Nur Ein VI Round Three "Unholy Alliance"

[Billy's Little Trip]

billyslittletrip - I made a sawng on muh pronz machine.

bramtant - Nice thumpy beat. Fun guitar riff. Bridge is a bit long for not much more than a beat and rhythm guitar. But no biggie, it's one of those things that would develop if played live. I too tend to over do bridges and did on this round. I try to cut them in half if I'm not going to fill them up with guitar or vocals. Oh, and do you compress your vocals? They sound separate from the mix, like not gelling in the mix. They sound good though. Nice job.

djrangerden - I like your voice, but the guys voice doesn't match you. I'm sure it can be mixed to fit. Very Disney'ish and would work for that. I know it's a duet challenge, but I just wunna hear you sing.

fbf - This song made my morning. It might be my secret love for show tunes (nohomo). I laughed until I pooped. Well put together. Thanks for the smile.

johnkloberdanz - I forgot that you said LML was your duet partner. But I knew that was Lenette right away. What's with the sound in the background when Lin sings? Was it hiding noise or for effect? Anyway, a serious song about an issue close to my heart. Good delivery. And no those aren't tears.......I was just cutting some onions...ONIONS DAMMIT!

joneric - Ah, the famous Jo Nair piano sound. I like it. Sounds like your hitting sour keys in some of the changes, but I think it's intentional, right? I mean, I hear you changing mood, but a couple times I get that look on my face like a bug just flew in my mouth. Very Queen like when the guitar comes in. Ok, so it's an instrumental duet, cool. Good job.

lukehenley - I know you get shit for your lack of production, but it doesn't bother me because you are a diamond in the rough and sing with emotion. This song was a noise fest. I like it. Now don't do it again until next Nur Ein.

manhattanglutton - Nice, it gets my attention right away with the cool guitar. Nice mix. Nice vocals from both you and your duet partner. She has a great voice. Reminds me a little bit of Fountains of Wayne. Happy little ditty. Good job.

pacodelstinko - Nice drive right out of the gate and I love the quick mood change and the rebuild and then rocking my ass off. The organ gives a great spooky feel to the whole thing. It's like a non funny Spinal Tap song which makes me laugh. So yeah, I'm internally confused. It rocks! I like old school heavy metal. Good yob, mang.

rossdurand - Yeah, I like this. Is that Steve on the brass? Awesome sound. Lounge lizard groove. Your girl sounds like my Colorblind girl. Bishes be crazy, yo. Great job, Ross!

wreckdom - Yeee Haaa! This can only be pulled off by a real Texan so this song is the reason destiny put you on that hunk-O-dirt. The girls lines are are great! Sounds like shit I say in real life on the daily, lol. Good job.

wsa - Nice guitar opener. The familiar wsa sound. The girl has a nice voice. British? Ok, yeah, there it is "geh'along" Cute voice. ...her, not you. You're just a good singer, lol. Yeah, I like this song. Radio ready. That tail at the end was cool too. Good job.

[Billy's Little Trip]

After listing to my song just now, I realized that when my son and I are singing together on the first line, it sounds like Steve Miller. Can't think of which song.

Quoting ones self is very pretentious, but it just came to me which Steve Miller song that the first line sounds like. "Serenade" Not exactly like it, but that flow with the high and low voice.

[glennny]

Unholy Alliance

Billy’s Little Trip- Contender for best riff. Love the drums. It’s hard to tell this is a duet. Very cool rocking song. Where’s the chorus? I guess that was a chorus. I’m worried for you challenge wise. I think your safe, but this sounds more like some harmonies rather than a duet.

Bram Tant- You are a couple of wild and crazy guys! You should get many foxes with songs like this. This is a duet. This is a fun unassuming tune. I wish there was a solo rather than a rhythm guitar break, oh wait here it comes. Subtle and tasty. You get a pass on a lot of these lyrics given that English is your second language.

