Month: August 2020

Broadjam Artist: paul sandberg
Song: All You Are

Reviewer: David James

Positive Comments: I really like the intro which reminds me of Kate Bush’s ‘James And The Cold Gun’. Lovely verse melody. Great vocal delivery. The arrival of the rhythm section at 0.53 is really effective. The instrumentation is spot on – particularly the drums and rhythm guitar which are outstanding. A beautiful, dreamy, anthemic guitar solo in the outro. Strong lyrics with a rhyme scheme that works and never sounds forced.

Constructive Comments: In terms of the arrangement I was expecting another verse at 2.25 but it didn’t come – at that point I thought that a verse would have given the song more light and shade. I also thought the pre-chorus was insufficiently sonically distinct from the chorus. But I quibble. There is great energy and dynamism in the song. It’s a really strong tune, which in my opinion would be further enhanced with some tweaking to the structure and the arrangement.

Broadjam Artist: Mike Nicholson
Song: Lady of Elsinore

Reviewer: Wes Dinwiddie

Positive Comments: Great, high powered rock track. I can hear a lot of old school punk and late 80’s influence here. But also reminds a little of The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and The Strokes. Nice sound, great vibe!

Constructive Comments: I like the mix a lot, great balance between all the elements, placement, etc… but the audio is quite a bit smashed and overcompressed. I can hear it pumping at some points, and it’s overall just way too loud. I would blame the mastering engineer for this one most likely. This would need to be cleaned up for marketability and placement. (unless… you’ve already had it placed and I’m just giving a horrible review) But… I DO like it 🙂 Nice work

Broadjam Artist: Bob Nesom
Song: I’m Walkin’ the Line

Reviewer: Kate Carpenter

Positive Comments: This song packs a punch. It’s political and kind of funny in a bitter, humorous sort of way. It expresses the frustration a lot of us experience in this crazy world we live in. This is a master lyricist at work. Love this line: Professional enforcers of perpetual hell. This song accomplishes its purpose without taking sides. Tune and instrumentation (kind of honky tonk) are great. Here’s an artist who has something to say.

Constructive Comments: I have a nephew who is a cop in Minneapolis. They are not all bad guys. I hate how the news makes them look bad. Many of them are true heroes.

Broadjam Artist: Kathyjo Varco
Song: Bags

Reviewer: Kate Carpenter

Positive Comments: This is undeniably one of the best rap/hip hop songs I have ever reviewed on Broadjam. The intro is simply and unassuming but with the first Ku Ku Ku this song had me hooked, and the lyrics are rich with meaning and motivation. The message: got to pull together and quit turning on each other. So poetically perfect! Vocals are stellar, background and lead. Instrumentation and production rock. This is a winner track for sure.

Constructive Comments: Review/edit the lyrics so that they reflect what you are actually singing. YOU ARE GOOD!!!! Mrs. Kate

Broadjam Artist: Nigel Barrett
Song: 2bwu (instrumental version)

Reviewer: Kate Carpenter

Positive Comments: Nice electronic instrumental. Surely this would be more fun and interesting to listen to than most “hold” music on the telephone these days. It’s upbeat, positive, fun, cheerful, hopeful. Just a really sweet vibe to the whole piece. It has an abrupt, surprise ending.

Constructive Comments: This is outside my genre and area of expertise, so I can’t add much here. Just keep on doing what you do best and I wish you every success! Mrs. Kate

Broadjam Artist: paul sandberg
Song: All You Are

Reviewer: Kate Carpenter

Positive Comments: It’s raining in this sad love-lost song. Despair is well-communicated in the lyrics and the melody. Nice instrumentation and background vocals. Vocal performance is believably passionate. I like the connection between the word rain and streams. Very apropos. The quiet spot was a refreshing touch.

Constructive Comments: This track seemed a bit over-produced to me. I’m not sure which element I would eliminate, but there was something that just didn’t set right with me. There was one sound that was nearly shrill, almost kazoo-like. That would be the first thing I’d delete. If your goal is commercial success, you could shorten the song by shortening the ending.

Broadjam Artist: Dave Haddad (CenterPeace)
Song: Generations

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: Very lush and rich chord progression. The rhythm section is fantastic and I really dug the vibe overall. Tight band, and nice dynamics. This could easily find its way into the appropriate film or TV backdrop.

Constructive Comments: Can’t put my finger on it exactly, but the singer’s voice didn’t match the smoothness of the backing instrumentation for me. It’s still very good, I just found some part of the vocal competing against the rest of the accompanying players. Cool tune though.

Broadjam Artist: B.Still
Song: CALIOPE’S REVERIE

Reviewer: Ante Novaselic

Positive Comments: Not sure that New Age is the right genre to put this song in. I think it would do it more justice to put it in one of the electronic genres. A lengthy tune to say the least at almost 12mins long. The synths have an 80’s quality to them and I could hear this song being used in a Blade Runner type of movie or maybe even Tron. I hear they are re-doing that classic 80’s flick

Constructive Comments: Not much else to say here!

Broadjam Artist: Earl Jenkins
Song: Let Me Tell You ‘Bout My Baby

Reviewer: Gee Starr

Positive Comments: This song kicks butt.

Constructive Comments: Great work!

Broadjam Artist: Phil Bouldry
Song: Gimme One More Chance

Reviewer: Gee Starr

Positive Comments: Terrific Bluesy rock song swinging at the beginning, moving to a steady 8 feel in the chorus. Brave arranging there. Drummer, singer, guitar, bass players, all on the money.

Constructive Comments: Could use some piano/organ to thicken it up with the right player.