Month: April 2017

Broadjam Artist: Rainier Artists
Song: Just Believe in Love

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Robert Dellaposta (Writer, A&R, Publisher)

Pro General Comments: a lot of factors go into whether or not a song is commercial. This song is too long for commercial radio but length doesn't enter into the equation if you're pitching this to a music library for use as background music in a television show or movie. Hopefully you asked for and received the individual stem files or individual wave or session files so the music library can make cues and edit this song into shorter sections. The chorus is catchy and memorable but it's also unpredictable because there are three different choruses with three different hooks...He Believed/She Believed and Just Believe in love...my advice is keep the chorus consistent so the listener can sing along without being caught off guard with new lyrics. Your form is verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/tag...there are very few commercial country songs with three or more verses being played on today's commercial radio. keep your songs short of 4 minutes...the closer to three minutes the better...this is a country song but it's written in more of an Americana folk story song.How does the singer know these intimate personal details of the boys life? Without a connection between the singer and the boy the story lacks credibility. The main problem i see lyrically is the boy becomes a man and still believes in Unicorns etc?? Those metaphors don't work as well as a man as they did when he was a child in my opinion. I like the happy ending...

Quote From Pro: William Larson has the imagination and creativity along with the musical skill to write a catchy memorable and meaningful song.

Broadjam Artist: Rainier Artists
Song: Just Believe in Love

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Robert Dellaposta (Writer, A&R, Publisher)

Pro General Comments: a lot of factors go into whether or not a song is commercial. This song is too long for commercial radio but length doesn't enter into the equation if you're pitching this to a music library for use as background music in a television show or movie. Hopefully you asked for and received the individual stem files or individual wave or session files so the music library can make cues and edit this song into shorter sections. The chorus is catchy and memorable but it's also unpredictable because there are three different choruses with three different hooks...He Believed/She Believed and Just Believe in love...my advice is keep the chorus consistent so the listener can sing along without being caught off guard with new lyrics. Your form is verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/tag...there are very few commercial country songs with three or more verses being played on today's commercial radio. keep your songs short of 4 minutes...the closer to three minutes the better...this is a country song but it's written in more of an Americana folk story song.How does the singer know these intimate personal details of the boys life? Without a connection between the singer and the boy the story lacks credibility. The main problem i see lyrically is the boy becomes a man and still believes in Unicorns etc?? Those metaphors don't work as well as a man as they did when he was a child in my opinion. I like the happy ending...

Quote From Pro: William Larson has the imagination and creativity along with the musical skill to write a catchy memorable and meaningful song.

Broadjam Artist: J Edna Mae Thomas
Song: Luminous

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
J Chris Griffin (Producer, Engineer)

Pro General Comments: Thanks for asking me to be a part of your record! I hope this review will be a positive and helpful experience for you.This is very well done. The lyric is completely engaging, melody is fantastic, the production is good and the vocals are super-pro. Awesome work! I particularly like the airy background vocals The mix is superb, your vocals are perfectly balanced and the playing is appropriate and professional.Form is so important in popular music your arrangement is spot-on. I could distinguish and follow each part of the story as it unfolds. I love the sparse instrumentation! It allows the story to be featured and it leaves space for your amazing background vox arrangement. Great job for showing restraint and not overloading the song with instruments and percussion! Your background vocals are really tight and polished. Attacks and releases are together, theres nothing sticking out and drawing my attention away from your lead vocal. The texture and timbre enhances the song and the production.There isnt much to comment on, but two things come to mind. Take these suggestions with a grain of salt. If they are useful go with it. If not, discard and know that I like your work.First, I appreciate when artists fully represent a certain style without blurring boundaries between disciplines. For example, if you use Broadway technique on a Mozart aria, theres a chance that legitimate classical artists might not take you seriously. Similarly, if someone shows up in the Pop world with classical technique, they get brushed aside. The vibe of the music isnt being adequately representedLuminous is right on the edge of Pop, almost touching pop classical or accessible theater styles. Nevertheless, its still Pop. Leave extra-precise t and d consonants out of this style. It pushes the story away from me as a listener. In other words, stay as conversational and present as possible. Otherwise your listeners might be distracted by the formality of your delivery. In Pop, all t consonants get turned into d.You are my high note - dont over pronounce the t here. Its too formal. Same thing on leitmotif. No need to harden the t at all. If you were in a 40-piece choir, theres another story, but conversational pronunciations rule in this style. If theres a doubt, say it out loud without hard consonants and see if it sounds normal. Again, in Broadway or Legitimate-Classical styles, this isnt done, but we are Pop (ish) with this song.You may counter with it IS theatre-based! I still think its too hard. J Dont listen to well-meaning musicians insisting that all consonants must be pronounced with full value. Thats only true in two styles. No one making commercial records would fault you for being more conversational with your lyric. Heres a rule if the story suffers at all from a technical requirement, leave technique out and tell the story.The other suggestion concerns the mix in your bridge. Your luminous luminous vocal sits in the center (of the mix) while the new vocal your light is drawing me is panned hard left then hard right on the second phrase. With this panning it becomes difficult to hear the new vocal because there is now only one ear available to hear new information. I found it hard to pull all of my attention over to the left (then right) to hear the new lyric. I suggest closing the pan width to about 10 and 2 oclock. Also instead of turning up this new vocal, turn the existing vocal in the center down significantly. The point of adding new lyrics over old is artful and valid, but dont pull attention away from other elements (harmony, timbre, stereo lushness) to get it done.This is a wonderful track! Best wishes to you in the future let me hear new songs as they come!Chris