DJ Ranger Den- I was hoping for “Goodbye Stranger” with the opening piano line. There’s some annoying clipping. Where’s the one? You sing a lot of words over one note often. I like your voices. I don’t care much for these melodies. I don’t walk away humming or remembering any hooks. This is a proper duet. The piano seems incidental. This might as well be a capella. This sounds a lot like a writing session, where you’re looking for the melody and haven’t found it yet. You should live, not my favorite from you.

Frankie Big Face- Decidedly novelty. Perfectly done. This goes on the same album as Shadenfruede. I don’t like this one s much as Schadenfruede. This was the most predictable of them all, in that I assumed you’d get JB and it would be excellent and hilarious. This is a good move. Novelty songs will do really well in short term contests like this one. Great stuff, I predict this will take it.

John Kloberdanz- A nice proper duet. Pretty guitar. LML sounds great. I don’t get the title. An unholy alliance of pain sadness and grief? What makes those unholy? Good take on the challenge, I’d worry about your take on the title.

Jon Eric- Mad props for the guts to do an instrumental. But drums + piano + guitar is a trio, not a duet. Wait, there’s a soft bass, you’re a quartet. This is not a duet. Nice guitar playing! There’s rhythm guitar too (quintet). I enjoyed this, I’d worry about a DQ. Musically (since this is an instrumental) what is the unholy alliance? It’s not like it’s Tuba and picalo or something odd. Piano and guitar is rather standard.

Luke Henley- I really don’t like this. You meet the challenge and the title well. I hope you live to fight another round. I’m still loving the Blame it on Ginger song. These lyrics are pretty funny. Listening to the music is just not fun or exhilarating for me.

Manhattan Glutton- My kingdom to hear you use some syncopation. The 8th note down strokes is grating. Hey that’s a somewhat catchy chorus. I like the post chorus riff. I really dislike the verse and pre-chorus. Not to say they aren’t good, they are good, just a taste thing. Lyrics are cute. Nerd and Jock alliance to fight aliens doesn’t really equal unholy. You will live for sure. Good stuff!

Paco del Stinko- Excellent premise. Not much of a story after that. I think you had a brilliant idea there, I want to hear the story where Christ and Satan align against God for some reason. This is musically awesome as expected and delivered. Easily passes to the next round. This is a deep cut for me, not a PDS single. Good stuff no big complaints! Well done!

Ross- How is this a duet? Drums + Vocals + Bass+ Trumpet+ Guitar= quintet? I’m worried about the DQ. However challenge aside, this is a fantastic song! The trumpet is awesome! The mix is great! I love the lyrics. Very good stuff! I hope you live, hey there’s keys too. How is this a duet?

Wreckdom- Certainly a duet! This is fun! Well done!

WSA-I’m way too close to this. I just love it. I love the lyrics. It was very nice to get some Mahru song smith genius in the mix. I adore the vocals from Becci and Pedro. I threw out the suggestion, and Pedro was thinking the same thing. If you haven’t heard the Balance Lost “911 was an inside job” you should check it out. I’m an Anglophile (it’s the Plantagenet in me) so I love Futureheads, Bloc Party, and when Pedro and Becci sing. Pedro was the catalyst for this song beginning with the rhythm guitar and structure. I took on the bass, Ken's on drums, I have lots of little guitar and ebow tracks. Melvin did another amazing mix job on this. As with most of our songs I think they grow on you the more you listen to them they are rich.

Tough one to judge, I think we should pass on, if I were to rank them? (other than us, I like ours best, but I’m clearly not objective). Many questionable challenge choices. This order could easily jumble for me. It will be interesting to see the judging. I bet it will be all over the place.

1- Frankie Big Face
2- Ross ( if this is somehow a duet)
3- Wreckdom
4- Paco del Stinko
5- Billy’s Little Trip (if this is somehow a duet)
6- Manhattan Glutton
7- Dj Ranger Den
8- John Kloberdanz
9- Bram Tant
10- Jon Eric (if this is somehow a duet)
11- Luke Henley

[jast]

BTW we meant a piano duet so you all fail.

[WeaselSlayer]

If I win the most-polarizing contestant prize, I'll be happy. If not, I'm going to kill myself and that blood is on ALL A Y'ALL'S HANDS!

