Painted Smiles reviews - Part 2

The version of Painted Smiles that I recorded last year is the first song I have submitted to GarageBand.com on which I had someone else do the vocals. So I don't take the feedback about vocals personally here. I do notice though that there are at least two reviews that say the vocals are loud in the mix - I have had the same comments for Heart Like a River, so that is something I will want to pay attention to on my next recording project.

Cheese... what is that about? I had a few comments about cheese on Heart Like a River as well. Is that a musical term? There is an article on Wikipedia titled Cheese (cheesy music), which is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy. One of its editors notes that the phrase "Cheese" is pretty well used in the UK. Sure enough, the reviewer who gave me that comment is from UK.

There is one particular review here, I just can't resist doing a little bit of psychoanalysis. He (or she) gives his location as Unspecified, and says my opinion here is not so important. Come on, you're writing reviews of other people's music, your review is your opinion, and I at least hope it's your honest opinion. But know this - I put my music out on GarageBand.com in order to get it reviewed, so your opinion is no more and no less important than anyone else's.

That's enough ado. Here are the reviews.

From Maryland -

Interesting mood and lyrics. Kind of a bland message. Vocals are way too up in the front. Should be mixed better with the music. Overall, a decent production. Sounds vampirish.

From Canada -

I like the musical ideas going on. the riff at the begining sets the tone. The lyrics might be a bit hoaky.

i like the solemn tone from the male lead singer. I think production did a good job here. i think it would be nice to hear some more work on the melody. I am reminded somewhat of pink floyd in a way.

From Eugene, Oregon -

Cool guitars, the synths are a bit 80's, but in a good way. The vocals are a bit loud in the mix.

From Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom -

i really enjoyed the intro but when the vocals came in a couldn't believe the cheese....it is good for this type of song

From Brooklyn, New York -

I don't really know what you were going for with this song. I don't know what direction the rest of your songs could go in. It's recorded well, but the lyrics don't seem to mesh well with the music.

From Unspecified -

No... I don´t like it... sorry. But my opinion here is not so important. I don´t like this kind of mood. Guitar solos irritates me, you know... Well, the recording is very nice, which gives you points. That´s it.

From Australia -

intro sounds like Iron Maiden.. nicely produced song.. very different vocal in verse, contrasts with the music in an odd way. This song sounds really original... which is great. Perhaps needs a few listens for me to really to get into it but it is well written overall and its original sounding which i admire lots.

Painted Smiles reviews - Part 1

Here are the reviews of Painted Smiles; I had submitted it to the Indie Rock genre. One of the reviewers wrote about the lyrics they very loosely rhyme... it allows for the message to be uninhibited by the bounds of rhyme. I don't think I had any rhyming scheme at all in Painted Smiles.

Most songs I write, I don't worry too much about rhyming since I'd rather focus on the story that the song is about. I think that if I focused too much on using words because they rhymed then it would change the meaning and tone of the words too much.

A notable exception in my repertoire is a song I wrote called Tales From The Vinyl Museum, in which I deliberately wrote in a very structured rhyming scheme. In that particular case, I felt that the rhyming was an important element of the song, that it just had to be there.


From New Jersey -

Super-creative song of bitterness. All the elements are there: Good guitar, good song structure, good vocalist (although I think he could belt it out a little more at key emotional points), good lyrics that are graphic in hostilitiy, and good arrangement. Well-done.

From San Antonio, Texas -

The intro guitar made me think I was in for an 80's metal love ballad (not that that's a bad thing), but the body sounded kinda goth, mainly just due to the singers tone and pace. This is definitely original, I can't think of a band to compare you to. Good production and very tight musically. Only negative thing I can think of is the vox seem a bit loud and could be mixed in more, but that's just my personal taste.

From Southport, Indiana -

The intro guitar took me back to the hair band era. I like the dual vocals; it lends a nice effect, and the lead voice is good. The laughter in the accents (as well as the last line) sounds a bit contrived. The "Full of it" lead-in was a nice punch. The first instrumental section seemed a little empty, but I'll have to listen again.

