Nur Ein I Round Five "Don't Go To..."

[Niveous]

The journey of the magnificent seven is nearing an end. The songs have been posted. Enjoy the tunes and review them as the jury deliberates. The scores will be announced on friday as well as who has been eliminated as well as the new title and non optional challenge. Who will be in the final four??

NUR EIN!!!

[ken]

Glenn's link is bad.

Ken

[GlennCase]

Glenn's link is bad.

Yeah, looks like the issue is with the address starting with hthttp://

Try <a href="http://esc67.midphase.com/~spewsch1/gc/ ... 3">this</a> in the meantime, and thanks, Ken!

ROCK!

Glenn (DR FUNK)
http://glenncase.songhole.org

[Niveous]

Fixed.

[stueym]

Okay....maybe I am tired, maybe I am jaded today, but on first listen through I am.....disappointed. There is a sameness and common feeling to these songs that isn't delivering for me at an emotional level.

I loved all of El Balazo. Tthe variety was wonderful even if themes were similar. Like a villain had several stand-out track's. This week however I am not moved. There are some extremely well produced efforts, but nothing here is moving me/exciting me.

I promise to do more detail reviews as we get to the weekend.

[/curmudgeon mode]

[j$]

calfborg - that's some mighty hiss. Then it's gone, so it must be deliberate. The non-synching of the backing vox is still a problem. It makes what would be fantastic mesh of sound into a swarm of ineffectual bees. Howevr I love the variety of your styles in thsi fight, and also you being much better than I remember from previous songfights. That said I had to check a couple of times to the ID tags to make sure this was Calfborg. I love those piano and bass tones. Awesome. Your voice really suits this pared down sound. maybe lacking in a hook or a riff of sorts. But a great mood piece and with a different mix / a melodic bit that really burrows into the ice of my brain rather than skating beautifuly around on the top - well, it could be the sleeper hit of the year. I like.

Glenn - this week, you give awesome lyric. What a great take on the title. Maybe one too many 'programs' in the list and not enough exploration of the metaphor. This sounds SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much like Squeeze and therefore I like it. Could do with a swirly organ panned right playing little doodly riffs around the key from around the second chorus and especially with the cool breakdown. Like Squeeze used to do "Yay!" - spanky bass solo which staggers a bit too close for level 42 for my tastes

Jim Tyrell - great bass tone. (or is it fuzz wah on the guitar?) What's with the 80s vibe so far? Does a bass solo really so readily conjure up ideas of that era? This make me think of Was Not Was? Still that main riff is really catchy. The words pass me by a little but I do like 'just one of those places you don't go to'. I can imagine getting down to this in a club if it was a little bit more brittle and 60s production, actually - kind of like early james Brown. Still the bones of a good song.

Ken - Starts out with a Tiny Robots mood, i feel. nice background plink tone. Yeah I could hear Erin singing this. You sing it well of course, but it sounds like a Tiny Robots song full demo rather than a Ken song (not that I am entirely sure what that is.) It's a good song but I am not getting into the swing of it much. That's just personal taste.

Leaf 62 - I would accuse you of playing it safe, but this is your signature sound, and I like it, so who can complain? That said, I simultaneously love and hate the reggae-lite moments. Good bass tone. List lyric leaves me a bit cold. Maybe that's because there's too many words on the first listen to hear any link between them beyond the obvious 'list of things and places not to go to.' - The solo is a little indulgent - no scratch that, the whole instrumental section is indulgent. Hey you're treading water, but it's good warm water.

# - "The minute you walk in the joint ..." oh god, Mad Dog sounds creepy this time round! Like he's gargling anti-freeze! Cool. 5 minutes+ of the blues walk, albeit it through a # filter, could get a bit annoying, but I wait patiently for it to wander off into some strange direction as # usually do. Hmmm, in terms of Nur Ein quite possibly commercial suicide but I like the vibe and the bass solo is the best so far ....

Wreckdom - can't get this one to play. "unable to initalise the file". Will try again later.