[Caravan Ray]

Billy’s Little Trip- Rockin. The opening to this is awesome. And your kiddie helps give a good bit of body to your vocals. You get marked down for a pretty crap attempt at the challenge - but I did like the use of the title. One of the best songs I've heard from you in a while. Good stuff.

Bram Tant- Hey! This starts with one of my favourite AppleLoops! I enjoyed this very much. This is a really cool song. You and your mate both do a good job on vox. Music gets a little samey after a while and I think BLT mentioned the dull bridge - and I agree. Two big ticks as far as title and challenge go. Overall - very entertaining. Good job.

DJ Ranger Den- I like this. I have no idea what you are singing about - but it sounds like it fits the title and you certainly get the duet points. Both voices are very good - and are working well together. Also very entertaining.

Frankie Big Face- I have to confess that there is a big cultural disconnect here and you do not come out well. It's not you, it's me - but you have references I don't understand, the whole Jewish thing is all a bit too foreign for me and I find the TMBG-type accents quite annoying. Getting past the fact that I didn't like the song from the outset - I like the idea very much, and it is a good take on the title - but I feel it lacks a bit of punch lyric-wise. You picked a very nice, big juicy target - but it felt like you were attacking it with a wilted stick of celery. If you are going to have a go - then have a red hot go and stick the boot in. Mostly though I am disappointed that a song about a Muslim homosexual did not contain anywhere the phrase "crack a fatwa". Oh...and I did like the crowd noises. Nice touch. Especially the cheer at "What are you saying..." - that was funny.

Wreckdom- Now - while Frankie tried to make his novelty song a bit classy - this is just plain crass and juvenile. I loved it. Any song with "Now just take your pants off" as a chorus (or is that a refrain?) will always be a winner. And the final 2 lines:
Let's make Love in a confessional while the priest listens on
Let's make Love at my parent's house and then burn it down!
cracked me up

John Kloberdanz- Wow - this is a cheery little ditty. I think it needs a kazoo solo or something. Maybe some slide whistle. It was done well, and it is always good to hear LML - but sorry John, I just plain hated this. Way too miserable.

Jon Eric- No lyrics. Hmmmm..I guess I could pass that if the music suggests the title - but this is just piano noodleing followed by some fairly severe guitar wankery. It doesn't say "Unholy Alliance" to me. It is an unpleasant alliance certainly - I keep expecting Jon Bon Jovi or some other similar poodle-headed freak to suddenly start caterwauling over the top 1980s-FM-radio-style - but I am not getting unholy

Luke Henley - Disappointing. I like the lyrics, but the music doesn't quite have the grunt to pull off the devil voice thing. And the devil voice thing is a pretty bad cliche anyway - I think a bit of imagination in the arrangement could have made this good - but it isn't as it is.

Manhattan Glutton- This grew on me. It is pretty damn good. Good use of title, good story. You guest vocalist has a great voice. Very catchy chorus. Good stuff.

Paco del Stinko- I liked the opening - then the chorus bit lost me. All a bit to metally for me. Not my favourite PDS

Ross Durand- Great music. Is that you playing an upright bass? Steve's horn is a highlight. I also like the lyrics - though not entirely convinced that "There is nothin so unholy as a woman and man" really works. The horn following the melody there at the end of the chorus bit is great.

WSA- Probably the best WSA so far this Nur Ein. The girly singer was a real plus. And excellent lyrics. Thank you.

[frankie big face]

Frankie Big Face- I have to confess that there is a big cultural disconnect here and you do not come out well. It's not you, it's me - but you have references I don't understand, the whole Jewish thing is all a bit too foreign for me and I find the TMBG-type accents quite annoying. Getting past the fact that I didn't like the song from the outset - I like the idea very much, and it is a good take on the title - but I feel it lacks a bit of punch lyric-wise. You picked a very nice, big juicy target - but it felt like you were attacking it with a wilted stick of celery. If you are going to have a go - then have a red hot go and stick the boot in. Mostly though I am disappointed that a song about a Muslim homosexual did not contain anywhere the phrase "crack a fatwa". Oh...and I did like the crowd noises. Nice touch. Especially the cheer at "What are you saying..." - that was funny.

