramblings. "
lyman wrote: I'll review Kevin's album! I have to run out on my lunch break but I will be able to start listening in a little while. I know somebody else offered to review it, he said his album was already reviewed, but I don't see why we both can't!
Gee. I hope no one minds me reviewing it as well.
Cville Ramblings
1. Paper on The Floor Happy style acoustic track. Nice way to start an album in my opinion. My listening ears say this song is great, my mixing ears say the lower mids on the guitar could be turned down a little on some parts. Main vocals are very good. Harmony is a little iffy though.
2.Roll Daddy Roll Much heavier track than the first, and much funkier as well. I thought the horns sounded a bit muddy but the overall mixing was very good. In my personal opinion I thought the guitars could be louder but I enjoyed the track nontheless. Vocals on this track were also very good. No offence but I think you're wife does better harmony than you.
3. Did They Dream Like I do Back to the acoustic, with a bit of electric lead guitar. Me likes. The eq on this song gives the acoustic guitars a very warm sound. The sound of the lead electric guitar and its melody are a very nice contrast to the acoustic guitars. Probably the only thing negative I could say about this track is, again, the harmony vocals are iffy.
4. No Regrets The first track "Paper on The Floor" is marked Blugrass but in my opinion this one sounds much more like bluegrass. I noticed the first appearance of a harmonica. The harmony has improved on this track. Listening to this song will most likely give you a good feeling. The breaks with the lead guitar are fun. The downsides are the acoustic, folk, country kind of feel is getting slightly monotonous although this is my favorite song of that type so far.
5. Dark Recesses of My Mind Ah good, a litle change. Nicely mixed, Even on the 128kb version I can hear all the instruments without them getting muddy. The organ stands out nicely. There seems to be not a ton of variation in the chord progression but there is enough variety in all the instruments to cover for that. My favorite track so far. Harmony vocals steadily improving. Page said the guitar parts didn't work out yet but it sounded fine to me.
06. Let That River Flow. Once again here we are with the acoustic guitar and harmonica. There isn't anything technically wrong I could say about this song. It's all good Like the banjo but there isn't really anything to make this song stand out from any of the others. I'm sure this song has it's place but It's just a little to slow for my tastes. I dont listen to a ton of acoustic folk though.
07. She Don't Ask For Much Immediately I liked this songs better than the previous one. I think it has a better hook or maybe it was the previous songs general lack of hooks. Occasionally I noticed the guitars would go to one side or the other. Im not sure if this was intentionall or not. I just know occasionally I have that problem usually caused by compression and something loud on one side. Other than that great track.
08. Want Ad I'm usually into heavier music. I don't think this one is that heavy and in my opinion wouldn't quite qualify as punk as much as it would pop (again from Soundclicks genre listing). I do like this song quite a bit. The back and forth between you two is a well implimented Idea. The drums sounded a little thin In my opinion but maybe I'm just used to heavier drums. Really nice guitar solo at the end
09. Sitting By The Fire At this point I begin to think that maybe someone who likes country should be reviewing this album. I haven't heard the last track but this one seems to strike me as a last song of the album type of song. Either way nice mix, the harmony could be blended a little better.
10. Wednesday Type of Girl There isn't really anything I could say about this track that I haven't said about the others.
11. Town's On the Edge The banjo stands out more in this track. Somwhat of a depressing song. The town doesn't appear to be doing to well. A nice ending to an album.
Overall the album has very high production quality in all the recording and mixing and such. You could say about this album, It has a very consistant feel with a few nice breaks or you could say that most of the songs sort of blend together. This is more likely to be enjoyed by people who are into acoustic folk type music. Myself being into electronic rock which is pretty much the opposite, had to take a step back to look at this album objectively. I'm not sure I did the greatest job but hey, I tried.
And apologies to lyman/Jonathan for also reviewing this album.
Post edited by: BenDrake, at: 2008/03/20 21:15
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BenDrake
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Re: - 2008/03/20 21:15Oh, Forgot to post my album info. My album can be found on Jamendo.
First off, cool cover art! Did you do that yourself?
Here we go, writing as I listen...
"Good Morning" Nice opening track, good title for the music. I can almost feel the rays of the sun coming in the window. I like the contrast between the quieter piano/synth sections and the more "rockin'" parts. A very "positive"-feeling song overall.
