With recording production par excellence and soaked in Marshall modern rockpop guitars, Sean McCarthy is assuredly professional performance grade.  His spot-on lead vocals are rendered in unquestionable confidence, backed by a consummate team of musicians and engineering.  And the songs? Well… they’re pretty darn good.  Here and there maybe even close to great, but not quite.  Like 96.3% of modern pop and rock music, the vast majority of the essential songwriting content here is derivative.  REM, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Switchfoot, and many, many more are heard. Imitation is the highest flattery.  Those who are familiar with pop hit music since the Beatles will easily recognize pieces and patches, segments, sections and melodies, vibes and vocals that we have heard over and over through the years.  And who can fault Mr. McCarthy for putting out more of a good thing?  Still, it is always oh-so refreshing to hear artists push and struggle for uncompromising originality and uniqueness, what little there may be of it left to find.  After so many decades of so much so fine, it is a tall order, to be sure.

Track by track:

1. I know it’s only rock-n-roll, but this particular one is known as “Found Mary.”  She strives for a glorious and celebratory feel, and is somewhat successful in achieving it.  Heavily chiming, rhythmically consistently predictable lower register and high bell-like rock rhythm guitar(s) abound.  They drive the trad-rock beat home more or less throughout this arm-waving party crowd let loose.  During the verse, the lead vocal melody is slightly more buried in the mix than might be ideal, but it’s a fine pop note sequence, with happy 6ths and some subtle, poignant major-7 injections that tend to tug at heartstrings.  Likely a rousing, get-up-on-your-feet, crowd pleaser, this one.  Crank it up and dance!

1. The lead vocal is plenty on top here, especially during the backed-off backup instrumentation in the first verse, and beautifully executed.  “Pretty” again seeks to touch deeply in a traditional pop-rock kinda way, and will certainly succeed for what may be an appreciable percentage of the audience.  With just a few more dynamics than the previous track, this song offers a semi-innovative chord progression behind part of the pre-post chorus, and a plaintive progression for the rest.  “I will give you everything in this heartbeat” is a poetic line that any open-hearted woman will soak up and glow in, when uttered by her beloved, sincere man.

1. “Sunday Morning” starts in a sparse, sad soft synth draped with a hopeful melancholy.  Steadily building by gentle percussion, chimey fade-in guitars and methodically added layers of atmospheric drone, we keep thickening the stew, waiting until after the 2-minute mark to solidly land and resolve into the major key pay-off hook groove chorus sing-along section.  Musically, like much of this CD so far, the chorus of this tune seeks to inspire us reaching up and out into a triumphant spirit of hope, with soaring add-2/9’s, a very common and essential ingredient in most guitar-based, modern rock music.

1. We all need a little “Sympathy”—agreed.  And Mary is back to help tell the story.  Sammy, the working man, breaks down from a lack of familial relations, and it sounds like a healthy, good and true thing for him to do!  We gotta acknowledge our deep feelings, my friends.

1. It was not a good scene, so he adamantly belts out “Goodbye” and good riddance to her, feeling (bitterly?) light and optimistic about his fresh new start.  Powered and fueled by choppy staccato rhythm guitar machine gun blasts over a thumping beat, we march out into our brave new world.  It may have been good while it lasted, but it’s definitely time to leave, and this departure is done with expectant, exciting conviction.  Enough of those under-the-breath comments.

Review by Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Everything Has Past, Sean McCarthy

There’s no doubt about it—Earl J Rivard was meant and destined to belt it out with his gifted set of formidable pipes.  In pristinely clean and clearly enunciated delivery, his highly disciplined vocals shine brightly into our ears.  Mr. Rivard’s powerful execution includes expert exercise of vocal dynamics with precision, and are never shy to gently milk the dramatic element.  From delicate fade-ins to vaulting vibrato blasts, routinely laced with artfully delicate and subtle gospel riffing, he spans the gamut.  Following in the stylized footsteps of Gino Vannelli, Michael Bolton, and other manly types, this voice hails from the rigorous school of confident, direct and assuredly in-charge performance.  The theatrical bent in most of his performances suggest that Earl has spent some time on the live stage as an actor.  He’s surely got the voice and projection needed to pull it off.

The production here gets high marks, with a cohesive vision that rises well to the challenge of tying all this diverse material together into one unified album.  Not an easy task, given how wide the genre range that is being covered.  There is a distinct SF bay area flavor to be found throughout, largely due to much of the electric guitar stylings.

The overall songwriting is highly respectable, though do not look for an abundance of groundbreaking innovation, as the tried and true paths are nearly always adhered to.  And considering the always classic, strict lead vocal style, it is perhaps fitting to be so.

Let’s take a word ride through each track:

1. “Underground Railroad” opens with a disclaimer for those sensitive souls who can’t get past a slight touch of f**king grit ingredient, totally appropriate in the context of this passionate and tragic message. Urging America to reconsider its heartless policy of mother and child separation in some situations, may this important social message be heard deep in hearts for good change.

