Fly Me Over Yesterday (High Enough Reviews)

[SaxManRunning!]

No, he hasn't - and it's a travesty, imo. But the more I say it, the more I curse it, so I'll shut up.

Wow I agree, I love the king, his music is so... him. But my love for deshead is pretty strong too... I am going to have a heck of a time voting on this fight this week, both songs are really good.

[Rik]

I finished listening to the entries for High Enough. I debated waiting to review until the end of the week so I could do an initial impression followed by my thoughts after listening all week (that really changed my view on last weeks songs), but I'm afraid that if I wait it won't get done. So here goes.

In the order the SongFight! page placed the songs this time:

Blake Walker
From the minute the music started this one grabbed be. Kind of a long intro, but not to the point that it became distracting. An edgy groove that fit well with the distorted vox. I'm not usually a big fan of over-processed vox, but this was done well and it worked. I really liked all the different things going on during the hook, the different vocal parts coming in and the funky synth sound. Nice break 2/3 through, dropping to only extra crunchy guitar and drums. The end was a bit abrupt, but appropriate. No wimpy fade out here, a punch in the gut then done. Well done.
Definately one of the better entries this week.

King Arthur
Another song that jumps out right away in the beginning. The clean guitar harmonics and funky bass line really get this song going. Alright, the Mean to Me line threw me off a bit. I thought the song was posted in the wrong fight. Getting past that, I really enjoyed the lyrics and phrasing. I was waiting for some harmony action or other backing vox, I find myself singing harmony in a couple spots 'my heart is not impressed'. By the end, the groove that started this song off got a bit repetitive, but changes in the bass line helped a bit. The end didn't seem natural, the song is flowing along then bam!
Overall a solid song, I'll keep this one in the rotation until I vote.

Note: If anyone can get all three current titles to work this well in next week's song they will have my vote for sure. The spinal tap I got at the Crossroads Clinic gave me total satsifaction (I don't think so)

WreckdoM
Holy crap, this song gives me the creeps. I love it! This has got to be the most effective song in the fight in terms of conveying emotion and theme. I'lll keep listening to the fight songs the rest of the week, but unless something else really grows on me, this one's got my vote. Thanks for inviting us to your nightmare, this song is going to freak me out all day.

MC Crapalot
I wish I was high enough to listen to this song.

Deshead
What can I say, Deshead has got to be my favorite artist on Song Fight! I really like this song, but a little upset that the entire mix is overdriven to the point of distortion. That aside, the acoustic guitar throughout has great tone, bright and full, not tinny nor muddy like the sound so many (myself included) get when trying to use acoustics. The verse doesn't really grab me, but as soon as the harmony vox come in, I'm there. Great hook, as usual, really punches the song into gear. I like the break at 'You're only up when you've got me down', but I think that it's due more to the melodic change than any change in the dynamics of the song. Great song over all, I'm just having a hard time getting over the production. Great mix, just too loud.

Masters of Grip
This song is interesting, the verse reminds me of surf rock, the chorus more Beatleesque. All the instruments have a cool vintage sound. Throughout, I found that the vox seemed a bit flat, not sure if that was just the effects. The background vox do nothing to help, in fact they seem to pull the whole vocal component a bit further out of key.
I like the beat change in the end, excellent drumming. The distorted guitar leads throughout the end of the song I like in concept, but don't really work the overall vintage sound.

Lonbobby
The only instrumental musician I really enjoy is Steve Morse. Well, now I can add Lonbobby to the list. This is very cool stuff. The dynamics of this are incredible, from the quiet solo piano to the thumping full impact techno beat action, back down to some elegent strings, it keeps moving and changing. Even though I listen to music more from the musical perspective than lyrics, I find it hard to review a song without words. This is a really good song, not sure if forewarning the forum was necessary. It put a negative spin on my opinion going in, but your song really came through. I'm looking forward to hearing more.

