Awhile back I told you about a project that Edric Haleen was putting together called "A Songwriting Cycle". Well the project is finished, and it's time for my review. I can't really compare the songs to each other since they all had different challenges to meet, but I'll mention my favorite songs from the project below.
Jenny Katz (The Beautiful Break)
The Challenge: A song about one of the seven deadly sins.
This isn't a contest, but if it was...Jenny would have just laid the smackdown on everyone. Everyone dabbles in the 7 deadly sins from time to time, and this was a moving story told by a girl with a beautiful voice. Stop reading & start listing.
Ross Durand (You Chose Me)
The Challenge: A song from the perspective of your pet.
You made me get all misty eyed...damn you Mr. Durand.
Edric Haleen (The Ballad Of Procrustes)
The Challenge: A song from the point of view of a character from Greek Mythology.
As I mentioned, this was Edric's baby. He started the project, so I was expecting good things from his song. It would have looked bad for him to enter a stinker, but he stepped up. It was a fun song, and it was definitely "singable" (something I harp on Edric about sometimes).
I did like the song, but I did have a couple problems with it. The first issue I had wasn't really Edric's fault. I don't like having to look up background info on songs to fully understand them. Since I know nothing about Greek mythology, I had to wiki a couple things to fully understand the song. Not really hard, but still annoying. The second issue I had is his "big reveal'. Now let me just say that Edric brought this part on himself, because he kinda prides himself on the big reveal...or so it seems. Maybe it's just me, but I saw the ending coming a mile away. With anyone else I probably wouldn't have mentioned it, or cared...but like I said...this is Edric.
It may not seem like I liked the song, but it was in fact one of my favorites. I'm just nit-picking...because I can...
The Offhand Band (Do It 'Duet')
The Challenge: A duet that's not a love song.
Cute song about a 'worker' & 'player' having a conflict, but finding a middle ground that works for everyone. Sometimes whatever effect that was used for the vocals distracted me, but it was very enjoyable. I wouldn't mind adding this to one of my work CD's for when I do daycare jobs.
Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteLet me add my own personal favorite to the mix. Charlie McCarron had to write a song based on the notion of empathy. Well -- he did.
A beautiful song, song in parallel across the span of decades by a young Anne Frank and an aging former Nazi officer. http://spintown.bandcamp.com/track/learn-from-me
(And that's only about half of the great songs written for this album!)
Travis -- I have to laugh at one thing you wrote. "Maybe it's just me, but I saw the ending coming a mile away." My mom similarly rolled her eyes at the end of the song, and said, "Of COURSE Edric would end the song like that!"
But please remember -- I'm just being true to the story there! Theseus did in fact kill Procrustes at the end of that story -- it was the final "trial" he endured before getting to Athens to find his father. (And he borrowed Hercules' penchant for killing bad guys in the same manner as the bad guys practiced themselves!)
http://www.authorama.com/old-greek-stories-15.html
:-D
I actually liked Charlies, but it would have been nice to have a little backstory along with the song. As I was listening I felt like there was more to it, and that I was in the dark about sometime. Makes a lot more since after reading your comment.
ReplyDeleteOh, and true to the story or not...you were predictable. :p
I know. I get that a lot...
ReplyDelete#predictableandedricispredictable
;-)
Hey, Travis, really glad you liked the song. Thanks so much for the review and for helping bring some attention to the whole cycle project!
ReplyDeleteMark a.k.a. OHB