ifc7-reviewer-07-Jens

ARTIST & SONG	RANKING ON 10	COMMENTS
01-Iggy It's OK	5	A little charming melody, that made me want to play it on my keyboard. And I did. I found the song a little better if some of the D-chords were followed by D-minor chords and some chords had a 7.th added... It has a little taste of Beatles/Lennon/Real Love...?! The title is fine, and it ties the song well together by appearing in the verses and not in the chorus as usual. I think the extra bar between the verse and the chorus works fine here. It feels extra long here as the melody in the chorus starts "inside" the first bar. But I miss a drumfill here in this gap, and I miss some better drums on the recording. I imagine a big "boom" with reverb/echo on beat 3 would do well in the chorus. I am not so happy about the strings following the vocal melody at the end. It would be nice if it after a few bars jumped out in a countermelody. I would also like the singing of the "It's OK"'s in the ending were varied in different notes and they continued to the very end. But that is all minor things. Knowing that the song is for Iggy's wife makes it very honest and sincere. The listening suffers a little from the lofi-version - I look forward to hear an improved version in hi-fi! I think this song has a very good potential!!
02-Nancy G. Firefly I Have A Song	6	A very confident performance and very pleasent to listen to. Although the lyrics are long and circles around a few issues, I find them good, calm and not boring. They work fine together with the melody, the mood and the performance. Nancy, as far as I remember someone called your performance (in "If I needed someone"?) "dreaming and hypnotic". I find that very precise. Just be careful, that you don't improvise too much in all your songs as I fear they may all be too much alike. I think this one is OK. But this song is quite long, and it needs some more. If you added an extra guitar and a harmony vocal in the chorus the song would appear more structured and more interesting to listen to. A great song!
03-Brian Dragonfly	2	Everything is great with this song!! Ready for a CD!!
04-Markus Because of Monica	3	Great title; I don't mind it doesn't come as a hookline as in every other song. It gives this song its own identity. Everything is great about this song! I always like when the vocal is not too much up-front. It's only a matter of taste how much it scores!!
05-Todd Flowers in the Sun	7	Interesting sound, very fine play, singing and production, good melody. Perhaps the title should be "Down, down, down" - that is really a hook in the song! I have a feeling, that nothing happens in the lyrics and they are a little boring. But OK, English is not my mothertongue so I may have missed something. The song is a little too long. Try with more dynamics/variation with fx a quiet part and/or introduce a synth-sound later in the song.
06-Bobbio I Should Be Coming Home to You	1	Great production, playing, singing, melody, structure, chords!! I think it is the IIIb-chord (fx a C-chord in the key of A) that is so typical for you. I have heard your songs as PLAY ALL and I noticed this chord change more than once.
07-Jens More than A Cliché	0	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
08-Kris S Who, When & Where	9	A fine musical expression with a lot of personality! At first it feels a little raw and unshaped, but it wins a lot after a few listens. An original structure with verse-verse-chorus-instrumental ending. I like it very much, but it is not a typical hit-song with a great commercial appeal. This is not a kind of music I know very well, so it is hard to say how it could be improved. Perhaps making a softer production if it can be done without removing the great soul of the song.
09-Peter M Don't Care Who Knows	8	Good harp, good singing. I find your deep voice quite special and expressing a lot of personality. I don't know much about guitarplay, but your play does not sound as something I would find usual for such a song. But you play it as it is very natural for you. And after a few listens I didn't notice it much any more. The melody could be a little more interesting, and I find the verse and the chorus too much alike. It might help to have other musicians to join you in the chorus.
10-Kneena With All My Love	4	Good melody, singing, production, playing. Your voice has a lot of expression; you know that! You surely have potential. A new Carole King with your own style. Amazing what someone can do with just a piano (or guitar etc.). I can spend days on a songs 8 miditracks and the result is still only a rather poor demo... :-( If you should improve something, I would like more dynamics/expression added. If the song had a part (fx the middle part) where you played louder and particulary sang louder, the song would benefit from that - it would also emphasize the more quiet parts of the song. I'm not sure if it is suited for this particular song, and I don't know if you do sing out loud at all. I have heard your two other songs at AcidPlanet, and the same goes for them. You should have at full symphony orchestra to back you up! A minor thing: I found the ending a little abrupt. What about slowing down in the ending and spread the notes in the very last chord?
11-Dave C The Words That I Rehearse For You	10	Your voice and singing reminds me of Bob Dylan - and your voice is poor?! Well, I'm glad you entered, I felt a little outside among all these good singers ;-) Your drums are good, the chords and the structure are ok. I'm sure you have the whole song in your head, but you have a difficult time to have your voice and the other instruments express what you want. That's a pity. I would like to hear the song in a good production. As it is now it is difficult to judge the melody itself, but I have some doubts about it. Your lyric is far too difficult for me with danish as my mothertongue.