1. Arriving a bit early relative to conventional track flow practice, “Till I Met You” quickly sets us down into its pensive and sensitive mood.  In the same ultra-loving, one-woman-worshiping spirit of track-12, praises are meant to be sung with a wide-open heart.

1. “Coldest Place” maintains the slow pace, but adds a soft rock rhythm section to help transition back up into higher energy following.  Based on the first few seconds of guitar strumming, one might expect Neil Young to arrive next.  But Neil Young is far from where Mr. Rivard’s sensibilities source.  Slightly Journey-flavored, this pop piece laments and declares the loss of love in what was apparently once a relationship more along the lines of tracks 2 and 12.

1. Higher energy does indeed arrive in “The Sun Finally Rose,” an assertive love song lauding her bright and welcome arrival onto his “darkened roads.” Kicking along in a proper rocking manner, this one is likely to bring everyone out onto the dance floor.

1. Production takes a teeny bit more risk in “Nobody Knows.”  A gently lilting waltz, its moody and slightly Scottish vibe wistfully carries our dream bodies aerially across the highlands.  With a fine sense of longing and sadness very well-suited to Earl’s voice, this is the shortest track on the record at under 3-minutes.  Some deeper feelings are inspired, and as he sweeps us away, our hearts feel that it would have been nice to extend the journey for another few minutes.

1. The “Magdalena” lyric is unintelligible for most of us, but romantic and indicative of Earl’s multi-lingual talent.  This slow, pleasant piece softly and inoffensively bops along, regardless of whatever the heck is being said.

1. Every songwriter deeply relates to the standard writer condition in  “Unfinished Songs.”  As close as this CD comes to country and 50’s rock-n-roll, again we pleasantly bop along.  Listen for the abrupt and humorously clever surprise (lack of) ending.

1. “Lady, Sweet Lady” ventures back into semi-modernized Euro-folk waltz land, this time in a traditional “Greensleeves” manner.  Whimsical with plaintively plucked guitar, historical harpsichord and flute, the stock chord progression for the genre expertly wafts along, lyrically alternating between the Lady and the Poet, back and forth in refined and bittersweet fashion.

1. Fluent language skills demonstrated again, ” Vuélvete ” has verse music that might be suitable for a gently rappin’ hip-hoppy Mick Jagger to lay down a track on top of, and a chorus that seeks to tug heartstrings much like Paul Young’s “Every Time You Go Away” and Lennon’s “Woman.”  Clean, clear guitar and electric piano make the soft bed in which we lay.

1. “This Time Around” is the most directly rock-n-roll offering contained herein.  Competently performed, as all else on this record, it is decidedly not the preferred style for Rivard’s vocals.  He is too much a kind and disciplined gentleman to pull this one off in the definitive manner that so many have before.  It’s likely included here to show a reach for versatility.

1. Now it’s a foray into a bit of Simon-Garfunkellish folk with “Sometimes Love,” a sparse and naked guitar/vocal.  Again, impeccable enunciation rules, with every word easily understood in this most poetic story song full of wise advice and sage caution.

1. Unabashedly romantic, “Yours Eternally” is a somewhat gushy love song that croons to melt the heart of those women receptive to its style of desirous promise.  Undoubtedly sincere, this florid and dreamy expression promises an infinity of commitment to just the luck woman to whom it is sung.  The full minute of silence at the end may represent his endless devotion?

1. “Underground Railroad” (radio version) cleans it up for mass consumption by blanking out (just the one?) teeny spot giving rise to the legally required parental discretion advisory.

Review by Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Earl J. Rivard, Underground Railroad

It must be said that this has been done many ways and many times before, for decades.  Though turning in competent, talented, and passionate performances here, halfwaynorth will benefit to go further than halfway toward more songwriting originality.  This is where all pop and rock music begins: the song. No amount of high-grade production (and this record has that) can make up for basic songs that are less than awesome.  These are okay, and maybe even good, but that’s not enough in the context of so much similar work that has been world famous in the last 50 or so years.

Let’s take a word ride through each track:

1. “Back to the Uhh” – A finely rockin’ guitar confidently opens with its powerfully catchy riff hook signature (a la Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart,” plus Glenn Frey’s “One You Love”).  Quickly following, the rest of the rhythm section gently crunches in to land solidly into a traditional rhythmic rock pop punk groove. This is then pretty much where things settle for the duration of the song. After the intro and the lead vocal entry, the first thought that comes to mind is Weezer, but this song and these vocals are not Rivers Cuomo. We pleasantly bop back and forth in standard classic rock fashion, and it feels good, though familiar and awfully predictable.  In and out we rock, with some cleverly subtle variations here and there by the instruments, mostly in that beloved time-honored vein of careless and sloppy rock attitude playing.  Still, as finely done as what has been done is, much benefit could be realized by more consideration toward better original songwriting and perhaps inclusion of more dynamic variations on the theme.

