ST13R1 Reviews - Daniel Prince

Daniel dives directly into the reviews.

Edric Haleen - In Memoriam
Another song whose lyrics almost seem like a sung version of the IMDB database, but the musical styling and the simple addition at the end of "and through it all--you" really made the song hit home. Brilliant in its simplicity.


Little Bobby Tables - Star Man
I really liked this one. Good lyrics, not an obvious choice of dead celebrity, nice acoustic treatment.


Glen Raphael - One More Thing
Two ukelele acoustic songs in one set…I'm impressed! A well-written tribute to a man whose products I don't buy, but who changed the world anyway, despite my efforts. A couple of things I noticed--a squeak of a desk or table or something at the 3:09 mark, and the key change at the end sounded awkward. Nothing major, but it's noticeable.


Governing Dynamics - Final Flight of the Electra
You went a different way with your celebrity, and I think that was a good choice. I noticed what I thought were a couple of pitch problems along the way--not too bad, but something to perhaps clean up. Lyrics were good, and so was the production.


Ominous Ride - Line After Line (Wired)
Unfortunately, when I think of Belushi, drug-fueled manic performances come to mind. I think you capture the toll that took on him pretty well. I like all the meanings of ""line"" that you work into the song."


Jerkatorium - Center Square
Very catchy and well-produced. I knew very little of Lynde, so it's always fun to learn about other people.


W8 What - Wake Up!
Very nicely produced. I could just about call this "radio-ready", as far as that goes.


Sara Parsons - Crikey!
I love a good acoustic song, and an acoustic ukelele version (I hope) was fun. I like being able to guess the subject, but being able to guess from the title alone was a slight letdown. I like that you went with a not-as-recent subject. It's catchy enough that I suspect an earworm attack in a few days. At first, the lighthearted approach seemed off-putting, but remembering what Steve was all about, it's a pretty good fit.


Inflatable Vegetables - Another Blackstar Fallen
You captured both Bowie's brilliance and his troubled past nicely. An overall good job.


Alpha Beta - Relativity
Not normally a fan of this style of song, but it makes me smile when applied to Einstein. I was pretty sure I knew who it was about with the title, and I definitely knew by the first line. I like to work a little harder than that. Well-produced and well-executed, I thought.


Boy on the Wall - Bail Me Out
Another subtle tribute. Building the song around the podcast story was a good creative choice, I thought. It's not a terribly well-known anecdote, and it works so well. I've had several friends who struggled from depression to say that he helped lift their spirits even while he struggled with the same problem.


James Young - Singularity
I wondered who would be the first to reference astronomy in the song, so kudos on that (bonus that it tied so well with one of his songs). The music didn't overpower the lyrics, which is a plus for me.


Gorbzilla - Drowned in Moonlight
I was surprised no one else went the Star Wars route with this. Not sure what went on with the production, but there was a record-scratch-type sound in different places throughout. I thought the lyrics were well-written.


Jailhouse Payback f. John Sievers - The Greatest Bond
Not sure of any copyright-type issues in having the Bond theme elements in the song--might have gone for something reminiscent without being on the nose. While I like figuring out the subject within the song, figuring it out from the title alone is a let-down for me. The song itself is fun and well-written. I like the aspect of defending Moore over Connery within the song.


Jordan Carroll - Trickle Down
I laughed in spite of myself on this one. It's a lot of fun, but I think it needs one more verse. I know there's no time limit, but there's a lot more to explore on Reagan. You missed a good Star Wars/Death Star tie-in, for one.


Kevin Savino-Riker - Ode to the Sportsman
Interesting time signature on this one, and it had something of a James Taylor-esque feel to it. You also went in a different direction with your choice of celebrity, which is appreciated. It doesn't rank high on my list of songs I want to hear again, though, which is a bit unfortunate.


Alex Valentine - Adolescent Minds
I wasn't much of a Nirvana fan (honestly I didn't like much popular music of the '90s and after), but it seemed to capture the band's genre pretty well. However, for me, the distortion in guitar in the chorus distracted me from the song


Matt Walton - The Coming of Enlightenment
I imagine that a chant would be rather difficult to write. On the middle section, I was going to point out that I couldn't understand the lyrics, but when I looked, they were in German, so there you go. I wouldn't have understood anyway. The flute towards the end did overpower the vocals, which I don't generally like. If you had found a way to push that more to the background, it would have been more effective, I think. The lyrics are sparse, but that works to your advantage within the genre, I think.


Megalodon - The Quiet One
Glad to see George get his due. There were a few hints of a Beatles-type production in there, which are appreciated.


Emperor Gum - He
I had to check and make sure I didn't have two songs playing at the same time at the beginning. Background vocals are a little too prominent and the words get lost. That's a shame, because I love all the references to Orbison's songs. I can definitely tell you were going for his style of song


Micah Sommersmith - The Sisters of Mercy Again
was not expecting this instrumentation, which I thought was pretty creative. Sounded like the pitch was slightly off a few times in the piece, particularly in the beginning.  I like the poetic nature of the lyrics, which as I recall, Cohen was pretty good at.


Rob from Amersfoort - The Blonde Bombshell
Almost over-produced. The many production elements distracted from the song, in my opinion. It was well-written and captured the basics of Harlow's bio.


JoAnn Abbott and M.A.T. - Fly…and Be
I like the concept of making the song from Robin's quotations, but I think there's too much in there. I appreciate the different styles within the song (pretty necessary to get the words to fit, I imagine), but it adds a certain "heaviness" to the song. It won't get stuck in my head, because I need a consistent melody for that to happen. However, the message will stick, and that's important, too.


Jubilation - The Delirious Lord Made Flesh
I know very little of Jim Morrison, though a quick search of Jim Morrison and dragon comes up with ""I am the Lizard King"" and references to chasing the dragon, so I'm assuming you pass the challenge. Not many people make me grab the dictionary to look up words, but I had to look up a couple in your lyrics, which I admire. I have very little desire to hear the song again, though, which is a problem for me. Seems more of an art piece than a musical one. My wife came in while I was listening and heard this one--she said it scared her. lol


Lucky Witch & The Righteous Ghost - Sour Boy
Not familiar with the Stone Temple Pilots or Weiland, but it's always sad when stars turn to drugs and lose. This song captures the feeling of that loss. That said, I'm not a big fan of songs that make me wonder if it's reverb, if it's an echo, or if it's just two people (or one person) singing just slightly off tempo from the other. The production distracts at times. That could be very much in the style of STP or VR--I don't know, but it doesn't make me like it any better.


Melissa Phillips - Never the Fool
I was convinced this was about Robin Williams. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was Gene Wilder. Beyond his biggest roles, I'm not terribly familiar with his career, but if there are references to him and his work specifically in the song, I failed to see them. Beautifully sung, and when I found it that it was about him, I'd say you captured his personality well.


Army Defense - TheUltimateGift
The music overpowered the lyrics for me. Creative concept, but not terribly creative lyrics. The verses read like an IMDB database. Maybe a second chorus that expands on the personal theme of the primary chorus would help.


Boffo Yux Dudes - What Ailes You
Hate to see you DQ'd for one letter in the title. I mentioned to a few others that I don't like being able to guess who the person is by just the title, so you'd have lost points from me on that. The lyrics were clever at times, and the song and production were pretty good overall.