From Appleton, Wisconsin -

guitar with an 80's sound and comedic lyrics crashtest dummies from 1980 a bit of a mellow rock vibe

From Alameda, California -

The beginning is very cool. The vocals are powerful. It sounds really original. I like it. And the lyrics are really good too.

From New York -

I don't think that this song would be very interesting for the mass. But i have to say that it's very nice arangement. Guitar solos, drum parts are very nice. Vocal reminds me about goth-industrial stuff. But it doesn't damage the track. Nice song.

From Dunmore, Pennsylvania -

I like it. If your aiming this song at someone speicial, nice job. Spooky song with a very slight Rocky Horror type theme. This song makes me feel your pain. I too have been there. Nice job.

From Portland, Oregon -

the feel of the song reminds me of earlier metallica mixed with later pink floyd. the lyrics are very literal. they very loosely rhyme. i like this quality in a song, it allows for the message to be uninhibited by the bounds of rhyme. great guitar work and really good dynamic control.

Heart Like A River reviews - Part 3

Here is the last set of reviews for Heart Like a River. It achieved a top ranking of 226 out of 634 in the Acoustic genre. That puts it just shy of reaching the top third. In contrast, The Great Escape last year had a top ranking of 19 out of 87 in the Progressive Rock genre. This tells me that the Acoustic genre is a bigger market than Progressive Rock, and also much more competitive.

From South Farmingdal, New York -

This just may be one of the most melancholy songs I've ever heard. The lyrics are mildly interesting, but the metaphor of and the repetition "my heart is a river" gets old by the end of the song. The melody is pretty and the singer really expresses sadness, but here is a case where the song is "oversung." It sounds like the singer is trying too hard to convey sadness, which ultimately takes away from its effectiveness.

From Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada -

Well I must say that the music is very well done. I'm sorry but I don't think I can say that same for the singer. Get a new singer and this song would be very interesting.

From East Highland, California -

i like the guitar a lot and the melody and the voilin, and the vocals a pretty clean

From Athens, West Virginia -

I liked the almost folky feel of this song...the intro sparked my attention...the song proceeded it gave me a simon and garfunkel feel with just one vocal...I think the song could use a pick me up...and then we'll see what happens.

From Boca Raton, Florida -

nice strings. the vocals sound good but id say trying to find a different mic to better fit your voice. sounds a little creepy with this mic.

From Bedroom, United Kingdom -

Liked the opening guitar - sounded promising and quite moving. Nice violins/cellos too.
Wow - that's a wierd voice. Is that just the mix? Not sure what to make of the voice. Sounds a little like an electronic voice...maybe it's just a question of lowering the vocal track a touch or taking off some of the treble...not sure.
Lovely melody and instrumentals though. Just sort out the recording of the voice, if you please!

From Llandudno, Con, United Kingdom -

This is recorded well. The pan is lovely and the strings are fantastic

The vocals deliver the lines purely but the lines are a little cheesy at times and I find them not to my taste

Heart Like A River reviews - Part 2

Here are some more reviews of Heart Like a River from GarageBand.com. There is a flattering comparison to Enya and Loreena McKennitt and a not so flattering comparison to Sesame Street.

From Tewkesbury, United Kingdom -

lovely intro. reminds me of the solo work of KNOPFLER.

The vocals began.............
very nasal.

Oooooooooooooh noooooooooo

No way can Dissipate into white foam be seriously matched with a 4/4 beat..you sing the phrasing like they are all triplets...or .syncopated

The strings are nice ....for a keyboard....and the arpeggiating doubling up of the appropriate moment of the solo is a good idea.

tehe classical references in the pregression are nice...

