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Saturday, May 12, 2018

ST14R3 Reviews - Paul Rosenbluth


I was really hoping we would do this challenge and I really like what you all did with it.  With every challenge I am always hoping for a song that meets the challenge but also transcends it and becomes a song I would want in my favorites playlist regardless of the challenge.  Several songs met that mark for me.  Quality work for all and my thanks for all or your creativity and effort!


Megalodon - Magpie
I found this work quite intriguing.  A respectable homage to the very recognizable classical inspiration with an almost “Hotel California” flavor with the intro guitar and then we get the very catchy chorus which makes it completely Megalodon.  Really intelligent lyrics.  Incredibly creative and excellent performance value instrumentally.  A very well delivered piece. 

Bubba and the No Longer Amiable Kraken - Revolutionary Love
Another fine example true to the challenge.  Song stands on its own without knowing it had a classical inspiration.  I really like the way the song starts musical with a very catchy “bouncy” melody and rhythm.  The “this is bizarre” stanza seems a little disjointed from the rest of the track but I think that of a lot of great songs I end up loving, so never mind, forget I said that, personal quirk.  Great work! 

Boy on the Wall - Yesterday
Man, this really works on all levels.  The classical motifs are so incredibly relevant.  Thoughtful yet simple lyrically but it’s the music that drives this one for me.  I could listen to that supporting bass line with the active melody work in a song twice as long.  Musically this could be a ten plus minute jazz improv piece I could get lost in.  Such a tease.  Most excellent!

Glen Raphael - Yippee Ki-Yay
Okay, this was certainly a giggle.  Very creative and well-constructed to be sure.  Props for working in “defenestrate.”  I want to believe this was a call to the line “Karl, Schieß dem Fenster” (which of course is grammatically incorrect and mistranslated as “shoot the glass” in the movie).  This song was definitely all about the lyrics and quite entertaining on that note alone.  Lots of smiles indeed.  Well done.

Temnere – Revolution
I like the way this song starts with an ominous tone befitting Beethoven and then launches into the rapid percussion, driving, hard-rock style I would expect from a Temnere track.  Loved the lyrics and rhythm especially in the couplet lines before the chorus which has a nice hard rock anthem style.  Excellent lyrics and executed musically very well.  A solid, quality song.  Very nicely done!

Governing Dynamics - Forty-Five
This is a really fine example of what I was hoping for in this challenge.  If you didn’t know this was inspired by a classical piece it would stand alone as is.  Gee, I wonder who this song could be about?  No points off for that though.  Veiled political polemic certainly has its place.  A very well crafted and executed song.  Great work!

Micah Sommersmith - I Sing for Clara
I really liked your take on this, telling the story inspired by the music as an homage to the subject.  For me you did justice to the lament of the story (lost opportunities, etc) but gave it a feeling of hope for the future if we will study the shortcomings of the past and commit to do and be better.  A very nice treating of the musical idea with thoughtful, reflective lyrics.  Very well done.

Edric Haleen - With You
Really enjoyed this one.  Loved the foundation of the classical melody overlaid with the listful, longing vocal.  This could easily be an aria in a Broadway musical.  Beautiful lyrics and emotion.  Really excellent work.

Menage a Tune - Springtime Promenade (SHADOW)
A nice contemporary spin on a classical melody.  Nice uplifting lyrics and well-delivered.

Dr. Lindyke - Far Away ft. Heather Zink (SHADOW)
So this begs the question, was “Mack the Knife” based on “The Beautiful Blue Danube?”  An entertaining little number but definitely can’t get past hearing “Mack the Knife” to give this propers.  As always, excellent craftsmanship and performance. 

Jerkatorium - Today's the Day (cover)
A quality cover. 

Jordan Carroll - Work It (ft. Natalie Carroll)
I thought the lyrics were very creative.  Musically I was hoping for the underlying inspiration to create something new and I’m not sure I got that from this.  I liked the perhaps unintentional irony of a dulcet, rather proper, vocal issuing graphic street-style dictums.  The interjected spoken lines suggested a whole 50 shades of Mozart thing but overall I think the star was Mozart and not Jordan Carroll and I really wanted Jordan Carroll to be the star!  I think this was a fair and fine entry for this challenge.  Creative and well executed!

Boffo Yux Dudes - Sirens (SHADOW)
Good, creative story-telling lyrics.  Curious to know how the music inspired the storyline.  Would have never put Jason and Pachelbel together.  A good entry.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Ode to Marcel (SHADOW)
I’m not sure Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” meets the year cutoff in the challenge. 




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