1. “I Call Your Name” arrives with heavy debt hearkening back to Alice Cooper, maybe a bit of classic Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and similar era guitar-centric works of others.  What follows (and may or may not be called the verse, because it does not come around again for the duration) offers a subtle, interesting guitar variation that tends to effectively draw one in—alas, enjoy it while it lasts.  Next, we go a bit more pop melodic and dramatic, then chorus time, which feels somewhat anti-climactic and unresolved. Finish out with retro rock-out guitar, and it’s over. Why not come back to the “verse”—the most intriguing part of the piece?  Again, a basic songwriting decision that other advanced writers may find less than optimizing to this particular collection of song parts.  The overall vocals are more than adequate, but less than stellar, seeking something, anything leaning in a direction of increasing distinctiveness.

1. “Powerlines” – great opening strum guitar, a little reminiscent of Live’s “Lightning Crashes”.  The general spirit of this piece seems offered in the spirit and vibe of much of R.E.M.’s work.  Standard, effective buildup by adding instrumental accompaniments and counterpoint layers, plaintive and roughly polished vocal styling, and strong word picture lyrics all do add to the intrigue.  Overall, perhaps the best attempt at the most unique tune in this 3-song collection.

Review by Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Ghost Shuffle, halfwaynorth

Straight down the middle of the road, Danie Syre plants her musical feet in a solid country/pop/blues tradition. Think Crystal Gayle pop influenced by a hint of Neil Young folksiness. In all respects—songwriting, arrangement, performance and production—this record reflects a safe, comfortable, easy-going approach. There is nothing punchy or in-your-face here, very little quirky, cosmic or sublime. From its competent medium-sized town studio musician backup band to Ms. Syre’s overtly pleasant, somewhat lounge style lead vocals, do not look for any edgy innovation or adventurous creative risk captured herein. Put this on when you need a relaxing sonic background to your lazy afternoon hangin’ around the house.

Some suggestions that may better optimize this work start with pushing for more stretch and artistic statement in the basic songwriting. Musically, every piece is decidedly derivative, almost never reaching for the unabashed passion of high level, tough-to-control emotion that makes up the majority of world class musical magic. The recording mix and overall production are fine for a demo, but too disjointed and lackluster to qualify as a world release product. A finer ear for the overall mix and, across the board, perhaps a dryer treatment, higher volume and increased compression would benefit all vocals.

Let’s take a ride through each track:

1. Something Real … This is the rocker. Actually a standard stock soft rocker, but as heavy as we get on this CD. Its great lyrical message makes valuable suggestion to its apparently disconnected recipient, who may benefit to heed the advice. Decent Steve Earle-ish vibe and groove, minus the ragged passion.

1. Daydreams ..: A sweet and gentle but bland country steel-styled Margaritaville, with a touch of pathos due to one particular chord change. Sharper production vision might really make this one shine. Perhaps the most soulful expression here, but please tune up the steel more, and put the vocal on top.

1. Little Kiss … The first of the tiptoe shuffles. Everyone’s having fun as sexy intent arrives strong and clear in the lyric of romantic contrast. Wide variety of overly busy instrumental accompanists. Please put the vocal on top.

1. You Set Me Free … A strong nod to Neil Young’s Helpless and Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. Soft and swooning, we are tenderly and skillfully carried in a grateful spirit.

1. Rose … finally, finally puts Danie’s pretty voice up above it all, where it belongs—clear, consistent and intelligible, somewhat due to sparse production. A sincere introspection into a highly desired but confusingly denied special relationship.

1. Time For the Truth … Uh-oh, lead vocal is stuck in murky back again. Oh well, can’t argue with the message here, similar to Track-1. Clever but loud bass solo intro and outro, with guitar borrowings from James Taylor’s Fire and Rain.

1. Baby, Maybe … A gently rockin’ bluesy sexy shuffle. Again, the lead vocal volume.

1. My Way … Sad and slow, piano and violin plus vocal. Relationship reflected in a highly introspective psychology.

1. Campfire Song … definitely starts that way, with a strumming guitar. Enter lighthearted shuffle infused with happy memories of past young fun, all done with a strong sense of old-fashioned glass-raising.

1. Fools … Serious ballad, again self-questioning. Piano and harmonica accompaniment.

1. Simple Soul … Shuffle me home again. Good gosh, bring up that lead vocal, man! A bit of campy Winchester Cathedral feel bops along nicely and lightly in bonafide fun.

1. Martin .. closes out in the characteristic shuffle rhythm. This love song to a guitar is straight ahead blues with harmonica and, of course, “Martin” sounding off in the great tone that inspires a lyric like this.

Review by Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Danie Syre, Time for the Truth

Wow, this man can play. And he sure can write the instrumental music of high-end composers. The technical performance capabilities captured in this record are awesome. If you like Yes, ELP, King Crimson and other such legendary Brit art rock pioneers, you will like this record. Throw in Steely Dan, Incubus and Sting, too; A most impressive group of very respectable associations.