Rik Gerblick (Me)
Well, it was this or the novelty 'Can't get high enough on minimum wage'. Overall, I am happy with the way this came out. I don't like my voice, so that's usually hidden in any mixes I do. This song I tried to bring it forward, if that was accomplished is for others to decide. The overall 'muddy' sound is due to compression with extreme prejudice, applied after my original mix was too quiet with too many peaks to really boost the levels. I get a little pick-harmonic crazy near the end, not really to happy with that either. What can I say, it's sterile guitar rock. Enjoy

Manhattan Glutton
This is great song, I wish it had a little better production. I love harmony vocals, and this song is full of some very cool variations. When the song drops to the solo voice, the gruff attitude really comes through and sounds great. The simple guitar / vocal combo works, nothing extra needed. Again better production would have given this a fuller sound. I do like the one-shot flange on the guitar, heard I think twice in the song. Nothing overdone on this song, down to basics and sounding good. This one is surely staying in the rotation for me.


This was a strong fight overall, I'm glad I was part of such a solid set.

[deshead]

I love the king, his music is so... him. But my love for deshead is pretty strong too... I am going to have a heck of a time voting on this fight this week

Thanks SaxMan. FWIW, I say vote for the King, that we may end his reign!!

a little upset that the entire mix is overdriven to the point of distortion.

Thanks for the review Rik! It probably goes without saying, but I don't hear the distortion .. Can you point out a passage where it's obvious to you?

Cheers.

[boltoph]

I love the king...But my love for deshead is pretty strong...

Thanks SaxMan. FWIW, I say vote for the King, that we may end his reign!!

I'd vote for King Arthur's "Mean to Me"...oh wait... There should be a separate prize for working all three titles into a song!
Besides, Desheads song is sexy but not nearly as sexy as others in the past...dare I say.

[Smalltown Mike]

I was hoping to have full reviews here, but I doubt I'll get to it. But I would like to say:

Blake Walker:

This is awesome. I just listened to this about five times. I really dig it. The drums could maybe use a little more punch, but they work in the context of this song, a mix of rock and programmed instruments. Love the layered vox. The rhythm on the various vocal parts is really tight. You may have a slightly too long intro, but great work.

[SaxManRunning!]

I love the king...But my love for deshead is pretty strong...

Thanks SaxMan. FWIW, I say vote for the King, that we may end his reign!!

I'd vote for King Arthur's "Mean to Me"...oh wait... There should be a separate prize for working all three titles into a song!
Besides, Desheads song is sexy but not nearly as sexy as others in the past...dare I say.

We should hurry up and start that deshead fan club. I'd be willing to be co-pres. with you... what do you say?

[Lonbobby]

Blake: Really cool opening. I don't like the vocals but the music is great.

MC Crapalot: You could have done a lot more with this joke.

Wreckdom: Unlike MC Crapalot, I get this and like this.

Rik: Guitar in the opening is awesome. Voice seems a little burried and guitar relatively loud....with better mixing and producing this should be on the radio.

Masters: Off key singing. I like the live feeling of this but this levels are all off.

King: "I have criticism issues." Maybe I shouldn't say anything bad hehe? Very solid, I think one of your best.

Deshead: I love your professional sounding music and your voice. Harmonies work really well.

Manhattan: Very emotional beginning which I like a lot. Wow, the many voices and harmonies are awesome. I think your emotion comes through which makes a good song great. VOTE

[chucky]

Blake Walker> I liked this until you started singing and I realized you were probably going for a Marilyn Manson sound. It's not nearly chunky and heavy enough, and it's totally derivative. Also, the vocals in the chorus are far too loud. I really like the "everyone's a slave part". I would love this if you made the vocal levels more consistent and didn't sing the way you did at "the drugs that you put in me" line. You are obviously fairly good; but this has potential to be great, I just recommend fixing your production up a bit.

Deshead> Beautiful recording quality. Not my style at all; and I would never listen to it outside of here; but perfectly executed and produced. Good job!

King Arthur> Again, and as is usually the case with your entries, awesome freaking song but just -really- not my bag. For some reason, I am really, really digging the bass, here. Good work.

Lonbobby> FRICKIN AWWESSOOOMMEE. Oh man. I love this. I love it I love it I love it. It's instrumental, too; but I definitely see how it relates to the title. I'm saving this one for the next time I'm high enough. Enough? I'm not high at all and this is beautiful. That chirpy sound is perfect for the song. Adds the exact level of strangeness to an otherwise really nice piece without fucking it all up. Awesome.