"The Sun Is Out Today" 6/8, my favorite time signature! (I love the kinds of polyrhythms that 6 beats per measure sets up.) Another one that builds up well. I found myself thinking about halfway through it that maybe the 4-chord progression was going to get too repetitive but then you mixed it up nicely. Very creative instrumentation!
"Second Chances" The piano opening sounds almost like something I'd hear in an Apple commercial. (I mean that in a positive way... I guess it makes me think of that Yael Naim song in the MacBook Air commercial.) The orchestration here also makes me think of mid-'60s British pop (albeit with better production!)... maybe "She's a Rainbow" by the Rolling Stones (another Apple commercial song). Nice change-up about 2/3 of the way through.
"How Often I Feel" Ooh, here's something different. It's good not to start every track with piano. Kind of a low-key interlude sort of thing. I'm trying to put my finger on exactly what it reminds me of. But again, I like it.
"I Was Right (Go Brandon!)" Wow, more surprises! The "studio chatter" reminds me of something from Frank Zappa's "Sheik Yerbouti."
"Cowbell" I really like the synth bass groove here. Great electronic sound. I'd buy a whole album of this kind of stuff. And it just gets better! I love it! I have to say though, I beat you to the whole Christopher Walken sampling thing with a track I recorded back in 2001. (Then again, this skit never gets old!) Very creative breakdown in the middle.
"A Plethora of Decent" This title threw me. At first I thought it was "Descent," then I thought it was "Dissent." "Decent?" I'm confused. Anyway, nice little metal riff. ("Nice little metal riff?" Did I really say that?)
"DuoTone" Cool mix of electronic sounds and metal guitar. This album just keeps getting better as I listen to it! The breakdown reminds me a bit of some of the "8-bit remixes" of tracks from Beck's "Guero" album a few years ago.
"Supererogatory" Wow, that's a real word (thanks, built in spell-checker)! "The performance of more work than duty requires." So, did you record this track after you already had 10 finished? The title suits the music well. Reminds me of some of the harder stuff Porcupine Tree has been doing lately.
"Krunkness" Well-titled, again. You've got some amazingly diverse styles going on throughout this album. Great lyrics! Hilarious!
"I Found This Song Stuck to the Bo" (OK, this title is obviously cut off. "Bottom of my Shoe"?) I hope... I love electric piano, so it works for me. This song isn't my style so much but it's still creative and well-done.
OVERALL Once again I am very pleased to discover another great talent here among the RPM contributors. This album features a wide range of styles, very creative arrangements, and a clever sense of humor. I'm downloading the full album now and adding it to my (growing) RPM 2008 iTunes playlist!
Thanks for your work, Ben!
Now, without making it seem like I just did this to get MY stuff reviewed (OK, initially that was the case, but I'm really glad I checked it out!), here are the links to listen and review my album, Unnatural Disasters by Room 34 (that's me).
If you want to read the copious notes as you listen, go to my own site:
I actually did two submissions, but the second, Technetium, is a bit of a throwaway. (In fact, I've made it a bonus track on the final CD version of my main RPM album.) But feel free to listen to that one too. Just remember that the whole thing took less time to "record" than it takes to listen to!
Post edited by: room34, at: 2008/03/20 23:09
Post edited by: room34, at: 2008/03/20 23:12
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Melting Embers
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/20 22:17Hi! I've scanned through from the first post and I just wanted to say that this is a lovely idea. I also wanted to help keep the right "Subject" name on here as well. As soon as I get all my tracks in order I plan to participate. So don't get mad at me, I'm not trying to cheat!
Yay, keep it going. I'll submit my review when ever I have more stuff for the next reviewer to review (I only have 3 songs on the profile). Does that make sense? Any suggestions as to which is the best way for people to listen to the tracks? I'm a newbie in the whole digital recording world. I plan on working on that tonight when I get home. If all else fails, I'll just post all of them on my RPM page.
Peace!
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Night Driving
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Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/20 22:25Melting Embers wrote: Hi! I've scanned through from the first post and I just wanted to say that this is a lovely idea. I also wanted to help keep the right "Subject" name on here as well. As soon as I get all my tracks in order I plan to participate. So don't get mad at me, I'm not trying to cheat! Peace!
you are not cheating and for reading previous posts and putting up the correct subject line im halfway to the jewelry store for your engagement ring.