Maybe think John Mayer doing prog, sans the clear stance and focus of a sharply styled died-in-the-wool, gentle, sexy singer-songwriter type where songs and distinctive lead vocals rule the presentation. Mayer occasionally throws in superb subtle blues-based guitar savvy, while Michael Lee is not shy to liberally sprinkle sparkly guitar flash throughout his fancy work, and leaves plenty of room for his virtuoso studio drummer to shine.

Mr. Lee’s current lead vocals are more than competent, but for the most part, he does not quite reach the same level as the music. It’s lead vocal magic chemistry like Zeppelin or Tull, and a God-given pipes kind of thing.

Let’s take a word ride through each track:

1. “Land of Change”: starts off in a high tech feel jungle, with off-center drums and sparkly smooth echo-riff guitar, which continue throughout. Complex and sophisticated, this highly credible art prog rock pop piece sails with precise punctuation through expansive and azure cosmic skies and space even. Vocals are competent, though could notch up a few to better match the bigness of the music.

1. “Trust”: Again, the rhythm section keeps us off balance, grooving nicely somewhere in left field. Fancy breaks continue in the body, as with track-1, plus add a touch of King Crimsony guitar riff bits. Same vocal comment, too.

1. “Despite”: The rhythmic art prog guitar cement sets yet more firmly. One thing for sure: these are all highly accomplished musicians sure to impress other musicians. As for the general public, this heady material is likely beyond their reach. Got a Radiohead Zep kinda vibe going through some of this, but that’s not all.

1. “Tired”: Appropriately begins with a relatively settled down groove, albeit a less common 3-time count. Best vocal so far, mixed higher up and deserving of its more prominent focus here. A burnt out love song, this is definitely the most mass accessible offering thus far.

1. “Mystery of Life”: Brings in the first purely acoustic number. A soft and slow pop guitar/vocal, we may gently sway together in heartfelt questioning wonder, if so inclined. Some of the music strongly resembles Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven”, with a somewhat Elton-esque classical feel here and there, adding historic depth.

1. “Youth”: Is as close as it gets in this collection to a straight ahead rocker. It still comes from a technically elevated riff-based place, (as it appears can’t be helped by this crew). Not unlike something Christian rocker Steven Curtis Chapman might do. Some mighty fine guitar work that might be nice to hear more of, and passionately cut loose with even more abandon.

1. “In The Picture”: A slow and dreamy sad light pop ballad that ranks with “Tired” as another shot for the masses. Perhaps the most Mayer-esque piece here, though Stevie Wonder comes to mind for the pre-chorus, title and bridge sections.

1. “Distant Future”: Whoa – it seems we’re going country! But wait, no, it’s quickly turned back into a straight ahead easygoing light pop tune, again targeting commercial radio. No flash whatsoever here, just a light bounce ballad that softly shuffles. Nice acoustic twangin’ all around.

1. “Never Enough Time”: Enters back into riffland, but this time it’s got a far or middle east flavor, owing to the featured scale/mode. Actually, not all that much emphasis on riffing, except as a slightly busy textural background to the vocal. Halfway through, we’ve morphed into a title chant prelude to a highly scale structured rock guitar solo. Then back to the east, and return to rock riffin’. Another fine instrumental showcase.

1. “Face Forward” (Instrumental): begins in Bo Diddley fashion and features prominent piano. It nicely weaves a delicate melodic tapestry throughout what is, on this record, a jammish melody over relatively simple repeated chords. A ways in, theatrical guitar enters to build and further develop the melodic variations on the theme. Yani, Mannheim Steamroller and similar ilk, make room for more of your kind.

1. “That Day”: A slow waltz love song, with distinct Irish instrumental overtones. Round ’bout midpoint, we briefly go heavy prog again, then return to romantic pop flavor. As everything here, expertly competent, musically sophisticated, and very, very nice.

Review by Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Face Forward, Michael Lee

On first listen, it is apparent that Elijah Miller is a passionate poet and born artist. His nearly always smoothly flowing words delicately weave a variety of thoughtful images and capture an appreciable range of feelings.

Also on first listen, this collection may not seem all that musically impressive. The basic songwriting and melodies are quite simple. In this day and age, that most often means derivative, and it is. (Who can escape that?)  However, largely due to highly refined production and expert instrumental accompaniment, the subtle voicing variations and numerous nuances grow on you with repeated listens. Lovingly set in an admirable orchestration of dynamics, the players float in and out and back and forth effortlessly, from open, sparse airiness, to crunchy, garbled grungy confusion. These are high marks of professionalism.

Yes, we’ll definitely be listening to this one more than a few more times in years to come.

