Month: May 2021

Broadjam Artist: Randall Mark
Song: Little Bird

Reviewer: David James

Positive Comments: Beautiful intro. Great acoustic guitar work, somewhat reminiscent of ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ by Led Zeppelin. Some nice string inflections. Catchy song. Nice chord progression. The singer sells the song with conviction. Good sound quality.

Constructive Comments: I’ve marked down the market potential and lyrics because I feel the words are not very contemporary in the current market. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is another matter.

Broadjam Artist: Eight of Spades
Song: Underneath

Reviewer: David James

Positive Comments: Firstly the intro is superb – I love that piano phrase. The melody is superb and the singer is impressive and interprets the song brilliantly. Lovely reflective bridge at 1.36. Catchy melody. Great arrangement and instrumentation. Excellent sound quality. The song could easily be a Tori Amos tune.

Constructive Comments: I marked down the lyrics not because the lyrics are weak in themselves,(they’re actually strong) but because I felt that the lyrics in the final line of the four line chorus should differ from the second line to offer some sort of lyrical resolution, rather than repeating the same line. I know this might seem picky, but that’s how I heard it. Good luck with the song – It’s great.

Broadjam Artist: John Van Wicklen
Song: someday

Reviewer: John Hazlett

Positive Comments: I enjoyed the background music, and the harmonies. It has a nice 60/70s feel to it.

Constructive Comments: The lyrics and melody needs work.

Broadjam Artist: Norb Studelska/Upper Air Disturbance
Song: Angels In the Snow

Reviewer: John Hazlett

Positive Comments: Very soothing, nice arpeggio/comping. This would go well with some kind of nature video.

Constructive Comments: Nothing to add.

Broadjam Artist: Emmett North Jr.
Song: The Groove (Club Mix)

Reviewer: Tony Tersmette

Positive Comments: Loving this. Bass and drums deliver. Guitar work very tasteful. Diggin’ the GB influence. Great vox as well, great contrasts. Great arrangement/construction. — I like the way how the individual parts fit together. No overstatements. The vox are most memorable component of this. But not by much. Everything very solid.

Constructive Comments: Cannot suggest areas needing improvement. Super job!

Broadjam Artist: Fred Kimmel
Song: Sleep

Reviewer: Tony Tersmette

Positive Comments: Chordal changes and arrangement work well. Instrumentation nice. Beatle-esque at points. Percussion entry at 1:19 very nice. Mix well suited to subject matter. A lot of the qualities that make a great pop tune are here. Appealing overall. What else ya got? 🙂

Constructive Comments: ‘Sleep’ theme as it appears at :39, 1:19 and 3:08 is nice I can here it being used elsewhere judiciously, for instance as a contrapuntal thing woven under ‘La dee dah dah …’ at a point later in song. Discreetly placed counterpoint vocals here and there could really ensnare ears, enrich this work and take it to the next level.

Broadjam Artist: Margie & Art Corey
Song: Beautiful Coreys

Reviewer: John Walradt

Positive Comments: Wouldn’t it be nice to just go about life chasing your dreams and being accepted just the way you look and just the way you are? You’ve come to the right place! That’s the appeal of this slow, dreamy song. It begins, almost ironically with a “can you imagine…it can happen” statement sounding like it came off a radio commercial. The easy flowing lyrics actually teach you a lesson about life and it makes sense! You’ll like the occasional atmospheric sonic sounds. Drifting to the end of the song, which actually sounds like it could be a new beginning…that dreams could come true.

Constructive Comments: The message in this song is great and follows a logical script. It is lyrically excellent. However, I’m going to use a stricter measure on you because your songwriting is on a higher level, in the stratosphere, while others are still on earth. The melody is easy and dreamy, however, not as catchy, unique, or solid of a melody as I know you can do. It is still a good melody, not a throwaway. You’re ahead of everyone else with the terrific message of just being yourself being told in a different way.

Broadjam Artist: John Van Wicklen
Song: New Day

Reviewer: Bill Dake

Positive Comments: Really nice Latin tune. Fine vocals with some tasty guitar, well mixed.

Constructive Comments: Not much to add, I like this tune.

Broadjam Artist: Emmett North Jr.
Song: Azetta’s Theme

Reviewer: Bill Dake

Positive Comments: Nice groove and some tasty licks.

Constructive Comments: You obviously have some chops and pyrotechnics are fun but listen to George Benson ( sounds like you’ve learned some of his licks) and try to play more melodically and rhythmically to support the groove. Stringing a bunch of fast bits and pieces together is fun but the listener gets tired of it pretty quickly. Benson, Metheny, Scofield, guys like that are masters of playing in the pocket and though they can rip it up are most memorable when they’re playing melodically and totally in the grove. Slow down and listen to what you’re playing…you’ve got the ability.

Broadjam Artist: Margie & Art Corey
Song: Make Me Part Of Your Life Coreys

Reviewer: Bill Dake

Positive Comments: I like the sax fills and the vocal being up-front of the band. Good mix.

Constructive Comments: I think this would do better in the Pop category. Other than the sax fills there’s really not much that suggests a jazz influence to me. Understand that all reviews are subjective. You might open up the voicings on the organ/keys and add a few color tones…9ths would work well with this. Maybe find some different chords for the chorus that makes it stand out from the rest of the tune. Keep writing….