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tangmo
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/20 22:29I guess this is a bonus review for Kevin, but I dragged the damn thing through a dialup modem, and I'm not letting it pass.
Room34 is next in the queue, methinks.
I had one of Cville Ramblings tunes on my RPM '07 playlist, so I expected to like this album. I did.
I'm not a music critic and don't want to be one. I'm just a fellow songwriter giving one opinion. Just another set of ears.
1. Paper on the Floor. Nice, easy picking style. Song about some mysterious paper. Didn't really get it, maybe not enough exposition. Sweet acoustic lead work. Very nicely structured and never felt 'long'.
2. Roll Daddy Roll Sweet funky groove. Very good vocal delivery, lead and backup. Very catchy chorus. Bass is too prominent. Might work better with a more percussive bass, the smoother licks are just too loud. Another very good guitar solo with good tone and catchy licks. Would have liked a longer fade bette, I think. Love the lyric. My favorite overall.
3. Did They Dream Like I Do Back to Americana. I like your picking, leads are good. Structure feels a little fractured and the 'groove' is a bit too loose. Not really very hooky melodically. Very good ending.
4. No Regrets. Pure singer/songwriter stuff with a definate folk vibe. Nice lyrical theme. Occasionally some wonkiness in the phrasing. Either lines or phrasing could be tightened. Catchy chorus with maybe a bit too much melodic repetition in those last lines. Backups put to better use. Loved the mando line. Nice picking. Pure entertainment in the end. Could be a good live song.
5. Dark Recesses Cool laid back southern blues rock thing. Groove is strong here. Another good lyrical concept. I don't think the vocal phrasing grabbed me in the chorus. Feels like you missed a good chance to pop syllables in that groovy pocket.
6. Let That River Flow Americana again, and very nice. Nice structure. Love the chorus here...simple but wiggled into me good. Brief stabs of banjo and harp broke it up nicely. Harp sounds good, bamjo a bit loud. Again, some wonkiness in the vocal phrasing.
7. She Don't Ask for Much Switching from picking to strumming. Nice love story lyrics in the country tradition. Mix of picked acoustic lead, mando and harp. Nice bridge, but could transition better into the outro. It was just about too long until the bridge came. Well structured as are almost all of these.
8. Want Ad Great lyrical concept. Pop Rocking thing with a nice groove and more power. Introduction of female vox works well. Would definitley have preferred more harmony and less unison here. Effective lead work. The instru backing lacks a bit of power behind the vocals.
9. Sitting by the Fire More country in this folk song. Much better background vocals and real harmonies. Really nice instrumental break. Your best phrasing so far.
10. Wednesday Type of Girl. Country again. My favorite of these lyrics. Can't go wrong with days of the week. My only real crit is the similarity of verse to chorus melodically. I like the way you seperated the bridge from the rest here...that kind of change up is what I meant by earlier comments.
11. Town on the Edge. Good seperation between verse and chorus. Instrumentally well played, as all these are, but too loose on this one. The banjo line in particular seems not in much of a groove at all.
Overall:
Plusses.
A very listenable, homestyle and comfortable lead voice.
Really good play from all the instruments.
Well Structured songs with freshening breaks, instrumental passages, and vocal bridges.
Good production overall, with good sound and mixing. Hard to fault for me.
Strong Emphasis on melody and overall quite catchy and memorable
Minuses.
Lyrics are sometimes obscure and feel 'afterthougtish'.
Occasional struggles with vocal phrasing...I'd want you to either tighten up the lyrics, adjust melody slightly, or drop those syllables in better places. This is a real sticky point with me, and I apologize if I have overemphasized it.
The female voice that sings much of the backups is good, but the harmonies often didn't work, and the unison just doesn't work for me.
Glad to have it, Kevin.
Post edited by: tangmo, at: 2008/03/20 22:32
Post edited by: tangmo, at: 2008/03/20 22:41
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I want to preface this by saying I wrote a detailed review and this website must have timed my account out or something, because it said I wasn't logged in anymore. Aaaaaaand thus I have to retype everything! Grrrrr! So, sorry if it's not very thorough.
1. Paper On The Floor - this one sets the stage with crisp production, nice folky guitar playing, and thoughtful lyrics about life direction. The harmony vocals remind me of something off of Dylan's "Self Portrait" in that they don't quite match up with the lead lines, which is both endearing and somewhat distracting.
