Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Yummy Muffin ft. Cyril]

I'm hungry now

***This piece was selected by an author of the Monthly Writing Contest Jan / Feb 2011***

Right, it's got some good buildup and it really does sound good when the intro finishes with a very strong beat. I love the way that it all seems to come together, with the yelling over the top of the track complimenting, as opposed to drowning it out, which can be a common issue.

Major judos to Cyril for his vocals and for the way you've made a redux with them on. Perhaps it was a little short, since I felt the vocals were just getting started and the song is over. Since you've got such a great intro, it wouldn't really work that well with looping either, so that;s a closed route for you.

Keep up the good work Rig and remember, only YOU can prevent school fires!

[Review Request Club]

[Castlevania DANCE Tower [B1K]]

Too short

It's fast, catchy and absorbing. However, there is one major catch and that is that the sound gets very old, very quickly. It doesn't quite loop right, with a half stutter step in between the end and start again, but that seems that it might clear up a little after a few passes... might just be me then.

Sadly, after those few passes, I had to stop it. Lengthening this piece out to 2-3 minutes would be a good idea, but then more work is required - variations in the main melody, plus adding a counter melody would help. Consider a bass solo, or something else with the drums, to keep people interested in the track, otherwise, even at a rave, you'll have problems with keeping the floor filled.

I'm not saying that you need to butcher this track, to keep it effective, but it's a little too basic in the current form, that's all.

[Review Request Club]

zzbtbest1000zz responds:

pfft, too short? That's the point, so I don't see where you're getting at with that

Besides that, thanks for the 6, man ^_^

By what you are saying, I suggest you should listen to my other works, they are fully developed. While this was made in 40 minutes, my others were made in larger time frames

[Brothas & Sistas!]

A little repetitive, but it could go somewhere

Getting yourself more vocal samples is the key here, as would be a little more variation in the melody (to me, that sounds pretty non-existent in the early going of the piece)

The pace is good, as is the beat. Combining them with something higher pitched and synth based would be the way forward, just to relieve the monotony of the piece. You cna change the melody, while leaving the bass the same. It makes such a difference to the dynamic of the track.

Pauses in the middle, to let people check that they are still alive, before launching off into another tirade is always another good thing to consider in the long run.

[Review Request Club]

Dj-GST responds:

Yeah, I'll make a melody for it if I do a full mix.

Thanks fir the review.

[Fat Joker-Redux]

Not bad, but still needs something

I think that there is huge potential here - the voice needs working on just a little, to make it slightly more ragged and "edgy", just helping to portray Ledger's infamous villain. Ragged breathing in the pauses could help, as could making it ever so slightly deeper, which would help the darker sides of the piece.

With the music, you've got a nice piece there, but I would ask that you turn that down, as it drowns out the vocal work in places and since that's what we want to look at primarily, no offence to the musician, you need to look at that. With the way that the dramatic pause was flanked by the raise in volume. That worked well. Getting there, but it just needs a little more, IMO.

[Review Request Club]

ForNoReason responds:

Ill keep working on it! Thanks!

[.:Dixieland Reborn:.]

Interesting... but not Jazz

With the way that this song has so much form and sounds pre-written, I'd personally say that it wasn't Jazz. From what I've heard, Jazz is the only type of music that you compose as you play through it, there and then. This sounds more like something that you might even dance a Charleston to, which is a completely different piece of music.

Nice, quirky and a very enjoyable listen, but I'd have considered lengthening this piece, combined with making it loop better, since there was an issue with how it pauses for a fraction of a second at the end. Curing that would certainly help.

The balance of the instruments is positive and you've certainly got a good ear for the sounds, but more variation and more in the way of song length would certainly help you here.

[Review Request Club]

camoshark responds:

Thanks for the review, thought I have to tell you you didn't do your homework, because this most certainely is Jazz!

It's from the archaic branch, though, so I guess there's place for confusion. It's called Dixieland Jazz, and it's what succeeded to ragtime in some way, and it's what lead to Jazz.

You should REALLY learn a bit about Jazz, because my friend got insulted quite a bit by your review stating that his song isn't Jazz while it's very clear you have no idea you have no clue as to what it is yourself. Just thought I'd point that out, it would be a good thing you'd check out a bit of it, it's good for your health!

