ST13R3 Reviews: Daniel Prince

JoAnn Abbott & M.A.T. - A Swinging Happy Birthday to We
I thought it was a wise choice to give M.A.T. the lead. It effected not only a change in style but in voice. I think the swing style lends itself well to the whimsical nature of the lyric. You ended it well, also. My throat started to hurt listening to it, though. Maybe it was easier to sing than it sounded, but it came across like you were pushing it just a bit...it needed a bit more relaxed sound.

Little Bobby Tables - Star Man Redo
The track grabbed me from the beginning. The style was a departure from the acoustic feel of the original. The music evokes the stars, which I think adds to the track.

Jailhouse Payback - On Wax
Catchy melody, and I like the country-ish setting for the song. I think you improved on an already strong song. I didn't catch anything off in the production or singing this time, which is good.

Jerkatorium - Center Square Redux
I like the radio tuning effect at the beginning (obviously). Great job on the vocals--hard to stay on pitch with that much falsetto going on, but you pretty much nailed it. I like the understated background vocals, as well. On first blush, the melody wasn't as catchy as the original, but I think it grew on me by the end. The ending seemed a little abrupt, but other than that, great job.

Boy on the Wall - Bail Me Out (Do Over)
I like the percussion and '70s-'80s feel to the track. Your original was pretty percussion-driven, as well, especially in the first verse, but the departure in style is apparent. I like some of the more complex rhythms you throw in there from time to time--keeps me on my toes.  I think this is the more memorable version for me, so you get points for the improvement.

Kevin Savino-Riker - 22-Over
Loved the passion I heard at the end…could've used a little more "oomph" in some of the verses. I like the rock treatment of the song, and I definitely think you improved it this time around.

Melissa Phillips - For You--Do Over
As always, I enjoy the vocals very much. The melody was very nice. However, I wanted more than just two-note chords on the piano. I do appreciate simplicity and the change of instrument, and what you did with it was beautiful, but I was left wanting more.

Glen Raphael - One More Thing
I think I've become a Glen Raphael fan through this competition. I wasn't sure if I would go for the acoustic presentation, but adding the chords worked. It gave it a '60s-'70s folk feel that contrasted nicely with the lyrics about modern technology, I thought. Production seemed pretty raw--whether by necessity or by choice, I wasn't sure.

Sara Parsons - DAY (by) DAY
A definite departure in style from the last one. It wanders into the realm of "overproduced", but given your acoustic approach the first time, I can understand wanting to throw the kitchen sink at this version and make it completely different. Good dance track, but you lose the message in everything else that's going on.

Alex Valentine - Past Adolescence
I liked the original better as far as the melody, but you performed well within the stylistic change you chose. I thought the verses dragged somewhat. Maybe it's just the familiarity, but I could actually understand the words better in this version, which surprised me a little.

Governing Dynamics - To a Stubborn Young Man in the Year 1998 (red mix)
Pretty solid effort overall. A couple of notes made me cock my head, but there weren't too many moments like that. The intro needed a little something more, I felt--either a bigger moment when introducing the percussion, a new note on the guitar when the drums came in, or something. Not entirely sure how best to fix it. Nice instrumentation throughout. Can't quite decide which is my favorite version of the song.

Edric Haleen - Beating the Challenge
Very thankful for your song bio, because I had absolutely no idea what this was. Your bio was right--can't really play it on the radio, though if I did, it would remind me of the time I accidentally put a scratched CD in and went out to my car to get something. Came back in the studio and the track was stuck at 0:34 and had been for the past two minutes. With this one, they would just think the player was stuck on fast forward. I think we all were wanting to see what you could do with last week's entry (honestly, you were the reason we added in the chance to choose either song--originally, it was going to be only the song from week 2). High points from me on the creativity and production--low marks everywhere else that matters. I will definitely remember your entries, though.