2. Roll Daddy Roll - We shift gears into more of a bluesy direction. The female vocals are a nice touch, and the lead guitar is smoky and tastefully done. THe lyrics could be a cleverly written piece on The Big Guy Upstairs and the day when we all stand in judgement. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but Kevin seems like a smart man, so....
3. Did They Dream Like I do- a Historical Society approved song about a man reflecting on the lives of those who have gone before us. He finds the ruins of an old house in a field. Did they dream like you do? Most likely, but they definitely did not record an album in one month! Take that, pioneers!
4. No Regrets - An up-tempo bluegrass tinged song of romantic optimism. There is some cool mandolin-like guitar ornamentation.
5. Dark Recesses - Another change of pace here, this time it is a tune driven by 60's sounding organ and pulsating tremolo guitar. And it climaxes with a fuzzed out psychedelic guitar solo. And a good one at that!
6. Let That River Flow - An "end of the day" song for sure. The cowboy harmonica lines evoke the campfire smell, even though I'm sitting in a cold, clinical office. More competent guitar fingerpicking here.
7. She Don't Ask For Much - A folk ballad, the lyrics again are sincere and heartfelt.
8. Want Ad - Ok, any song with Personal Section ad lyrics is going to invoke "Pina Colada Song" references. This is rather out of step with the rest of the album, as it is musically more similar to mall pop-rock than anything. Though the electric guitar leads are set to stun, maybe even "maim." Rawk!
9. Sitting By The Fire - An ode to the joys of having your loved ones by your side. It even begins with some guest vocals, which sum it all up!
10. Wednesday Type of Girl - Lyrically my favorite, in that illustrating personality traits by comparing them to days of the week is rather original. We're shown how a girl makes a life changing decision, and it all works out for the better.
11. Town's On The Edge - This one, and a couple earlier songs, have vocals with a Neil Young twang to them. And I mean that in the best sense of it; Neil's great in my book. And the reflective nature of the lyrics calls to mind his "Prairie Wind" album, though this song is darker in nature. Nice banjo pickin', friend!
In general, this is solid collection of folk inspired songs. The strong points are the guitar playing (acoustic and electric), thoughtful lyrics, and some good arrangements (especially female vocals and banjo). The recording is full sounding as well. Constructive criticism might be along the lines of harmony vocals. They could be tighter. And personally, I would have left off "Want Ad" as it comes totally out of left field. But these are minor, you did a very nice job sir! And if I've totally missed the mark, I apologize as I'm not a real reviewer. Just a dude with a computer!
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Night Driving
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Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/03/20 23:02I'm working on my promised Strummindude review, even though it's been done already in this thread, and planning on moving down the list to the others I've mentioned.
as of now, it looks like im writing a lot.
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KevinEmmrich
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/20 23:16Woa! I go away for a few hours and the reviews are multiplying. I probably need to make some responses (why not), but right now I see a lot of consistencies in the reviews of the CD. I'll apologize though to Ben for exposure to higher than normal levels of country. Last year's CD was heavier with electric guitar blues rock and this one just went another direction!
Thanks and I'll come back later this evening. I'll stay with this thread and plug in where necessary for more reviewing if required.
Mucho Thanks to the reviewers -- props to "Country" Ben, Jonathan (had to re-type everything - whew!) and Tangmo sitting there with a rotary phone internet connection.
kevin cville ramblings
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kovic
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/20 23:45This isn't a full review, but I would also like to comment on Ben Drake's very good album. Love the music, HATE the photo! That look on your face...you look like so self-satisfied! I went in listening, wanting to dislike your music just because of that look on your face (which means your music must be REALLY good to win me over!). I know it's shallow and irrelevant of me to say so, but I thought it might be helpful.
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room34
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/21 00:00kovic wrote: This isn't a full review, but I would also like to comment on Ben Drake's very good album. Love the music, HATE the photo! That look on your face...you look like so self-satisfied! I went in listening, wanting to dislike your music just because of that look on your face (which means your music must be REALLY good to win me over!). I know it's shallow and irrelevant of me to say so, but I thought it might be helpful. Oh come on, I think the photo is funny. It seems tongue-in-cheek to me, what with the stripes beaming out from behind him and everything.
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thing you were trying to say more diplomatically!
The title suits the music well. Reminds me of some of the harder stuff Porcupine Tree has been doing lately.
