Month: March 2017

Broadjam Artist: Marilyn Hall
Song: I Love Desperados

Reviewer: Michael Cregan

Positive Comments: Gets my attention right out of the gate, and the energy is maintained throughout the first verse. Good players and good singer. Very nice groove. It has that “hit” feel to it. Just see note below.

Constructive Comments: My main concern is that the subject of the song is not easily grabbed. Yes, you can get it as you listen to the lyrics, but takes a bit to fully grab onto it. Oddly, part of this might be how the vocal sits in the mix. I like the vocal, but, at times, it is a bit drowned in the arrangement.

Broadjam Artist: Bob Bentley
Song: Cowboys and Indians Abridged – Bob Bentley

Reviewer: Michael Cregan

Positive Comments: Love the playing on this. Bass playing and sound is very good. Good cowboy theme. A good concept, and the lyrics support it well. Chorus is catchy. This moves along very well and has good energy.

Constructive Comments: The main thing is the vocal. Likely, this is a songwriter demo with the writer singing (which I think is unfair a bit to include vocal pitch in the number rating). A stronger, pro vocal would really benefit the song.

Broadjam Artist: Joseph Cirello
Song: Monday’s Calling (country)

Reviewer: Michael Cregan

Positive Comments: Gets my attention right out of the barn. A clear chorus (surprising how many tunes here do not have a clearly defined chorus). Like the vocal arrangement in the chorus. I will remember the chorus after the song finishes. Many review tunes float away after the play ends.

Constructive Comments: Though it gets my attention immediately, it lets down a bit in the verse. The energy of the opening does not carry through. Comes back a bit in the chorus. I also think the vocal might benefit from Waves CLA Vocal plugin–adds nice depth.

Broadjam Artist: Uncle Spider & The Electric Dirt Clods
Song: Once Upon A Time / Country

Reviewer: Michael Cregan

Positive Comments: Like the vocals and the vocal arrangement. I like that the song is put together in a way that I can grab onto it easily and clearly understand what it is saying. It gets my attention early and holds it. Piano blends well with vocal.

Constructive Comments: I like the piano intro, but I might shave it just a bit. Even though the tune gets my attention and holds it, it would benefit from building more in the last third. Just something to add a new element. This also seems more pop than country.

Broadjam Artist: The Bitter Elegance
Song: Sunshine Attitude

Reviewer: John Masarone

Positive Comments: I feel better already listening to this clever song. The vocal is perfect for it. Very perky, positive sounding. The chorus hits 0:34 sec in. Impressive. The groove on the chorus is great. Love the off sounding background gang vocals at 1:00 minute mark. People eat that stuff up. Very marketable with some tweaks. Great job!

Constructive Comments: I listened on my studio monitors several times.Keep in mind, this is just an opinion on how I would do the mix if I was the mix engineer. I think the snare is over done. The rhythm of the snare is OK but how it sits in the mix and the sound of it is not doing it for me. Sorry. The song needs another hooky musical part and the snare is not it (for me). I’m not sure about the door closing at the very end. It has no meaning for me. The lead vocal might be a hair too up front in spots. At 1:10, the second verse sits nice but in the preceding chorus seemed louder. The organ needs to be heard at 1:23. The snare is covering it up.

Broadjam Artist: Lisa Vivienne
Song: Tree of Life

Reviewer: Scott Tingley

Positive Comments: Kudos for a great performance. I can imagine how great it must have felt when you recorded this song. It just doesn’t get much better. The vocalist has excellent range and fine pitch. I really like how her voice is blended in awesome harmonies…this works very well in the arrangement together with the strong chorus and hook. The band’s playing and production are also spot on.

Constructive Comments: There’s nothing wrong with this song for me, wish more music like this was played on the radio.

Broadjam Artist: Top Dead Center
Song: A Train Ride to Hell

Reviewer: HarryBudini

Positive Comments: It destroys and burns and howls and growls and hammers and atomicbombs.

Constructive Comments: Nothing to say. Seems to work fine.

Broadjam Artist: Bob Bentley
Song: Ireland’s Eye

Reviewer: Randal Dunkle

Positive Comments: I love the way the song starts with the keyboards and the lead guitar, I also like the sound of the drums. Reminds me of a care free day in the city park.

Constructive Comments: Very unique song, sounds like a movie sound track. I really think that a saxophone solo would sound great in a few key spots – best wishes!

Broadjam Artist: Zeiko
Song: Evolutionary Tendencies II

Reviewer: HarryBudini

Positive Comments: The softly speaking female voice is sensual. As a discotheque piece, it’s refined and classy, with interesting harmonic passages. I wouldn’t be able to listen until the end, otherwise – it being not one of the genres I frequent spontaneously.

Constructive Comments: I don’t have anything to say. It seems to work.

Broadjam Artist: Floyd Kelly
Song: The Beacons of Hope

Reviewer: HarryBudini

Positive Comments: An instrumental with heavy midi sounds, led by a piano, with chatting strings commenting around it. While the bass slightly grooves like a hip hop line. Synthezised choirs appear and there. There are happy chords, like those resounding at 2:36 – with an almost caribbean feel.

Constructive Comments: Needs better sounds, essentially.