Enh. Too bad. I thought you would enjoy this. At least I kept my streak alive!

[Spintown]

http://spintown79.blogspot.com/2011/05/ ... eview.html

Billy's Little Trip - Really liked the music in this one & the take on the title was interesting. It wasn't much of a duet unfortunately, so despite being a good song...it's getting knocked down a peg or two in my rankings.

Bram Tant - Songs about rebelling against government or rules are usually not my thing, but I liked the lyrics. The vocal performances let this down, and the music wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that interesting either.

DJ Ranger Den - Sometimes I don't like the mix of Joe & Den's vocals. I think this is the best I've heard them together, and I enjoyed both vocals. I really liked everything about this...aside from the lyrics. It's pretty, but when I can't get into the lyrics, the song will normally fall in the atmospheric category. That means it doesn't get played a lot on my MP3 player.

Frankie Big Face - I enjoyed...most of this. Overall it was fun & quirky, and I thought it was just going to be light fun fluff all the way through. Then at the end (while keeping the same tone) you turn it into a political anti-religion song. If that's the type of song you want I'm fine with that, but you had me in the mood for something else with the first couple minutes of the song. You nailed the challenge though, so props on that.

John Kloberdanz - Man...way to bring a guy down. This needs a new recording more so than any other entry this round. Loved the song, but the static that comes with the female vocalist is annoying as hell. No complaints other than that static.

Jon Eric - No lyrics were posted, and that means no reviews. (Yes...I know it was an instrumental, but I've already said no lyrics = no reviews. I will not be tricked into breaking my own stupid rules.)

Luke Henley - This annoyed me so much that not only do I want to give it a bad review, but I want to go back in time & give you a bad review for your previous song as well. To be fair, 99% of entries in this genre make me feel the same way.

Manhattan Glutton - I generally like humorous songs & one of my favorite Song Fight entries ever is about aliens...but this falls flat with me. I never laughed, and since the humor didn't land it's just an ok song that's really weird.

Paco del Stinko - Nothing grabbed me here...especially the lyrics. It left the same impression that Manhattan Glutton's effort did. Just weird.

Ross Durand - Duet doesn't mean you have to have a 2nd vocalist...I guess. It's sort of what I was expecting, and hoping for though. As a fan of Steve's trumpet, I'm going to find it hard to knock you too much. It's lyrically solid, the performance by both parties is great, and I think it'll be enough to get you through another round.

WreckdoM - So much of the humor attempted this round didn't land with me, but you really had me with the back & forth at the start. I was smiling & chuckling while listening. I didn't really care for the parts where you both came together though. The performances just didn't mesh together well for me, but it's a solid entry.

The Worldly Self Assurance - No lyrics = NO REVIEW FOR YOU! (Lyrics were posted early today...my reviews were done yesterday.)

[bambamoozle]

Good Tuesday Morning! What a cheery bunch we have here at Nur Ein VI this week, eh? Good grief!

My take on my own song with LML: I am extremely happy with what Lyn and I did. Lyrically, I thought that the unholy alliance of pain, sadness and grief played well with the vodka and the prescription, the real unholy alliance. My approach to this song is hat-tipped to the master of song Leonard Cohen and the great "Joan of Arc" on his "Songs of Love and Hate" album from 1972, where Joan and the fire sing to each other.

I have a policy of not arguing with reviews, as opinions on music are not arguable, what one person can love another can hate. I think I live on to Round 4 which was my minimum goal for this Nur Ein since I was eliminated in Round 3 last time I participated. Regardless, I have a song here that I would rerecord and put on a CD.

I listened to everything twice yesterday but did not take notes, so here's some quick reviews from what I remember. I'll rank them in three tiers "easily lives on" "lives on" and "on the edge":

BLT - I liked this rocker, your son did a good job, you live on.

Bram - Singing was out of tune, lyrics weren't so great, on the edge.

Dj Rangerden - I thought this could have been better. It was ok. I don't think a union is exactly an alliance. On the edge.