Quote From Pro: Luminous is completely engaging. The melody is fantastic and the vocals are perfectly balanced in a timeless, lush arrangement that perfectly captures beauty and light.

Broadjam Artist: J Edna Mae Thomas
Song: Luminous

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
J Chris Griffin (Producer, Engineer)

Pro General Comments: Thanks for asking me to be a part of your record! I hope this review will be a positive and helpful experience for you.This is very well done. The lyric is completely engaging, melody is fantastic, the production is good and the vocals are super-pro. Awesome work! I particularly like the airy background vocals The mix is superb, your vocals are perfectly balanced and the playing is appropriate and professional.Form is so important in popular music your arrangement is spot-on. I could distinguish and follow each part of the story as it unfolds. I love the sparse instrumentation! It allows the story to be featured and it leaves space for your amazing background vox arrangement. Great job for showing restraint and not overloading the song with instruments and percussion! Your background vocals are really tight and polished. Attacks and releases are together, theres nothing sticking out and drawing my attention away from your lead vocal. The texture and timbre enhances the song and the production.There isnt much to comment on, but two things come to mind. Take these suggestions with a grain of salt. If they are useful go with it. If not, discard and know that I like your work.First, I appreciate when artists fully represent a certain style without blurring boundaries between disciplines. For example, if you use Broadway technique on a Mozart aria, theres a chance that legitimate classical artists might not take you seriously. Similarly, if someone shows up in the Pop world with classical technique, they get brushed aside. The vibe of the music isnt being adequately representedLuminous is right on the edge of Pop, almost touching pop classical or accessible theater styles. Nevertheless, its still Pop. Leave extra-precise t and d consonants out of this style. It pushes the story away from me as a listener. In other words, stay as conversational and present as possible. Otherwise your listeners might be distracted by the formality of your delivery. In Pop, all t consonants get turned into d.You are my high note - dont over pronounce the t here. Its too formal. Same thing on leitmotif. No need to harden the t at all. If you were in a 40-piece choir, theres another story, but conversational pronunciations rule in this style. If theres a doubt, say it out loud without hard consonants and see if it sounds normal. Again, in Broadway or Legitimate-Classical styles, this isnt done, but we are Pop (ish) with this song.You may counter with it IS theatre-based! I still think its too hard. J Dont listen to well-meaning musicians insisting that all consonants must be pronounced with full value. Thats only true in two styles. No one making commercial records would fault you for being more conversational with your lyric. Heres a rule if the story suffers at all from a technical requirement, leave technique out and tell the story.The other suggestion concerns the mix in your bridge. Your luminous luminous vocal sits in the center (of the mix) while the new vocal your light is drawing me is panned hard left then hard right on the second phrase. With this panning it becomes difficult to hear the new vocal because there is now only one ear available to hear new information. I found it hard to pull all of my attention over to the left (then right) to hear the new lyric. I suggest closing the pan width to about 10 and 2 oclock. Also instead of turning up this new vocal, turn the existing vocal in the center down significantly. The point of adding new lyrics over old is artful and valid, but dont pull attention away from other elements (harmony, timbre, stereo lushness) to get it done.This is a wonderful track! Best wishes to you in the future let me hear new songs as they come!Chris

Quote From Pro: Luminous is completely engaging. The melody is fantastic and the vocals are perfectly balanced in a timeless, lush arrangement that perfectly captures beauty and light.