But Love How it Smells (Don't Like Reggae Reviews)

[nobodyetal]

Don't forget to post your lyrics in the lyrics thread.

[nobodyetal]

A light morning at work so I'll knock these out while I can. I'm not likely to comment on your lyrics unless you've posted them or they really pull me in.

B&tP - Hmm. A bit of nuance here in the lyrics (and a bit of understatement in this review). The arrangement is pretty nice, the backing fits together well. The chorus I like, but there's something disharmonic in the background. Vocal ahs? There's also something about the vocals that throws me a bit. I think it's the way you slide into the right pitch for many of the notes. Stylistic (and God knows I do it) but it keeps me from enjoying it thoroughly. Content has me a tiny bit hot & bothered for the narrator, which probably comes off as sort of creepy to anybody who isn't me.

BrownWord - Hmm. Nordic metal as the opposite of Carribbean reggae. The choruses aren't terribly poetic, but the verses conjure Rob Zombie trudging across a frozen bog in remote Scandinavia. Not my style of music but not bad after a few listens. The slower intro part has a nice darkness to it.

Choco - Something about the vocal tone brings the Beatles to mind, not sure if it's the fx or the inflection. The melodica sounds out of place (hard to make it fit which is why I almost never use mine), but the delay on it is a nice touch. And it transitions back into the regular groove pretty well. Actually after a couple listens it's got some nice textures and I like that it meanders a bit before returning to the groove. Lyrics are kind of fun. I can relate to your central theme as there are several bands/genres I panned until I started to dive a little deeper.

DonL - Y'know, on the first listen this reminded me of Paco del Stinko and on the second listen this has to be an alter ego or long lost illegitimate Texas child. Lyrics are chuckle-worthy.

Grid - A fairly decent take on the genre. Nice groove, and the chorus is a nice changeup. After the first verse I thought it was going to be a class warfare take, but then it morphed more into a "Jamaica's pretty great" theme. Imagery is good. Everything from the bustling streets of Kingston to dolphins at the beach. Nice.

Grilton - The arrangement is pretty cool, with the panned guitars and synth. Tempo feels a little forced in places (like it could be 5bpm faster). I think it would lose some of the thoughtful feel if sped up any more than that. Lyrics could come up a bit in the mix. I've found parallel compression helps with that. Post your lyrics.

Lookouts - Tight arrangement but, the vocals come in and ... well your pitch is all over the place and your tone is not pleasant. I can't say this without sounding like an asshole but get some voice lessons. Somebody told me the same thing x years ago and I wish I would have listened instead of being insecure and blowing him off. Might have affected my music career trajectory in a positive way. Anyway, nice guitar solo and tight arrangement. Post your lyrics.

Mickey - Polka. Quite a juxtaposition from reggae but not unwelcome. Arrangement is pretty straightforward, but some interesting instrument tones show up in there. Most of the lyrics are awkward rhythmically but aren't bad content-wise in that they are interesting keep me paying attention.

Nea - Thanks go out to codywalkerjr for furnishing a nice conga track. Apologies go out to codywalkerjr for my slicing it up so much.

Paco - Uncharacteristically mellow, but well treated. A PdS love song? Dang, this is downright sweet. I like "Smile your own face" - as an odd but effective way to condense your overall message here. Slide guitar is a nice touch.

S&F - I like your beats, parts of it sound like you sampled a mellotron almost. It's repetitive by genre, but there are enough tones that it's not difficult to listen to. Chorus is kinda funny, but it's not obvious how it ties into the verse. Post your lyrics next time - you had a couple nice turns, and I would have liked to dig deeper.

Steve Durand - Ah the trumpets. Nice trumpets. Want to pet the trumpets. Lyrics are clever and catchy. Nicely done.

Wreckdom - thick, hot, fudgy wierdness. The spelling out reggae is a clever way to make an awkward phrase fit. There's a middle part that's like the soundtrack for when a mealhead takes acid at a Ziggy Marley concert and has a bad trip. Which is probably not too far from what you were going for.

Nice work on a tough prompt, all. Glad I could join you think week.

[blue]

Here's the sos mess: http://www.sonofsupercar.com/music/sono ... r-idlr.mp3

Not worth entering, it'll be a secret collector's item.