Let’s take a brief word ride through each track:

1.  A favorite, the opener “furious armies” confidently escalates its unrelenting slow march across fields of facets. Its deceptively one-dimensional, gritty glittering, slow drone vocal melody plods like a soldier through the mud. And yet, through the tough trek, there is an incorrigible optimism shining ahead and above, leading the way to some kind of inevitably glorious victory—someday. Supporting players provide expert encouragement to this military man with always anchoring root-5 bass, perfectly matched innovative drumming, and wonderful Weezer/U2-like guitar work that supports, soars and triumphs. Love the guitar slow fade-in, evolving tone at 2:09! An exceptional creation.

2.  Enter the 1-2-3 waltz “stain”, albeit with heavy lyrical emphasis, as usual. A good mix that is a bit silly and fun, and mostly more than a bit serious. Fine build up and complementary, well-coordinated and flowing musicianship. A sweet, poignant violin singing in at just the right times, a solidly supportive and sensitive rhythm section, and a melodic guitar alternating appropriately between clean and dirty tone, all make up the perfect blend with Elijah’s prolific poetry of surprise and delight. A King Crimsony flavor to parts of this one, with that fuzzy hollow tube guitar sound and diminished chords, largely originated by Mr. Fripp. The welcome instrumental interlude at about 2/3 in takes us for a happily melodic, lilting and spirited ride. Next we find ourselves hitting back into the more serious minor-based, darker intensity. Lots and lots of fit-’em-into-the-music-as-needed words, Dylanesque style—gotta say it all! Suddenly, it’s over with a sweet little vocal finale, dedicated and committing that “I will give just to you…”.

3.  No, it’s not What the Man Said—it’s nothing so nearly characteristically McCartney lyrical light. Instead, this “boy on the moon” waxes much more poetic in lyric, and poignant in music. Like other tracks here, this one builds, adding layer by layer, rising up into a slamming intensity. At its climax finale, the passionate pleading for the boy to “come back” is underscored by a 4-count hammer crescendo of semi-chaos with which to take us up and out, rising in his spaceship, taking off smoothly into outer space. Quite a trip…

4.  “muscle breaks” mixes it up a bit, as the solitary live piece here, though it’s hard to tell the difference from the studio cuts—next to no room ambience is detectable, and there are no crowd sounds. Regardless, like the rest, it is a high quality song and a fine recording, likely done direct-from-board. The feel here is a slightly sprightly bittersweet happy sadness, featuring prominent violin and a wonderful surprise banjo twangin’! Such a beautiful scene do they all paint together, happily married to a lovingly sloshy percussion. Marvelous composition and performances all around.

Reviewed by Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Hawk and Dove, Rocking Chair

Deep in 70’s classic rock territory is where Mr. Stranges hangs his musical hat—not a bad thing at all, IMHO, as oh-so very, very much great and influential music was put forth at that special time in our sonic pop-rock history. The richly creative tradition well deserves to continue inspiring all contemporary artists so inclined.

 

Masterfully accomplished rock/pop vocals are the focus here, set in and set off by a most solid rhythm section, replete with delightfully toned crunchy classic rock guitars. Beds and touches of organ, a sprinkling of bells, some lush orchestra, and other complementary additions are then placed in most all the appropriate places. Enviable engineering and insightful production skills are evident everywhere.

 

A guess will now be hazarded: Victor, do you sometimes tire of what I’m thinking is an all too frequent comparison to, yes… Elvis Costello? For, based on this record, this appears to be your inevitable destiny. As fantastic as much of your basic material, honed talent, and performance execution unarguably is, this single aspect might be considered the most unfortunate. Why? Because we already have Elvis Costello. We now want to musically know who YOU are. My recommendation is that you do everything in your power to not sound like the aforementioned, and strive to find your own unique expression, more unlike any other. Enough said on that, with all following making no further comment of the similarity.

 

Let’s take a brief word ride through each track:

 

1. Songs with adventurous pop chord progressions like “Morning Star” always catch my ear. Gentle surprises and flowing key changes set in an easy bop-along soft rock beat propel us forward beautifully. When these elements are expertly combined with catchy melodies and instrumentation captured in well-executed production, you can’t ask for much more. This song qualifies on all counts—well done!

 

1. As the title track, “Hello You To Me,” is another winner. With less techno-synth focus, we groove along the lines of Gary Numan’s “Cars.” Stellar classic rock vocal harmonies soar up the chorus, providing the high resolve payoff with which most great songs reward listeners come chorus time. Again, it’s a hit!

 

 

1. It would be nice to start our days in the happy feeling spirit evoked by “When the Morning Comes.” The instrumental guitar hook/chorus simply shines with light-n-bouncy joy, dancing to greet the new day. After a bit of more questionable flit in a doubting darkness, positive lyrics of welcome encouragement and commitment flood in like the sun.

 

1. As befits the title, “Memories” hearkens us back into a slow love song stylized upon the 50’s torch songs. But in fine Stranges’ style, a few choice subtle, quirky and creative twists are added at strategic spots to maintain interest.