[ken]

Wreckdom - can't get this one to play. "unable to initalise the file". Will try again later.

I had that same problem, but I saved it to my computer and it played just fine.

Ken

[Spud]

Mad Dog sounds creepy this time round! Like he's gargling anti-freeze!

scotch

[Geoff WreckdoM]

Wreckdom - can't get this one to play. "unable to initalise the file". Will try again later.

I had that same problem, but I saved it to my computer and it played just fine.

Ken

Huh, well I haven't any idea what the problem could be, but if you need me to email it to you I gladly will as if there is a problem w/our site it could take a while to fix. I don't deal with any of that stuff so I'm clueless.

Or you could just take my word for it, you love it and have placed it at the top of your list

[Ross]

As a former "Einer" I know how nice the reviews are, so I thought I'd write some brief comments here based on two listens:

title purist warning - was listening for a song where the sleeve would say "Don't go to..." with the "..."

Ken - first time around I didn't get pulled into this - second time was definitely better, I think the "don't go to work" verse is what puts this slightly above a typical sappy sort of thing. A bit of Cracker sound from you again I think, and I like Cracker although this lacks the sardonic edge they have. Good sounds all around excellent bass solo.(I found myself thinking adifferent keyboard sound would have fit into the texture better)

Calfborg - I know you said you ran out of creative steam, and I thought it sounded like it, too. The use of the title seemed weak here and I felt it went on a bit too long. As always, neat sounds, but not much more here for me.

Leaf 62 - [I bet you answer this all the time, but why the 62? is it a reference to page 62 of some book? I'd be interested if you want to pm me] Solid - good attempt at the "..." with so many fill-ins. and I like how you pull it together with the "protective perspective" line. Sweet bass solo!!

Wreckdom - This is a return to the WreckdoM I am not as fond of. The title is applied ok, but the content just doesn't interest me in this context. Have you seen "American Movie?" This sounds like a song that guy would write.

Jim Tyrell - This is my favorite use of the title in the fight, the way it hangs (sort of) without being filled in. I think your match of content and style is good and I like the bass solo with the mod.

Octothorpe - As with WreckdoM I feel this is a return to weaker stuff from you. Much too long and "accidental" sounding than I would like. Alittle editing would be good. Best moment - when someone yells "Give it back" at the end of the solo section.

Glenn Case - I feel like the title is not as well applied here but the song is pretty solid. The bridge feels a little forced but is a great idea. The ending is wanting

IF I were judge-

Ken - 7 (tie with Jim, but this is most like a song from a record I'd own)

Jim - 6

Leaf62 - 5

Glenn Case - 4

And eliminate

Calfborg - 3

WreckdoM - 2

Octothorpe - 1

[j$]

Wreckdom - can't get this one to play. "unable to initalise the file". Will try again later.

if you need me to email it to you I gladly will

Yeah, please. I tried downloading it, which it did, but it still won't play. You're this close to automatic disqualification in my book

[jack]

wreckdom tune played fine for me in itunes.

calfborg
good bass. singing is strong too. arrangement wise, i'd like a little more variety perhaps. production is also very good. piano comes across a bit jarring at times. interesting tune. don't feel a real strong connection to the title, but that's not a real sore spot for me.

glenn case
pretty good. the intro phone filter vox i probably could have done without, but vocally, you make up for it through the rest of the song. great singing throughout the rest, and that bridge is a wicked twist. the bass coming out of the bridge to the outro is also pretty huge, but the ending is pretty abrupt. good song glenn, a strong and creative arrangement, well thought lyrics, and good execution.

jim tyrrell
i love the fat farty bass of course, and the synthy stuff you toss over the dancey drums. the very cool thing about this is the departure from your typical GnG stuff. i think the nur ein has brought out a side of the NOTM we've never seen before.

ken
man, i totally agree with the cracker comment, who i love by the way. great take on the lyrics and arrangement. love the rhodes. awesome ken. this is really terrific with a very clean mix and great supporting instrumentation. nice little bridge too. you've created a very full mix without cluttering it up, and that's a tough thing to pull off.