Manhattan Glutton> Cool. I could see listening to this on my own, non-songfight, time.. and I definitely will. My only complaint is that the volume of the backup vocals is a little inconsistent. Not nearly enough to be detrimental to the song, though. Good stuff.

Masters of Grip> The voice doesn't really fit the music very well; and the fuzzy distorted guitar could stand to be a bit louder.. Also it started to feel a bit redundant right after the three minute mark. I realize that it's a little progressive, but all those solo's could have been in the background earlier on.. Just not interesting enough (to me) to carry on for four minutes. Good job though. I liked everything else about it.

MC Crap A Lot> I stopped listening to this about twenty seconds into it when I realized it wasn't going to go anywhere or stop being annoying. Sure, I get high too, but I just don't really find the humor to be all that funny. Ebaumsworld would eat this kind of thing up. Make a nice flash video to go with it and you can be internet-famous.

Rik Gerblick> Everything I said about the Masters of Grip's entry, except good. Nice levels, kept it short enough, and nothing drowned out anything else. Also not really my thing, but you did an absolutely fantastic job, here.

WreckdoM> My rectum sounds way better than this. I'm a big fan of avante-gard, experimental music; but this just kills me. The intro part, and the song itself; for very different reasons. I am not high enough. Might've done a good job, I guess, if it's what you were going for; but I just can't get into it.

Favorite: Lonbobby
Honourable Mention: Manhattan Glutton

[Andy Balham]

And now the votes from the Balham jury in the depths of the Lancashire countryside.

Blake Walker
+ Industrial rock
+ Falsetto
+ Rumbling bass

Deshead
+ Fine all-round craft
+ “Tear you down / pick me up”

King Arthur
+ Bass line
+ “Mean to be / mean to me”
+ “My low’s aren’t high enough”
- Slightly too long

Lonbobby
+ Impressive musicianship

Manhattan Glutton
+ Build up…
- …dénouement

The Masters of grip (us)
- My vocal preformance
+ SW and J$’s musical performances
- Length (should have done a SF edit)
+ Internally rhyming lyrics

MC Crapalot
- Obvious take

Rik Gerblick
+ Guitar tone
- bass smears itself across the mix
+ Your voice
+ Rock

WreckdoM
- Obvious take…
+ …with a little WreckdoM insanity
- No short-shorts

Good fight and a nice size too. Mr Walker will be receiving my vote.

[Stevie Windsor]

Wreckdom The sound collage production techniques continue to get better, but its not really a surprise anymore.

Masters Of Grip (us) Constructed as the final album track, hence the extended end fade out. Unlike J$ I dont know what its about, but methinks a good song nonetheless

King Arthur A bit too much reverb on the voice. Nice feel to the bass lines, I'm not sure about the idea of mixing up all three song titles. Well made but perhaps a bit long and repetitive by the finish.

Manhattan Glutton A nasal tone to the voice, which slightly mars the othwise lovely harmonies, but despite that this is a really great song.

Lonbobby The piano melodies are interesting and intoxicating. Its difficult to make this type of instrumental music not sound like background muzak. This manages to avoid that.

Deshead The usual excellent production and playing. Not your best song, although I love the end section. I'd like to hear you stretch your style a little more.

MC Crapalot Sorry, not for me.

Blake Walker Basic but cool blend of synth lines and driving guitar rock. Great vox. The drums need to be more full on to make this really kick.

Rik Gerblick Vocal needs to be brought forward and the bass level adjusted. Good rock tune that feels like it was made in the late 70s which is fine by me.

1. Manhattan Glutton (vote)
2. Blake Walker
3 Lonbobby

[boltoph]

We should hurry up and start that deshead fan club. I'd be willing to be co-pres. with you... what do you say?

you mean it hasn't been started yet? Well so far, we've got some New Englanders who get a little psyched about some deshead tunes.
Hey Des, I'm way psyched to hear a new version of Time and Whiskey's "Hard to Please"...if one is being recorded...

[Rik]

...I don't hear the distortion .. Can you point out a passage where it's obvious to you?

