Month: April 2020

Broadjam Artist: Ladee V
Song: Pyronymphomaniac

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: Excellent lead vocal and the backing vocals (while buried) fit the song well. Very strong energy.

Constructive Comments: MAN, I wanted to like this song and rank it much higher, as the vocal is just great. But how you got such a clean sound on that and such a garbled, muddy sound on virtually all the instruments is beyond me. It almost sounds like an instrumental track from an 80s cassette that someone laid a new vocal on. I really liked the song overall, but the production is so opposite of the vocals I couldn’t get past it, sorry.

Broadjam Artist: Signal 30
Song: Oh Yeah!!!

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: Very 80s electronic sounding

Constructive Comments: Wrong category! This is absolutely either Pop or Electronic, not Rock. Re-categorizing would get more suited ears to it. My gut feeling is this a home-made demo from 30+ years ago, based on very artificial-sounding drums and keyboards. Sorry, this one needs a ton of work to be viable commercially, but someone in another category may be looking for a retro sound.

Broadjam Artist: Ante Novaselic
Song: JaFunktaBlu

Reviewer: Rodney Morgan

Positive Comments: Great intro and arrangement, pretty funky.

Constructive Comments: The ‘heavy’ guitar part’s sound is muffled.

Broadjam Artist: Uncle Spider & The Electric Dirt Clods
Song: Candy Stripes / Rock Alt

Reviewer: Rodney Morgan

Positive Comments: Great intro. Nice bright overall sound.

Constructive Comments: There’s some ‘clicking’ in the recording around the one minute mark.

Broadjam Artist: Charlie Shock
Song: CRAZY FOR YOU

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: Exceptional overall sound, with a tight groove and a very listenable mix. The opening is killer and pulls you in from the 1st chord. I almost marked this “Rock” instead of “Country” as I could easily hear Bob Seger doing this song. It would fit in with any of his later albums. Really nice stuff!

Constructive Comments: For me, the lyrics had a bit of a been-there, done-that feel, but I liked the song so much it didn’t really matter.

Broadjam Artist: Sam Cooper
Song: LATTES AND DIAMONDS (featuring Tim Buppert)

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: Man, what a nice vocal! This is a well-written song with solid instrumentation, outstanding lead vocal and harmonies. Excellent hook, and I enjoyed this start to finish. The dissonant harmonies at 3:09 I can only say I wish there were more even earlier. Well done.

Constructive Comments: My only “issue” is the instruments could have been tighter, maybe using Pro Tools during recording or making sure every beat was exactly on point, including during the slight retard in tempo.

Broadjam Artist: The Noted
Song: Lost & Found

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: The opening of this song just grabbed me big-time. The atmosphere was set immediately and I really enjoyed listening to the song and the ambience it created. The instruments were solid and vocals were on pitch. Overall the recording was very well done.

Constructive Comments: Just personal preference, but the EQ on the male vocal in particulsar sounded too airy for the more serious atmosphere that had been set. The lyrics were crying with angst, but the vocal didn’t relay that feeling to me. With 2 vocals going later I expected it to break into a lot more harmonies, but it stayed unison (or close) for almost the entire song. I think there is an opportunity to explore a deeper set of harmonies and point/counterpoint. Just my take on what would have rated it higher for me, but I still enjoyed it very much.

Broadjam Artist: Uncle Spider & The Electric Dirt Clods
Song: You Could’ve Told Me To My Face

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: The guitar has a nice jangly tone and a good chord progression.

Constructive Comments: This sounds like another home recording, drums out of rhythm, no real plan. I’m not sure why a grainy demo is here.

Broadjam Artist: Hartmut Oberdieck
Song: new guitar in town

Reviewer: Sam Cooper

Positive Comments: Kind of puts me in the mood for Metallica. Solid instrumental.

Constructive Comments: Would be interesting if you had a creative vocalist on this.

Broadjam Artist: StarburstRecords
Song: 27. Shipwrecked

Reviewer: Sam Cooper

Positive Comments: Very cool tune with lots of appeal! Love the vocals and the instrumentation. Nice arrangement, too. Would like to hear more of the classic rock vibe!

Constructive Comments: I’m happy with what you already did!