 

1. Now the tempo slows down yet further. “Not That Bad at All” continues to demonstrate general songwriting savvy, lead vocal valor, and production prowess. While not a showcase standout, at 6+ minutes, its gentle empathy suits the record’s midpoint.

 

1. “Restoration Blues” takes a helpful stroll down a little more odd of a road. Ripe with biblical references, if the playing and praying is speaking for the correct “One True God,” the introspective wisdom is welcome, and reflects a near universal internal dialog found within each soul of humanity..

 

1. Continuing in overt religious vein, “Is There Someone to Thank for All of This?” makes direct reference to Luke 16:19-31, wherein a rich man’s afterlife is suffering in hell, while Lazarus, who suffered on earth, now enjoys comfort. In answer to the song’s question, the rich man need only thank himself. Interesting choice of a song theme. The fear-based warning of irredeemable judgment here is scary “as hell.” Set in a lilty rhythmic pop frame, once again, the songwriting, performance and production make it work.

 

1. It is not the opening chord to Imagine. Rather, “Nineteen Years Ago” is basically a piano/vocal pop ballad, flowing, poignant and personal. The superb vocal performance, set in a deft and graceful piano accompaniment, peaks nicely in a string-laden crescendo finale.

 

1. For all its exuberant and energetic (Elvis-like—oops rocking out, “Tonight” somehow falls a bit short on the amount of emotional engagement to which I believe it aspires. Nevertheless, particularly in a live setting, it will likely get everyone up dancing.

 

1. “The Colour of Your Street is Gold” feels sort of like a circus gospel waltz, with bits of secret agent and mystery. As with every other tune on this record, its overall musical competence is assured, though the total presentation is likely just over the top too quirky for most mainstreamers.

 

1. An unusual choice to finish out this collection, “You Can’t Buy Happiness” takes us down into the slow lane again, this time often with a distinctly bluesy vibe, then soft and soothing praise chorus, and finally plenty of relatively unusual effects-laden parts, approaching weird. As in life, one often doesn’t know where one may go… 

 

Reviewed By Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Hello Me To You, Victor Stranges

The voice is experienced and compassionate, well-practiced in traditional bluesy gospel riffing. And riff she does, throughout, in a most expert manner. The beats lay it down real solid, as only technological machine precision can do. Some of the instrumental melodic accompaniment would benefit to perhaps be a little less canned, cheesy MIDI sound, attempting to emulate true horns, strings and such. Some of the tunes’ patches do it better than others.

 

Recommendation: For easier meaningful retention and understanding via read-along by the listener, include the printed lyrics.

 

Let’s take a brief word ride through each track:

 

1. Theatrical, MIDI-horn circus intro opens Jenny’s Groove, with an overt touch of fun corn, morphing and resolving into a ‘let’s get down to it and do it now’ basic beat—put your hands together to start this show! I do not understand what the repeating words are of the lyric.

 

1. Fairy Tales will henceforth be known as ‘Once Upon a Time.’ Dreamy, with an interesting unpredictable key change and good build-up into soaring singerland at the crescendo end. Maybe rethink to go this slooow so soon in the record, especially following on the rouser intro track. But here it is, for over 5-minutes… the pensive, plucked violin anticipates the inevitable rhythmic groove landing into this soft-rockin’ slow blues. Semi-angelic vocal performance riff-croons well throughout, with liberal vibrato.

 

1. A strong Stevie W-inspired riff-groove simmers nicely in Hi. The hi-hat and bass keep it cookin’, while Jenny rides atop with her signature blues-gospel vocal stylings. If possible, would be nice to add one or two really punchy high vocal accent spots. But as this lead vocal goes high, typically the stretch tends to thin out her otherwise full voice.

 

1. The Bible-sourced Corinthian quote opens the vocal on Take Me There. Most of this one stays in the purely pentatonic blues melody, with plenty of title repetition. The waaay low bass thumps consistently under it all, flirting with dissonance. Some fancy instrumental flourishing here and there.

 

1. It seems to start out at a bit louder level than prior tracks. You’re All I Ever Wanted again showcases Jenny’s expert riffing ability, in a slowish piece with a minor 9 melodic emphasis.

 

1. A decided turn in the road at this point, Ya Keep Sayin grooves with a jazzy 50’s swing shuffle vibe, mysterious, ala Peggy Lee’s archetypal Fever. A bit short at 2-ish minutes, might have been nice to develop this one out a little further, and perhaps edit out some of the other less strong material in this 14-song CD.

 

1. In 3/4 time, I Don’t Understand offers a subtle, ballsy brass descending progression, with wah-wah guitar accents. The vocal sings the blues to authentic effect, again with plenty of title repeats.

 

1. An interesting two chord progression provides the haunting bed in which You Said lies and laments another love gone wrong. The unexpectedly abrupt ending is a bit jarring, and might have let us down a bit more easily.

