| COMPOSITION | SCORE | COMMENTS | ||||||||||||||||||
| CLASSICAL & ORCH. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| N.C.F. Theme | 8.00 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Camelot 2 | 7.90 | Absolutely camelot… At first I don't like this one... it is beginning to bore me... <yawn> However, eventually it gets my interest... this, unlike many themes I've heard of this nature, doesn't remind me of a scene from the game "Kings Quest"…It doesn’t fall into redundancy, at least not later on.. (like I said, the first half neither stabs nor tickles, bur kinda .... well.. lulls... heh... but the second half moves along happily from land to land, idea to idea, powder wigs and all, and got my attention. From a structural standpoint, exceptional. From an emotional standpoint... a bit like a goodnight kiss with no tongue, leaves me a bit dissapointed. Friends are good, but lovers are better.. hehe.. if that makes any sense at all... :) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NN | 7.10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Piano Concert 1 in C, mov 1 | 6.60 | |||||||||||||||||||
| My Clair de Lune | 9.00 | my experiment for general polling - not included in final scoring | ||||||||||||||||||
| My La Malaguena | 9.00 | my experiment for general polling - not included in final scoring | ||||||||||||||||||
| Menace | 6.40 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd Movement | 7.80 | Structure, harmonies, etc. well put together, and I hope this makes sense, but as for the "feel" of the whole piece, It comes off to me too "formal:"…. Like powder wigs and prim, proper, pomp and circumstance should be attached, so in a way, is too predictable and monorhythmic (is that a word? hehe)... bores me a little. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mechanoscape | 9.00 | Wow.. Powerful… suspenseful yet melodic… extremely dynamic… mmmmmmm… holy smokes!… nice move from the drum solo into the string section and piano… Now THAT's a potent goodnight kiss…heheheh..... beeeeeeeeautiful … like a good bourbon, smooth with a bite, warm and crispy at the same time. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Symphony 1, mov 4 | 8.90 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sometimes I Dance | 6.60 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Christus Cterben | 7.50 | You were off to a good start, but wandered off into neverneverland. First half: 9 Second half: 6 overall 7.5, which may seem brutal, but I want to encourage you to follow through with an idea and resolve it. Transition between movements is smooth but where are we moving to? You've got the ball, but run with it. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cello & Strings | 8.90 | Well… that sounds like a cello alright… and starts off a bit simplistic, but when the strings come in, make it worth the wait. This is a very beautiful piece, filled with patient emotion, and almost a sadness that reaches into the heart … Inspires compassion and a careful ear. Bravely introspective, I'd say. Very sweet. By the time the song closes, I realize I need to learn more patience, because at the start, I was trying to rush the development in my own mind, but in truth, The piece evolved gracefully, and with reason. Hat's off. | ||||||||||||||||||
| April | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Spanish Sowcase Festival | 9.90[1] | I need not say more. | ||||||||||||||||||
| March, Elegy and Victory | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Speedy | 7.90 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Concerto Italiano | 7.50 | Nicely done, and follows the "rules" but does not inspire me… does not reach inside and touch me or grab me (and I like to be touched and grabbed) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Themes of an Angry Specter | 9.10 | At 57 seconds then again at 107 seconds, you used another idea that belongs somewhere else.. yet pulled it off marvelously. You know what I mean…but I hear it… the variation on Shawns challenge mixed with other ideas already developed… This is actually an extremely well done and obviously thought out progression... Very dramatic and evolves very naturally yet at the same time, spontaniously. A snippet from Godwin Williams' " IMOGEN: A PASTORIAL ROMANCE FROM THE ANCIENT BRITISH ....(English fiction) "... the power of elves and goblins. Edwin presently recollected himself, and a gloomy kind of tranquility assumed the empire of his heart. He was more watchful than ever for his beloved Imogen; he gazed with threefold earnestness upon the fearful specter. A sound now invaded his ear, from the shapeless rocks behind him. They repeated it with all their echoes. It was hollow as the raging wind; and yet it was not the raging wind. It was loud as the roaring.... " | ||||||||||||||||||
| A Journey in the Flying Machine | 9.40 | Unbelievable. This is the last piece I am reviewing tonight, because it is a zip file, so that's just the order in which I listened…. And I would think that at 3:47 AM after listening to and evaluating music all night, the last file on the list might be at a disadvantage, just simply due to my mood and the hour, but this one is the sunbeam that bursts through the clouds and illuminates the gold nuggets in the stream. You've struck it rich. A memorable goodnight kiss, and this time, in the literal sense. <grin> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Piano Sonata mov 3 | 9.60[2] | Is it my imagination or did a pig just fly past my window…. Hmmmm…. Whew… how in Gods name did you conceive this phrasing of this theme? … err.. Nevermind, of course… it must BE in God's name. OK, I'll admit it… The Journey in the Flying Machine wasn't the last song tonight... this one I had to study more closely... to get me this inquisitive at 4am is a feat. I can't resist... This song makes me hungry. Can you see a Bugs Bunny cartoon with bugs in his tux sitting down at the bench? hehe.. I can.. he's chasing that mouse up and down the keyboard with his eyebrows furled in maddening rage, passion, precision, resiliance and charisma, all balled up into one 3 minute cartoon. | ||||||||||||||||||