leaf
damn dude, you always grab me by the cajones right from the get go. guitars are monster huge as usual, same with the drums. killer leaf. i keep waiting for you to toss us a dud and you keep disappointing me. and i don't care what johnny says, i say hell yeah on the gratuitous solos.

octothorpe
i like the idea for this, but mad dog is buried in the mix, and the rest of the mix is pretty uneven level wise, like the drums and synths are very loud relative to the rest of the tracks and this makes it sound more disjointed than usual. one suggestion....you run the full gamut of instrumentation throughout the entire song, and i think it might have worked better to have things come in and out, or at least make their initial appearance at different times in the arrangement to create dynamics to break up the arrangement. a better mix would really help this out. man, mad dog must have had a sore throat after this one. i do like the blues piano, and wish that had been more featured than the synth stuff.

wreckdom
tight frentetic jam. good mix too. i know i always compare you to the BHS guys, and well, that's what this reminds me of. still a fun listen, tight playing too. vocally, it kind of lags but the chorus is like vintage rollins band.

[Geoff WreckdoM]

Wreckdom - can't get this one to play. "unable to initalise the file". Will try again later.

if you need me to email it to you I gladly will

Yeah, please. I tried downloading it, which it did, but it still won't play. You're this close to automatic disqualification in my book

I've sent it off

[fluffy]

Octothorpe - As with WreckdoM I feel this is a return to weaker stuff from you. Much too long and "accidental" sounding than I would like. Alittle editing would be good. Best moment - when someone yells "Give it back" at the end of the solo section.

<em>bring</em> it back. or at least that's what I think I said. I was drunk and making it up as I went along.

[Spud]

Actually, I think it was bring her back.

[fluffy]

You sure? It's kinda vague but I know I meant to say 'bring it back' in any case.

[Spud]

you are correct. Bring her back was later.

[Ross]

What I had in mind was that Smothers Brothers bit where he says "Take it." and the other guy says, "No."

So I'm thinking during the solo, "Take it." (which you don't actually say, but is sort of implied) and then, "Bring it back."

That's funny.

[HeuristicsInc]

What I had in mind was that Smothers Brothers bit where he says "Take it." and the other guy says, "No."

"...All folk singers are obligated to ... what?"
Man, I love that bit.
-bill

[starfinger]

calfborg, do you have a fan club? cause i want in.

edit: and yours too, leaf.

-craig

[j$]

Wreckdom - so the version you sent me wouldn't play in my player, but I finally managed to decompress it in my audio editor - was it worth the effort? Well, half and half. The half I like is the groove and the Rollins-esque barking (especially 'Don't Go to The Gates of Heeeellllll') That were rit' cool. What I didn't like - the Human TTS over the top that didn't like being in rhythm with the tight backing track - the fact that the (well-executed) mix makes it sound like someone talking over a found cassette instrumental rather than make it sound like a band, which does the sogn a disservice in my opinion. Most importantly, and not just for the sake of it, this song should have stopped with a minute fade-out at 1:20.23 - it's crying out for it, and what follows feels like 'can't have a 1.20 song in Nur Ein - people will say it's underdeveloped' - i.e. a reprise of what has gone before without much development. The lyric is cute rather than funny, though there are some good lines, more 'Child's Play' than 'Evil Dead'. Overall, ok.

[Geoff WreckdoM]

this song should have stopped with a minute fade-out at 1:20.23 - it's crying out for it, and what follows feels like 'can't have a 1.20 song in Nur Ein - people will say it's underdeveloped' - i.e. a reprise of what has gone before without much development.

This is an interesting point, but that thought hadn't occured to me. I wanted the whole thing to tie together, hence the "Gates of Hell" repeat, a decision made after performing the lyrics a few times. But I wouldn't of hesitated to turn in a 1:20 song, two of my alltime fav's of ours fall under that timeframe. Thanks for the detailed review man, much appreciated.