FBF - Musically, it reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Krusty and his rabbi father are reunited. A very good song and well done. Obviously easily lives on.

Jon Eric - I like the song and am good with an instrumental, but I don't think this is a duet. An instrumental duet has two parts and this has more. On the edge because of that, it's up to the judges as to how much they care, if they don't care you live on.

Luke - When I saw the challenge, I said to Mrs. K. "Oh great, there's gonna be 12 growl-grunt-gwar-growl, and me". Well, there was you. and the rest of us. I'm sorry, I didn't like it. On the edge.

Glutton - A good song, very good. Lives on.

Paco - If this were a "rank Paco songs" competition, this one would be near the bottom for me, because it's just good. Easily lives on.

Ross - I remember being a bit confused by the lyrics, does she come to him looking for a job, or does he come to her for the job but then she ropes him into the alliance? Well played and arranged. Easily lives on.

Wreck - It's very funny, but I don't see the alliance since she pushes him away, so kind of cheap shot humor vs. telling a story. That being said, it lives on.

WSA - This one didn't float my boat. The members of WSA don't get my music (compare my rankings this NE vs. NEIV) and I don't get yours either. Voices didn't mess well for me. Will live on.

[bambamoozle]

BTW we meant a piano duet so you all fail.

HA!

NUR EIN!!!

[Ross]

@Caravan Ray - I think from the point of view of the protagonist, in the context of the amount of sin that results from this relationship the lines makes sense. Sorry if it didn't project.

@Glennny - i didn't expect to explain since it sounds so defensive, but you have clearly placed me on the defense. Based on the prefight chatter, though, i think the judges will understand this as a duet. The voice and trumpet have lead melodic roles, while the other instruments are clearly rhythmic and acoompanimental. The back-and-forth betweeen the two leads during the verese and the parallel harmonies in the choruses and bridge set them apart from the rest of the ensemble as a duet. I have further thoughts, since the song was totally conceived in this way, but then i fear i would sound merely defensive.

Btw, there is a cd of voice/trumpet duets featuring wynton marsalis and kathleen battle and backed by orchestra, so i believe i am also supported by precedent.

I'm glad you liked the song so much!

Nur Ein!!!

[Manhattan Glutton]

(stuff)

I'm okay being mortal musical enemies. Maybe someday we can form an unholy alliance.

[dantes]

unholy alliance.

I'm glad you linked that, since the definition stated there is what I based my song's lyrics on.

[glennny]

I'm okay being mortal musical enemies. Maybe someday we can form an unholy alliance.

That sounds awesome! In.

[roymond]

BTW we meant a piano duet so you all fail.

Yes!

[Billy's Little Trip]

I don't see the "unholy alliance" connection

It's as simplistic as the music. Mortal man and the devil. Nothing more, nothing less.

[roymond]

Duets: I carved off a few points when there was just harmony, or alternating verses. The instrumental duets (with or without vocal) push things in a lovely manner.

WreckdoM - not since Louis Prima and Keely Smith have we heard a coupling such as this. The bounce, the whit, the love disguised as tongue in cheek sarcasm...it's all there. Maybe if that darn brain aneurysm didn't kill him this is what they'd be doing today.

Luke Henley - don't disturb me now, I'm trying to review some songs.

DJ Ranger Den - has none of the interest of your other songs. Too mainstream? Too spacey? Who knows...time will tell, but I may not be spinning this many times because I wont want to interrupt all the spins your prior work get.

Manhattan Glutton - This is what happens when the brains of Oingo Boingo are inserted into The Go Gos and they join Def Leopard.

Frankie Big Face - Very kitsch and novel, but so frickin good in a novel kitschy way. I laughed all the way to mecca! King Solomon would have rocked his own temple to the ground if he had this on the turn table.

Paco del Stinko - humble and quaint, your destiny, my friend, knows no bounds. Perhaps women have told you this in the past.

Ross Durand - this certainly takes me back to my youth, but I didn't really want to go there. Love the bass. Damn. Sweet horn, Steve. If this was Was Not Was I wouldn't be surprised.