 

1. Vocal harmonies are a welcome and refreshing addition, albeit kind of late, here in track 9: Falling in Love. This is the strongest pop tune winner so far in the collection, with the time-honored 1-2 chord groove used so successfully in many hits. Nice to hear a little light, carefree feel at this point. Again, more work could have been put into the ending.

 

1. Don’t Think On It continues the pop train ride, but inching half back into the blues from a lead vocal melody standpoint. Plenty of MIDI auto-appegiating in this one, lending a valued hand in the song’s production development.

 

1. An underwater guitar talk tube intro opens up Betcha Thought. With another strongly riff-based blues melody, the slapback guitar fits well with the always consistent vocal. Back and forth between two chords is all you get in total this time.

 

1. Similar to track-8, Hey Love does a nice moody cool job with a dreamy electric piano base, this time with a slight Spanish feel. Songwriting-wise, my favorite offering on this record, fitting oh-so comfortably with Jenny’s competent pop lead melody.

 

1. Keep Your Head Up is always good uplifting advice. Alternating between a laid-back blues melody and a hurry-it-up vocal riff is the primary mechanism here. As always, the vocal is predictably, consistently performed.

 

1. Lyrically, this final song is the most direct gospel acknowledgment here. I Don’t Know When It’s Coming combines melody and spoken word/rap assuring us that blessing is coming—a wonderful promise!

 Reviewed By Mike Ososki.

Mike Ososki, Reviews 3 O'Clock Saturday, Jennifer Lang

Consistently themed, with a strong cohesive feel throughout, this traditional, derivative soft rock collection is obviously greatly inspired by the likes of mostly Tom Petty, then Bob Dylan and George Harrison, circa 1970’s. Soft acoustic pick-n-strum and cool electric slide guitars, a wavy, tickled tenacious B-3 organ and sometimes punchy low sax harmony accents, all set into a more or less standard but very fine rhythm section make the solid, fine and currently stylistically hip musical bed.

 

No one will accuse Mr. Lamb of an overly projected lead vocal. Not naturally loud or assertively strong, his sensitive, singer-songwriter style most often softly serenades, semi-strenuously pushing to pump it up where called for, sometimes inconsistently within the course of a given piece (more compression; more volume?). The title track, “disengage,” may showcase his breathy style to optimal advantage, with plenty of surrounding air in which to cleanly and clearly best hear his gentle pipes and poignantly poetic words. The intent and source place from which is born this personal expression feels to offer lots of loads of heart from an often tortured soul.

 

One way of categorizing songwriting styles is into these two groups: lyrics bend to melody, or melody bends to lyric. We have here a somewhat overt leaning to the latter. These songs emphasize the words, and not infrequently, the words are maintained at the slight expense of a graceful finesse blend, stuffing and stretching note flow as needed.

 

Given the basic songwriting, the production vision on this record is top-notch. The artist’s vision was accurately perceived, developed, encouraged and captured to best advantage.

 

Let’s take a brief word ride through each track:

 

1. Oh gimme that good 70’s Petty rock. free (not free-fallin’) could use more intro development—not too much, say just add 10-ish seconds of something more to warm up at the very start of it all. Nothing especially original here, but a respectably decent drifty-dreamy sing-a-long. Exceptional Pagey-esque guitar work on the outro.

 

1. Nice chord changes, dynamics, rhythm and slide guitars. The i would lyric nails it expressing the universal sentiment, “If I could… I would…” This deeply felt gentle longing softly shines clearly throughout.

 

1. Shane’s melancholically beautiful dream indeed does woo us to disengage in a freeing release kind of way, like “ahhh well – life goes on, my darlin’.” A plaintive spirit well-expressed in both composition and performance, the CD is aptly titled by this track.

 

1. A solid Pettyesque rocker that pushes us along with hope toward someday getting ‘to the point.’ Nothing particularly standout here, but like everything else in this release, well-performed and production-optimized.

 

1. Intro-wise, do not be deceived: This is not All Along the Watchtower. Again, this tune, to get you through, will not knock your socks off, yet it fits in fine, playing very well with all of its neighbors.

 

1. Lovely add-9, hip tremolo, cool chord intro temptingly wafts and sucks us right in, and continues throughout much of on my mind, along with equally lovely slide guitar. Sometimes the verse vocal tends to get a bit buried behind the lush instrumental. Nice staccato backup instrumental touch on the last chorus.

 

1. Buoyant and lilting, this is unquestionably the most uplifting and positive work on the album. Simply resting in being with someone you feel completely comfortable with has a lot going for it, and a while captures its expression nicely.

 

1. dreams deeply chirps open with some B-3 sass, then softly rocks on in a fairly predictable way. This is the most country-rock gee-tar twang piece here, using yet again what is likely the most popularly implemented chord progression of the last 15-years. Have you followed your dreams?

 

1. Dylan vocals lead the Lay-Lady-Lay 50’s vibe of take away. Heavy bass sax harmonies make an interestingly classic and unique punctuation in the chorus. Possibly somewhat over-the-top sing-song melody in spots. 