[WreckdoMelle]

BrownWord - Hmm. Nordic metal as the opposite of Carribbean reggae. The choruses aren't terribly poetic, but the verses conjure Rob Zombie trudging across a frozen bog in remote Scandinavia. Not my style of music but not bad after a few listens. The slower intro part has a nice darkness to it.

Hooray! That's totally where I was going with that. I appreciate your openness, and the fact you were able to listen to it more than once.

[WreckdoMelle]

Billy and the Psychotics – Fabulous music, totally pro quality all the way around. I just can’t get past the vox. Sorry Dee, they’re really good, just not my style.

Brown Word and the Big Whine – I don’t expect a lot of love for this one, but it was a lot of fun to make! My guitar work is pretty rusty, could’ve used help from Guiterrorists if I’d had more time New lessons this week: tracking multiple live guitars, raspy vox without the sore throat.

Chocolate Chips - I don’t “try the good stuff” anymore, but this gave me a flashback. There I was at my desk, eating Doritos and staring peacefully off into space, utterly relaxed. Nice!

Donny Longjohns - Great guitars. Way to drink the tea! I like the big, bellering redneck main vox, mixes well with the backing vox. Humorous. Scary, but quality.

Grid – Your voice sounds great here. Pleasant relaxing music, friendly lyrics, straight ahead. I like it. Colon: well executed, singing’s not bad, but it is trying to sound like Sublime.

Grilton’s Castle - Soft ‘n’ dreamy. Guitars sound very good. I like the ethereal quality and there are some weird percussion sounds hidden in there to give it several layers of sound. Vox get lost in the clouds sometimes. Sounds like y'all work well together.

Lookouts - Cool, we can hear the guitars – and they are sweet. Vox a bit flat in places, belt it out! I like the chorus chord progression a lot. Colon hears some type of punk rock thing going on with the vocals in the chorus.

Mickey Skylark – well done as always. Clever, clean, composition with excellent musicianship. Romney lines don’t seem to fit so well (political bias on my part perhaps – dislike politricks in general).

Nobody et al. – The bass is awesome. As always, well-played, well put together. That guitar solo is really cool! In fact I like the whole tone of the composition, kind of Spanish feel to it perhaps. The lyrics are okay, perhaps a bit fraught with drama. Colon senses trouble at home.

Paco Del Stinko – Another very gentle, soft tune, lots of these in the ‘fight this week. Sounding good as always. I love the guitars, how they soar at the end. Colon likes all the work put into the breakdown to make it smooth, but too shoe-gazey and Morrissey-like for him.

Snappy + Floyd – I am pleased to see S+F in this week’s fight. Tons of blabbery rhymes, lotsa shit talking (good - I prefer my rap verbose, grandiose). I like the chorus a lot. Guess y’all don’t like Brown Word, haaar. First rapper better than the others. Need some deeeeep sub bass in there mon. Funny end skit.

Steve Durand – First six notes – liked it immediately. The horns are so fabulous! Is that you doubled up, or do you have another horn player? Cute lyrics, nice Jamaican accent on the vox. I’m def NOT hatin’ this tune

WreckdoM – Another chaotic aural blast! Great fun as always working with the guys to bring you the best musical craziness we can muster. Contains a subliminal message to dogs. Colon: “the WreckdoM song was a musical journey… and… and it was crazy. It was long. Long for a WreckdoM song.”

[hoops]

Mickey Skylark – ..... Romney lines don’t seem to fit so well (political bias on my part perhaps – dislike politricks in general).

Just in case there were any confusion, Romney's Massachussetts health care bill mentioned positively in the song was surprisingly progressive but now, as Republican presidential candidate, his position on health care is now aimed in the other direction ("But Mr Romney you are trying to blow it up which seems, frankly, so unwise.") Both 'Mickey' (Mike), whose lyrics (and music and vocals / guitar) these are, and myself (arrangement, additional instruments) are very much politically left wing.

[Billymojo]

Hey Paco, your guitar tones are to die for. Are they peddled, amped and mic'd or recorded direct with onboard effects ala GTR3 or whatever? Or some of each? Whichever it is, I salute you.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Hey Paco, your guitar tones are to die for. Are they peddled, amped and mic'd or recorded direct with onboard effects ala GTR3 or whatever? Or some of each? Whichever it is, I salute you.

I can answer that, because I've mixed him enough that I know. He has two little combo tube amps and often combines them with double tracks. A Portly Cadet and one of those little Fender Champs. He mics them, obviously. Also some other big amp he mics with an isolation box. I know he has used a pig nose in the past, but not lately I don't think.