Billy's Little Trip - usual boring awesomeness. Just CHILL OUT, dude. No, I mean DON'T. Just keep coming back and bring the frock.

The Worldly Self Assurance - quite a soup of ambition, but maybe it needs a strainer. I love the layers more than an archeologist in Bet She'an, but the sediment is mighty tightly packed.

Jon Eric - Nothing to hear here...keep it moving. Maybe there will be an accident ahead. Close your eyes and hope.

Bram Tant - I think I have more to say than these lyrics. And I've already said it. Dig the music, though.

John Kloberdanz - real really downer. I like the surf in her track but didn't know there were beaches in the afterlife. Makes me rethink my spirituality.

[Niveous]

The results are in:

The winner by a hair is Manhattan Glutton
The bottom three are Glen Raphael, Luke Henley and Jon Eric. Tschüss!

Manhattan Glutton - 59
WreckdoM - 57
FBF - 51
WSA - 51
Paco Del Stinko - 44
John Kloberdanz - 43
Ross Durand - 41
DJ Ranger Den - 39
BLT - 36
Bram Tant - 20
Jon Eric - 15
Luke Henley - 12

Judging Breakdown coming soon. It's all over the place!

[dantes]

ANOTHER close call! I did put a lot more effort into this one. Now if the next round has a manageable challenge and I can come up with proper lyrics and deliver a good vocal performance for once...

Also, it's "Bram", not "Bran".

[Niveous]

Also, it's "Bram", not "Bran".

Oops. Just a typo.

Sorry.

- Nuveous.

[jast]

Now that it's too late, here's what I expected of people for the challenge. Basically, to me a duet is comprised of two performers that play central roles in the song. I also want to be able to tell that there is a duet going on, so a full band arrangement that happens to have a separate performer playing the piano part is not a duet in my book (but a piece that consists of two performances total might qualify if one doesn't clearly serve as nothing but accompaniment to the other). I prefer being able to tell that there are actually two performers (i.e. vocals), but I'm willing to give a pass to anyone else on good faith (with some points off). What matters to me very much is that the song is clearly designed as a duet, i.e. the two performances interact to make the song more compelling than it would have been otherwise.

Now, on to the reviews.

Paco del Stinko: Wow, I do love the sound of this right from the start. Very nice duet, and I really wasn't expecting anyone to take the title that literally. As a story it's not really that exciting, though; more of an executive summary, this one. Performers work very well together. Wow, awesome job on the bridge. If there were more substance to the lyrics this would be an easy favourite. It's still very good, though. Nit: I don't like the reverb.

John Kloberdanz: Wow, this is... pretty. Great duet, another unexpected take on the title... not a bad thing in itself, but this one feels like a bit of a stretch. I can't really think of much to say here, because most everything is just right. The only thing that bugs me is that there's a way more roomy sound to Lyn's vocals. Considering the subject matter I can interpret that as a deliberate decision, but in the parts you sing together it sounds weird. This may benefit from some extra pondering.

WreckdoM: Well, this is a somewhat less traditional duet, but works for me. I have major complaints about this mix, though. There's slight clipping all throughout the song, probably on the guitar track, and in the chorus the vocals are pretty much dominated by the guitar (also some plosives on the female vocals). The many "almost" rhymes make me cringe a bit. Timing is a bit jumbly, vocals are a bit wobbly in some places. Relation to title is somewhat obscure but I do sort of get it.

Worldly Self Assurance: Points off for not submitting lyrics. You knew this would happen. Duet successfully detected. Vocals (especially male) are a bit inaccurate (on average, they are very inaccurate in some places and just fine in some others). Male vocals don't really integrate well into the mix. I have to guess at whether you worked in the title well. I think you did, going from the chorus thingy, but I just don't have time to listen to this often enough to get all the nuances out.

DJ Ranger Den: This is an interesting departure from how most others let the two singers interact. Just like in last round, I have some concerns on how the piano fits into the mix. Also, roominess seems to be different on the two vocal tracks (I think especially femals vocals could have used some more). The joys of internet collaboration, right? You know I have to mark you down for not using the right title.