 

1. Rockabilly groove carries the change in me, again strongly 50’s influenced. A shorty at just over 2-minutes, this could appear on a Steve Earle album if it were taken more into the edgy, gritty territory that is Earle’s forte.

 

1. Dreaming again as we dream tonight. Vocally and melodically, this has sort of a kinder, gentler Smashing Pumpkins feel. Soft swaying in waltz time, heavy strings pump in to lush it up toward the end of 6-minutes plus, though as is most often the case, Mr. B-3 has the final word.

 

1. This finale piece, until you, brings back strong Mr. Petty song-stylin’, especially from a syncopation perspective, just less rockin’. Lyrically, there is much beneficial self-analytic therapy here. Always, always let forgiveness rule.

 

 

Reviewed By Mike Ososki

Mike Ososki, Reviews Disengage, Shane Lamb

Bonafide authentic, this primarily hip-hop, rap and spoken word compilation gathers together a representation of some of these genre specialists, with a few melodically sung, lightly dark pop tunes. Male and female, personal story tellers and hard luck learners laid atop sampled, beat-laden music beds, they may well represent one subculture’s restrictive semi-musical variety of today.

 

I’ve always thought of rap as stream-of-consciousness street poetry sonically married into a stylized rhythm. Technology provides easy-to-assemble MIDI sounds, beats and loops, making this type of largely sampled music production relatively fast and painless to put together. Spoken word is certainly poetry first. Perhaps hip-hop includes both of these plus a whole lot more, I’m not sure. (Refer to track #7 for one man’s further definition).

 

In any case, the focus of all of these styles must be the words. With that obvious emphasis in this collection, it would seem appropriate to have included printed lyrics, though the additional panels on the insert do add cost to a project. And if one pays reasonably close attention, most of the lyrics are mostly intelligible. The inserts lettering is somewhat difficult to read, hopefully unintentional. I know mass printing can be a risky process when going for ghostly or doing dark on darker.

 

As the one-sheet describes, this collection aspires “to inspire others to no longer make excuses for the condition of their lives.” Now this is a most noble undertaking. My personal belief is that we are each 100% responsible for everything in our experience, which fits hand in glove with the theme of this project. And then there’s the music…

 

Let’s take a brief word ride through each track:

 

1. After a Moody Blues / Wizard of Oz intro, an intriguing, ethereal music bed softly supports this thoughtful, intelligent spoken word sermon. A most worthwhile message delivered with solid conviction.

 

1. A thick fuzz guitar drone lays the groove down for this rap number. Complementary machine gun explosion effects fit well. Claiming we wasted money on the war on drugs and guns, it proclaims education as a better investment. Good advice, depending on what’s being taught…

 

1. More rap on soft tracks—(is that “auto-blame” being repeated? Not sure.) Its insane flame non-game assertions have validity. The subtle LP static crackle is a nice touch.

 

1. The first sung song of the collection. Quality vocals all around. Melancholic minor-based pop vibe advises not to jump in love too quickly; gotta get to know someone better first. Right on. Song ending could be a little more…

 

1. So many words packed in (Detroit style?). Hard to keep up. Good case for a lyric sheet. Lots of meaningful, clever content to be sure. Maybe could use a bit more of a clear standout hook.

 

1. Noodling guitar amid fog horns and manly hip-hop chant is the canvas on which distinctions are made defining hip-hop—not a culture, but a culture’s trend; not a religion but an idol of men. Resolved: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

1. ‘Tubular Bells’ piano intro / song bed leads into a bigger sound background. Lots of free form rap questioning ends into the warning hook not to sleepwalk with eyes wide shut. Wake up!

 

1. Intelligent string of rap words tell the dark story of too much too soon, innocents being played, and all of it leading maybe unto early death. Not a pretty picture, slowly plodding on, then off, admonishing ‘time to wake up, y’all…

 

1. Sung song #2 (female again, like sung song #1), with a Spanish flair. Heartfelt, plaintive pleading to you, you, you—who it’s all up to. Fancy double bass pedal work could be mixed down a touch. Light dawns redemption in the spoken word break.

 

1. Definitely the most mature selection in this collection. The classical music bed underscores this impression, as well as the lyrical topics and treatment. Skillful build throughout the piece. Like all others here, this man tells his truth believably.

 

1. Strongest dance number, with the guys singing out for once! Liberal use of vocal auto-tune for its exaggerated robotic effect. Tribal, trance-dance-inducing bounce with mostly one-note melody alongside one-note synth drone. Same universal theme for all of us: trust.

In summary, this group of recordings mostly achieves their stated purpose: preaching, teaching and beseeching us to take responsibility for our precious individual and collective being, regardless of where we think or believe we find ourselves. This is a wonderful accomplishment, for in the ultimate reality, how much are we really here, and just where is this?

 

Reviewed By Mike Ososki

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Ososki, Reviews Damon Curtis, The Awaken Project, Wakeup