#texasreddirt

Song = 5.  This is a very solid song that has the perfect combination of lyrics, melody, rhythm, and feel for the theme presented.  The way the melody eases you into the groove with the low passages in the verses makes the choruses stand up and shout out loud a little more and creates a conflicting dynamic between them.  The lyrics are phrased brilliantly but do fall short of being truly innovative except for the “let’s drop off the grid...” line--that is a cool phrase and the melody paired with the pre-chorus is a perfect combination of transition and harmonic excitement in preparation for where the chorus takes you.  Ultimately, this song is very entertaining, interesting, and has a sultry theme that is always welcome to anyone’s ears.

Performance = 5.  The lead vocals are an excellent display of dynamics, range, feeling, style, control, and a baritone timbre that massages your ears into total relaxation.  The only low point in the performance might be a dull solo section in the middle of the track that showcases the electric guitar on the left sharing a compact section with the accordion in which neither accomplishes much.  The overall performance was simple, yet interesting.

Production = 4.  Going back to the solo section from a producer’s viewpoint, it definitely needed something more through that solo section--my choice would have been to keep that groove played with the electric guitar on the left and the acoustic guitar on the right but pan the Spanish guitar to the center and let it play, just let it play and then end the solo section with the accordion as is.  The break in the middle is a neat little part that changes things up a bit before the finale.  As for the mix, the frequency balance is perfect from top to bottom and is easy on your ears.  The stereo mix seems to be a little to heavy on the right side until the first chorus when another acoustic guitar shows up on the left and remains there for the rest of the track, but overall the left right balance is adequate.  The one aspect of the mix that bothers me is the front to back balance in the depth field--all of the instruments appear to be on the front of the stage except for the drums and the electric guitar.  The accordion, electric piano, acoustic guitars, Spanish guitar, and lead vocal are all competing for the same space in the depth field.  It works despite this because of a really good job of equalizing each instrument into their own frequency band and panning them away from each other.  Overall, this is a good mix of clear, well defined instruments. 

I will review my own single first to get things started.

Song = 4.  This is a well written song with a simple melody that draws you in quickly and gets your attention.  The lyrics are simple and easily understood without requiring much thinking on the listener’s part and are memorable and easy to sing along with after just a couple of listens.  The theme of this song is actually a welcome change from the normal “getting over you” theme in that it attempts to save love not drowned a lost relationship with pity or self revolution.  

Performance = 4.  The lead vocal has good dynamics throughout, a fair display of dynamic range, an abundance of feeling in the verses, but a lack of enthusiasm in the chorus because of minimal movement and style in the notes.  My idea was to tame my voice into making the song singable by anyone, but in doing so I really did make the song sound like it could have been recorded by anyone and the performance ended up lackluster.  The best part of the lead vocal was probably just the vocal timbre and dynamics of my voice.  The instrumentation is dominated by piano in the verses and drums and electric guitars in the chorus and solo.  The drums are solid throughout and have an uncanny sense of dynamics compared to today’s music.  The grand piano presents a beautiful melody, but has minimal dynamics and almost plays too much in the first verse especially.  The electric guitars are subtle in presence until the chorus and provide a dark feeling to the subdued verses that builds into a more driving, brighter chorus.  The guitar solo is top notch, full of dynamic, creative moves over a very difficult chord progression.  The backing vocals are simple and not too overbearing.  Overall, the performance is adequate although lacking creativity in some key areas.

Production = 3.  I went into this production with the idea of keeping it simple enough for any 4 or 5 piece band to reproduce on stage and the result was a sound stage that was empty at times and needing life.  I needed more acoustic guitar in the first verse, more electric guitar in the chorus (possible more distorted), more piano in the chorus, and a more creative backing vocals part.  The mix is very centered with only drums and acoustic guitar taking their place on the extreme right or left of the sound stage.  All instruments have sufficient clarity and definition, but some get masked in the mix at times (piano and backing vocal on the right).  The piano could have used a boost in the 8 KHz and above range but overall the frequency balance is very pleasing to the ear like a symphony.  The vocal phone booth trick adds some interest before the last chorus and then again at the end when it is equalized from the phone booth to right in your face.  The way the solo guitar and lead vocal switch places on the sound stage by a creative panning method is something I have never heard done before so I can say I was probably the first to try it--others will follow I am sure.  Ultimately, the overall sound level of this mix does not compete with other commercial singles of today and therefore really inhibits the marketability of this single on radio.  My plan was to retain all of the dynamics of the performance by not over compressing the mix and it resulted in a very alive, dynamic mix that sounds great on its own, but sounds inferior when played alongside a louder commercial single of today.

I will review new singles from the Texas, Red Dirt, and Country music genres based on singles entering the Texas Regional Radio Report and the Music Row Country Breakout Chart their first week.  I will judge these singles based on three categories; the song, the performance, and the production.

Song: I will judge the song based on theme creativeness, melody, lyrics, and overall interest.

Performance:  I will judge the performance by vocal creativeness, vocal dynamics, vocal style, vocal feeling, vocal control, vocal range, instrumentation creativeness, instrumentation dynamics, instrumentation timing, and instrumentation style.

Production:  I will judge the production based on arrangement, creativity, and mix quality. 

Owen Temple

Jason Eady

Guy Clark

Stoney LaRue

Turnpike Troubadours