Luke Henley: Pretty jumbly timing, especially in the break. Now, just because some people don't do intelligible growling doesn't mean that you're excused. I get the impression that one of the performers serves as more of a side role... that means points off. The "alliance" part of the title plays a side role, too, here. All in all the whole thing just sounds half-hearted.

Billy's Little Trip: Great sound as usual. Chorus could have used some more distinction from verse in arrangement and stuff like that. I'm trying to stall here. The big problem with this song is that it's perhaps a duet in the letter – after all, there are two singers (according to you... it's hard to even make that out) – but it plays no significant role in the song. The only difference it makes is to the sound. It would still be mostly the same song if you simply eliminated the other performer. This is as close as failing the challenge as it gets. I also have a hard time accepting an alliance that's made up of a single person. Vocals seem to be sharp in the chorus. That is all.

Bram Tant: Well, this is difficult. How about bad news first, then good news? The arrangement is sparse, and the mix makes no attempt to beef it up a bit; it gets a bit monotone that way as you make no big effort to change it as the song progresses (but using both the staccato notes and the chords on the rhythm guitar is a very good step in the right direction). Performers don't set themselves apart a lot (this usually happens when singers don't have good technique; that suppresses a lot of the singers' individual voices). The first instrumental break (without the guitar solo) goes on fairly long. Also the melody is below the second singer's (i.e. yours, if my ears are not deceiving me) range. You might have benefitted from choosing a somewhat different melody for those passages, or perhaps from choosing a different key. I also don't see how this is about an alliance; it seems to be about more of a two-sided thing. Now the good news. You have the largest-scale interaction between performers (i.e. each performer has large solo passages, and you only join together in the end) in the bunch so far, which makes for a nice change. I like the finale, despite the mix working against it a bit. I also like the small guitar solo. Nothing fancy but it fits very well.

Jon Eric: You know, in a "studio" piece I'd prefer it if you edited out goofs in the piano performance, especially when they're right there in the intro. Haha, I wasn't expecting you to nail the title with an instrumental, but you did (I loved the title + challenge combo just on the off chance that someone would do something like this. I must admit I'm a bit jealous of your piano playing. Okay, actually a lot. Despite all the small mistakes. The bass playing is not so great, but at least it's not very noticeable. All in all, the only thing that stands in the path of your victory is the part where your song is an instrumental. But it's a really, really great instrumental. With a bit of cleaning up I might even listen to this kind of thing on a regular basis.

Frankie Big Face: Completely awesome. By that I mean: completely. awesome. This is the best possible literal interpretation of the "unholy" part of the title. I guess "alliance" isn't the right word to describe what this song is about, though. But apart from that I have nothing bad to say about this song. Wait, that can't be true. I always have bad things to say. Oh, right. M's vocals are clippy.

Ross Durand: I love this song... but it's difficult to reconcile with my expectations about the challenge. Both performers play central roles in the song, but for the most part they play besides each other, which is not what a duet is usually about. To me, in a duet the two performances interact with each other in interesting ways, be it call-and-response or taking up from each other or whatever. It's hard to interpret that into a duet made up of a singer and a trumpet player. The only part where the performances clearly come together is the chorus. That ensures you pass the challenge, but it was a close call. Also, what you are describing is not commonly called an alliance.

Manhattan Glutton: Vocals could stand to be a bit more present in the mix. Mix has a tendency to pumping effects. Perfect pass on challenge and title though, and with a great story to boot. Musically, it gets slightly repetitive. What you already knew I was going to say about the vocals applies to the other singer's vocals, too. In an effort to stretch this review out a bit, let me also state for the record that the phone effect on the [aliens] part feels like a bit of a pointless gimmick.

Lowest score awarded: 24, highest score awarded: 38. Three ties. Gosh, it's getting to the point where I have to put a song in the failing ranks that I actually would have liked to pass... sorry, unnamed contestant!

[moody wreckdom]

could someone please tell me where to find the results of round 3 without scanning a barrage of messages and posts?
Thank you.