Aleck,

first of all I want to thank you for the title, since thats the closest association my name will EVER have with a piece of original music this cool!

Your song contained most of the things I listen for , and it omitted all the cliches. Blues especially have fallen into a black hole of commonly accepted "BLEH-ness.." to the point that I don't usually seek out the genre on Pandora.

Specific things I liked about this song:

1) Instead of using the horns to add accent chords, you used them to add an interesting and unexpected motif. I liked that a lot.

2) Although RealTracks are up to the task of performing all the parts, I still like to hear how live musicians integrate their own playing. And you rewarded my ears royally in this song by playing several instruments, all of them VERY well!

3) one advantage of playing more than one instrument is that you can weave a theme that is shared by all of the instruments in their time. I noticed right off that the bass and the organ were talking back and forth. Likewise the bass + guitar and the horns + guitar. Very cool.

4) regarding the idea of intruments talking back and forth: At different points in the song I had the impression of being at a therapy session for band instruments (hey, it's blues!) and getting to hear their group discussion about the meaning of life (or in this case, the meaning of the song)

5) As a guitar player, I especially liked your performance on that instrument. You are a true pro in every way. Whereas most of us on the forum are hobbyists or weekend musicians, you are simply in a different class. I respect what you bring to the forum, even if I sometimes don't understand what you're doing enough to appreciate it fully.

6) one element of a good composition that is often missing from hobbyist recordings is the effective use of white space. Your framework was so minimal that each of the instruments got to create its own mood during its time in the spotlight. It was almost like several unique songs as opposed to one song in which several instruments solo. That kept the song interesting and fresh.

7) the ending! This is another thing that is as rare as well-documented Bigfoot sightings. Partly because the PGMusic products don't provide endings that are as automated as the rest of the song, they rarely get included. Its not uncommon to get a fade or a synchronized stop of all instruments... but this ending was cool for the following reasons:
a) it extended a few notes past the logical stopping place
b) it was a joint effort of the bass, horns and organ
c) it used the same horn motif established earlier, almost like foreshadowing in a novel.

8) I liked the sections where the percussion had center stage.

9) bonus points for somehow avoiding all of the cliches that have made me tired of the blues. Far from being boring this was something I could listen to for extended periods.

10) mostly because alzheimers makes it sound like I never heard it before

In summary, it isn't that you did anything new and undiscovered at all.. but it's the mark of a pro to add the finishing touches that an amateur hasn't mastered yet.

I'm duly impressed. And, thanks for granting my request. I'll stop being a pest now.
wink




Last edited by Pat Marr; 05/31/13 12:31 PM.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0