[nobodyetal]

Nobody et al. – The bass is awesome. As always, well-played, well put together. That guitar solo is really cool! In fact I like the whole tone of the composition, kind of Spanish feel to it perhaps. The lyrics are okay, perhaps a bit fraught with drama. Colon senses trouble at home.

Hehheh - no trouble at home.
Mrs. Nobody is quite willing to let me know when she disagrees.


Thanks for the kind words.
I agree the lyrics could have been a little stronger but I was very pleased with how the arrangement came out.

[Steve Durand]

Steve Durand – First six notes – liked it immediately. The horns are so fabulous! Is that you doubled up, or do you have another horn player? Cute lyrics, nice Jamaican accent on the vox. I’m def NOT hatin’ this tune

There are actually three horns in there. A trumpet, an alto sax, and a baritone horn. I play them all myself.

Thanks for the review!

Steve

[Billy's Little Trip]

There are actually three horns in there. A trumpet, an alto sax, and a baritone horn. I play them all myself.

Thanks for the review!

Steve

Steve, when I heard your song, it reminded me of how much I've loved our collabs in the past. Your addition to our song this week would have been awesome! Loved you song, the chorus is simple and perfect.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Some quick, last minute comments on this forgotten fight.

Billy And The Psychotics Summery backyard party fun, reggae filtered through Led Zeppelin and Everclear. A keg, barbecue, tiki lights, woo! I like the quiet vocals supporting the cooing main one. Fun.


Brown Word and the Big Whine When the Disco Tony fight came around, I thought I'd be different by not doing disco. So did everyone else. Well, you got it here. Love the mountainous guitar when the vocals come in, the intro is a bit wandery. Skudgy fun.


The Chocolate Chips This is the melody I heard in my head all week to represent the fight. Nice instrumentation and arrangement. Especially cool is the breakdown with the melodica and trippy stuff. Good work.


Donny Longjohns Yeeeeeee-haaaawwww!!!!! God bless the U.S. of A.!!!! I'll play this in my pick'emup truck on the way to the monster truck races. Guitars sound nice.


Grid Great rhythm. This captures the darker sound that I feel with a lot of Reggae. The lyrics are good and the chorus catchy. NIce playing and a pleasant voice. This should fare well in voting, I would think.


Grilton's Castle A bit moody, a bit dreamy, but not too far in either direction. Pleasant lovey-guy voice, it'd be nice if I were a girl. Well, not really, I don't want to be a girl. Next lifetime. Simple layering is well done and tasty.


the lookouts I like this song enough, I wish the mix was a little softer, less bright and attacking. Sounds a bit like BLT singing. The chorus payoff is good.


Mickey Skylark Kooky, man, kooky. I like the let's make them all fit lyrics and list of inventors and discoverers. Fun, well layed and delivered. What the hell is that bass doing at times, it's kinda wacky, but I like it.


Nobody, et al Nice, hyper progression. The instrumentation is good, sounds like a little mids could be cut, to me, on my headphones. But that could be my damaged hearing. Another nice arrangement, excellent bridge and supporting vocals. Digging the shaker too.


Paco del Stinko This is one guitar, through a stereo chorus pedal and into two amps. One amp a bit darker than the other. The slide is the same amp combo, through stereo delay and panned opposite. MOOG bass doubled on a baritone guitar.


Snappy & Floyd Fun, goofy, robot menacing. I'm glad it's not 20 minutes long, I gotta admit. Freestyle stream of consciousness vocals are cool. The chorus is effective and reminds me of...I dunno. But I like it. The music gets a little wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh annoying at times, but sure doesn't lack energy.


Steve Durand Great vocal line and lyrics. The horns are great, of course, and a tasty fit here. Fun and worthy of back deck play-age at a summery restaurant near you. Or, ideally, me.


WreckdoM Way dense, but chewy good. Man, this makes me want to drive recklessly fast through a cartoon universe, plowing characters out of the way in technicolor splatter. The bridge/breakdown is right at the heart of that cartoon universe, and back to the terror again. Sweet.

[hillbilly]

Grid---- i like it, good work, enjoyable.vote

[WreckdoMelle]

Thanks for the reviews Paco! I'm glad everyone didn't forget the fight.