Listening again (and again because it's so good), I can hear it throughout the song. I've listened at home and work, in the car, through headphones and hear it more on some systems, less on others. The first point at which it really stands out to me is after the first verse 'and when you tear me down'. I hear it mostly in the vocals and the snare. I guess it's just me, but I haven't heard anything like this on any of your other songs so I figured I'd mention it. But again, I have to emphasize, this is a great song.

[HeuristicsInc]

mccrap - don't really like to listen to this, but i don't think that's why you do this.

deshead - nice full sound, good song. your vocals are excellent. great!

masters - sounds thin after deshead... invest in mastering plugins! this is fun. i like this solo. gets a bit sloppy after the solo... actually i think this should be a bit shorter. maybe 3mins.

wreckdom - don't know about the intro, it sounds like it's from a different song, but around 1:00 when it starts, this is pretty cool. good roll.

rik - good guitar sound. this is pretty cool, but i think the sound needs to be more immediate for this style. "rik" is a good metal name.

blake - here's another one that needs to be more immediate. this one's pretty good, but it doesn't grab me.

k.art - hey, i like the guitar. always like your vocals. quality! very nice. i like the way it moves along.

manhattan - good the way the vox intertwine. i like it. vox are a bit occasionally rough.

lonbobby - this is great. but why is it high enough?

1: deshead, wreckdom, king arthur, manhattan, lonbobby
2: masters, rik, blake

my top two are deshead and king arthur.
i'm going to vote for the king!
-bill

[deshead]

Blake Walker: I like everything about this except the way the voice jumps out in the chorus. I can't put my finger on why, but that part doesn't sit in the song like everything else. I think it's just too clean compared to the verses. Still, great song, great mix. My favorite of the fight.

King Arthur: This reminds me of mid-80's Paul McCartney. I'll join the chorus of bass line fans, and add that I also love the little harmonic runs on the guitar. And it's probably a nitpick, but I think you could tighten the flow a bit by chopping out everything from 2:02 to 2:24. The thing I least like about this is the way you worked all the titles in. I can't get past the thought that you wrote it for all 3, and picked the fight that the fewest people mentioned in the pre-fight thread.

Lonbobby: Toasty.

Manhattan Glutton: The harmonies are great, but the forced vocal at 0:35 is distracting. (It's better at 1:46, when you don't over sing). That's the only thing I'd fault, though. The song is well-crafted, and works great as whole.

The Masters of Grip: It's a really good song, but the mix is a little dodgy. The bass guitar has no definition, and while the level of the drums is good, they're mid-heavy. The snare has no snap. I'd bring the bass guitar up, and give it an EQ boost somewhere around 250Hz, give the drum kit a HF boost, and then maybe a little harmonic exciter on the whole mix.

MC Crapalot: Less Cheech, more Chong.

Rik Gerblick: This song really grew on me. It seemed all over the place the first few listens, but that's sometimes the hallmark of a great song. I love the smooth tone of the guitar intro. I'm not sure about the muddiness, though. The bass is either too loud, or pushing too many mid frequencies. And the drums and vox could definitely be louder.

WreckdoM: Ya, very good. Really, this title was made for you guys, so thanks for not disappointing.

[j$]

Masters of Grip: I'd bring the bass guitar up

That's lead guitarists for ya ... : P

[Geoff WreckdoM]

Sorry for not reviewing again everybody, I don't know why but I'm always putting it off until it's too late, no excuse for it. I felt Deshead brought the finest vocal performance and King Arthur had the best lyrics, but I voted for Blake Walker whose song I just dug the most. Very Cool.

Jim- I like the recorded reviews, I noticed that half our review seemed to be missing, as it cuts out at :12 and goes on silent until :35. Glad you liked it though and to answer your question that is my cat, we did not manipulate him in any way, he talks like that all the time. He can be heard in the background of many WreckdoM songs if you know where to listen.

[boltoph]

Jim- I like the recorded reviews, I noticed that half our review seemed to be missing...

Wreckdom- I like the invisible reviews.

[SaxManRunning!]

Nice win again Des. You should go for 4 in a row, you're the new josh woodward by the way. win whore.

[deshead]

Thanks man.

I want to know what happened to the KA vote. I was sure he had this one.