This has to be religious as it is so blatently OTT in it's lyrical..cheese

best bit ... ending resolution chord.....settles like dust after a storm

From Ashbourne, United Kingdom -

It's a nice, open production.
Simple arrangement, with some lovely, subtle strings.
The vocals are odd - they made me think of Sesame Street, for some reason - it's not a classic singing voice, not very good intonation, but it does have personality.
The song lacks a focused melody, feeling it meanders around, and even now, 30 seconds after listening, I couldn't hum the tune.
The lyrics are quite poetic, not conforming to easily defined rhyming structures.
The production/recording is very good, well mixed, nice, warm tone.
My favourite part is the string arrangement - very impressive.
Good luck.

From Oswego, Illinois -

very clear folk style here. I thought the lead vocals could use some production, kind of a harsh sound and really brought out in mix. The lyrics were poetic but didn't really hold interest for me. I guess it sounds cliche and would help to have a more personal, emotional theme. The arrangement and strings add interest and done well. I think it sould use some back up vocals also.

From Canada -

This song makes me think I'm going to be hearing a christmas carol or something similar. I don't mean that as a put-down. It's a feel-good thing.

The strings are ridiculously beautiful.

The vocal is very unusual. Sung well, and a very meek tone. And again - not a put down.

This should be in 'alternative acoustic' if such a genre existed.

From Klein, Texas -

the vocal is way to overpowering also the overall vocal track is like how they say one tone making it somewhat boring and hard to follow good voice and backing tracks but it almost seems to flow me to sleep add alittle edge and I think you will have it

From Somerset, California -

Enya, Anuna, and Loreena McKennitt style - celtic. Wonderful guitar playing. The orchestra added a tremendous amount. I'm curious - did you have this recorded at a professional studio, or do you have a software program that allows you to add provided music tracks? Either way, it sounds great.

From San Juan, Puerto Rico -

this track has a very well done mastering. The guitars are great.The lyrics are a bit depressing. But a lot of props for the tune!

Heart Like A River reviews - Part 1

The review cycle for Heart Like a River has completed. Here are some of the reviews. There is lots of praise for the production quality and the instrumentation. There are two positive comments for the lyrics (well written and went with the song, the lyrics are great) and two negative comments (a little cheesy, Not feeling the lyrics) so it looks like a you either love it or you hate it deal.

Vocals received a fair bit of constructive criticism, but no one is comparing it to having their nipples rubbed by a cheese grater, so perhaps that is a sign of improvement.


From Houston, Texas -

Whoever recorded/engineered this did a great job. The vox sounds a bit pitch processed at the beginning, tho towards the end of the song it sounds a bit cleaner. The finish is perfect, the strings are nice and delicate which fit the mood of the song perfect. I like the melody quite a bit.

From Fitchburg, Wisconsin -

The intro to this song is great, I think the production is great, I found the lyrics a little cheesy.Overall good song.

From Slovenia -

I would play this song if I had a guests who I would wanted them to became sleepy and go home already. This band should work more on vocals. I wouldn't mind if it was a female singer. Guitar and violin are great tho.

From Maiden Rock, Wisconsin -

i love the intro, very instrumental. when the vocals come in im a little shocked to hear such a low voice, i was also hoping to hear the song go somewhere, but it kinda drug on. i would try to break up the melodrama, with a better instrument solo starting at 2:00min, you obviously have the talent. i did think the lyrics were well written and went with the song.

From Warwick, Rhode Island -

I love the classical guitar, no one writes songs in that still anymore. Also the lyrics are great, i think the vocals need a little work, but other than that the song sounds very good and whole because of the violin and guitar.

From Fayetteville, Arkansas -

the intrumentation is lovely. could it be sung in a higher key or something. the vocalist's style of voice doesn't quite match the feel of this pretty song. maybe try adjusting the pronunciation of the words if you will be sticking with the same vocalist. more ooo sounds than Ay sounds. less in the nasal area.

From Steilacoom, Washington -

Intro very well put together. Voice has too much bass. Not feeling the lyrics. The voice seems to overpower the song. Voilin is a nice addition.