Yesterday reviews - Part 1

Here are some of the reviews that I've received on GarageBand.com for the song Yesterday Seems So Far Away, and my thoughts.

From Trussville, Alabama -

1.Well the lyrics are very mediocer in the fact that they are simple.

2.The melody is very unique and refreshingly well written.

3. Im not exactly sure who you sound like, but that is very unique.

I get that this reviewer did not like the lyrics because he or she finds them too simple. I think that's more of a reflection of the reviewer's taste than a critique. However, I'll take the comment about the melody as positive feedback. It's nice to know I don't come across as a mere copycat of someone else.

From Niagara Falls, New York -

Guitars sound like old Genesis. I like the melody the guitars present. Feels very melancholy. Unfortunately, the singer has ruined this for me. Is that the love child of Kermit the Frog and Barney the Dinosaur? I could certainly visualize Kermit alone on his lilypad serenading the Sesame Street gang...

The guitars really support the mood of the lyrics. The chord structure and picking leave me feeling saddened and longing to be younger with no worries. The guitars are the high point of this song. The lyrics are good - sounds like someone's longing for simpler times and the parallels that are drawn do a good job of explaining that.

Might have done better in a different genre. This doesn't really sound too prog to me. Maybe folk or acoustic folks my give you a better review.

The comparison to Kermit the Frog is a bit of an ouch to my ego but it's a fair criticism. I do need to improve my vocals.

I appreciate the praise for the guitar performance - I should forward these comments to the guitarist.

It sounds like this reviewer "gets" what this song is really about as far as the lyrics go, in comparison the previous reviewer who found the lyrics too simple. Truth be told, I like the words, I like the story they tell and the emotions they convey. I would resist altering the lyrics in any way.

Finally, the comment about doing better in a different genre mirrors my own doubts about what genre to place this song in. Maybe as an experiment, I'll submit a version of this song to one of those alternate genres and see what kind of response I get there. Personally though, I challenge the notion that a song that is acoustically performed cannot be considered progressive. My idea of what progressive rock is, isn't just that it has to have heavy bass, drums and distortion guitars.

From Kelowna, B.C. -

I was immediately taken by the intro to this song. Its light, relaxing and well played, creating a soft mood with the chosen sounds. Had it kept going this way, I would have been impressed, but I'm sorry to say, the vocal track spoiled it for me. The style and words were not nearly as professional as the music and really took away from what was happening. I would suggest dropping them all together, or maybe replacing the sung melody with a string section. Even just softly spoken over the song if you had to have the lyrics may sound interesting in a poetic sort of way. Musically, well done - parts compliment each other well, and the tempo/style change is nice, but lose that vocal.

The comments about the vocals are unanimous - I get that they are the weakest part of this track. I have my own ideas about how to improve them. This reviewer suggests dropping them altogether - I don't see this song working as just an instrumental. I think the lyrics really are an essential part of this song. Though it would be another viable experiment to produce a version that has a string section playing the melody instead of vocals.