| String Quartet, mov 4 | huh | |||||||||||||||||||
| NON ORCHESTRAL | ||||||||||||||||||||
| I Don't Care | 5.60 | Redundant and uninspiring. I wish I could say more, but truth is, it's a little "toe-tappy" (as Gerry Ellenson would put it), for me. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Where You Came From | 6.50 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5AM2 | 7.20 | Beauty in simplicity, this piece is beautiful, but doesn't progress as I had hoped. Beautiful work, structrally, but doesn't develop into anything… no metamorphosis. This is a pretty caterpillar though… heh | ||||||||||||||||||
| To Morrow Too | 7.40 | Got a cigarette? | ||||||||||||||||||
| Time Passes By | 6.50 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Message From The Venus | 6.50 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rain Dancing | 7.20 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Waltz Theme | 6.90 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Musical Happiness | 6.50 | You may be happy in this lounge bar, but the smoke is getting to my eyes, and my table is too close to vibes… my wine glass is cracking. I think if this one were done with more attention paid to bringing it off as a 5 piece jazz band on stage, it'd work better. As it stands, comes off as a bit robotic. Jazz should feel spontaneous, not like this... Like sex shouldn't be scheduled for every other Tuesday, or necessarily always in bed with the lights out... sometimes Grandma's baby grand at noon works out much better, and is more memorable... "and tasty tooo" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Just The Way You Are | 6.90 | "Don't go changin'.. Ta try ta please me…etc... mmm mm mm... I love you just the way you are…." (and I'll ad lib this line: .... "but your song is... just too familiar... but as a midi, shootin' par... mmm mm mm.. " heh… This is a nice jazzy arrangement of an old tune, but I cannot give points for originality, so your score must suffer, because among a sea of individuals, this is a clone, and we already have one of those on the shelf. <grin> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Solitude | 7.00 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hungarian Girl | 6.80 | a kiss on the cheek. | ||||||||||||||||||
| MIXED & UNKNOWN | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Walk in the Park | 6.00 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Did I Pass You By | 6.00 | Wandering and aimless, I looked for much more in this one… an oasis or a storm… something, anything… as it went along, but found only more desert. Left me dry, and I suppose the title fits…passed me right by. | ||||||||||||||||||
| April Tango | 7.80 | Spinning her around my hip, eyes locked, I can smell the rose in her teeth. Ole'…where are my castanets…I like this, but could be more dynamic and less robotic in a sense. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Percussin and Swearin | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tuna Salad | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Little Tree | 7.20 | This belongs in the classical/orchestral category. Who placed it here? What were you thinking? Heh.. Nice piano.. Flowing alternations of melodic grace, holding nicely, and introducing the next ideas smoothly, yet somewhat forced… Like shovin' that tongue in, for a better goodnight kiss.. cuz the last one made you hungry.. hehe. This could one day grow to a giant sequoia, but today, it's still a little tree. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legend 22 | 7.60 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Progressive Divertimento | 8.90 | Jammin'. Woke my tired ass up. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eagle | 7.20 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Great Wall | 8.00 | |||||||||||||||||||
| EXPERIMENTAL | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Oleoneptric | 7.00 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Theme 1 | 8.40 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chopping up Freddie | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| TOTAL AVERAGE | 7.59 | |||||||||||||||||||
| GENERAL COMMENT TO ALL: This is starting to frustrate me that many song titles don't match the file names and I have to hunt and hunt for either the listing of the piece, or the file itself. Seems like every month I mention this, but some people don't hear... or care, so here's the way it's gonna be: When you have a song you entitled: "Opus 69" in the midi info …. don't name the file: "mysong12" then call it "Stump the Reviewer" under the description you send in with the file.... and if you have a file named "opus69.mid", please don't leave the midi untitled, or call it "april midi 3", then describe it as "Spring Hunting". Next time I can't figure out what I'm listening to because of these conflicts with the file name and the song title I am going to give it a zero, and bill the composer for my time. ;)D | ||||||||||||||||||||