As for the rest of the review, it's quite evident I'd have to lengthen it up, but you still kind of stated a point by saying part of the song comes from improvisation over a chord progression. Most of the time, it can even become longer than the theme itself! But of course, it isn't really called impro when I write it down, and I'm not that good writing solos for saxes and clarinets!

And finally, Variation... I wasn't really planing on making this a full-fledged song, it was supposed to simply be a pattern for dixie, but I wanted to post it here, so I repeated the theme and added a piano impro to make it sound otherwise.

Thanks for the review!

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert

[Essence of Memory]

Shame about the staic

A lovely tune that had just a little too much static on it for me - with the speakers on my laptop and in my headphones, there is quite a "fuzz" to the sounds at the height of the volume that they play at. I've tried turning the volume down here and it just isn't working.

I love the tempo and the fact that you've supported the piano with the strings, giving more balance to the piece, plus it seems such a well developed piece of music that you can rely on other areas rather than just the piano to pull this piece along. I'd suggest that adding a little (but not too much) percussion, just to give it a little breath of fresh air in the middle, towards the end of the tune. Just carry the beat and let the piano explore elsewhere, giving more variation and creativity to the piece as a whole.

[Review Request Club]

Sawdust responds:

Thanks for the review!

[The Clash Between]

Good sounds

Well, this is certainly a very nice sounding little piece that stirs the soul. You've got a lot of instruments in there and while I'd mess with the balance of the lead guitar, to make it sound a little less of an "echo", almost as if the lead is deep within a cave and the rest aren't, I'd say you're pretty spot on.

You need to find yourself someone that can make some icons for your pieces, as they would look better, being identified with a little album art.

The slower buildup and the light drums gives way spectacularly to a scene where I can see a sword fight taking place and the hero sits there, ready to swing his sword, a few sparks flying off the blades, as they clash and as quick as it was started, the enemy lies vanquished on the floor. The camera pans up to his face in a similar fashion to Final Fantasy.

Moonlight glints off the blade and the scene fades to black, as the hero exits. Awesome.

[Review Request Club]

tootsie10 responds:

that would be awesomely cool if only some one would put this in a movie of theres, yeah i am messing around with the lead trying defrent things with it to see what sounds good, I really appreciate the input and review! keep'in it real man!

[.:Project World(Middle-East):.]

Eastern Promise of Latin

So this has qualities of some sort of Middle-Eastern / Arabic sound, then it blends nicely into the Latin. A massive contrast of cultures, with the way that the Latinos are highly expressive and sexual with their dances and those cultures from the Middle East and Arabic nations are not that way inclined.

I think that the slow part wasn't really needed - you could speed it up a little, without leaving all of the pauses in there and it would blend more seamlessly into the faster paced Latin part of the track.

Certainly something I'd like to see people do is interpret this, as seeing how they work the dance out could be fantastic. Plus it will give you the recognition that you richly deserve for this piece in particular.

[Review Request Club]

camoshark responds:

Thanks for the review!

Actually, the reason why I put this under latin is that I feel the latin section actually refers to the whole folklore kind of music, and most certainly didn't come from lack of conciousness of the cultural differences that apply for each one...

The second part is actually also Arabic folklore, even if the can be similarities between them. The nomadic people of Middle-East are actually the ancestors of the common-known Gypsies, Roms, and such, making it a much more festive kind of music.

As for the interpretion part, well let's just say I didn't go to College in Composition just for the kicks... I'm planing on interpreting quite a few of my songs beginning next semester, and I already recorded one of my arrangements of Blue Rondo à la Turk, wich will be posted ASAP.

Glad you enjoyed the song, and that you dared review an Audio Request!

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert

[.:Groovin' High:.]

Synth Latin

The thing that I'd say that this track really needs is some sharp horns in there, to give it a crisp contrast and really sharpen it up for some of the moves that the dancers can make to this piece. I'd consider throwing in a complete pause, where a singer might yell "HEY!" or something similar, to add to the way that this tune builds itself.

When you get into a rhythm and start progressing with the tune, I was going great until that winding down outro, that kind of went against the grain of the piece, as I felt it. If you had the two note ending, without the way that the tune seemed to run out of power.

Yes, it could stand to be a little longer and lyrics would give it more of a feel of something along the lines of "Copa Cabana", but you've done a good job.

camoshark responds:

Thanks, great review here, Coop!

The brass you speak of will indeed probably be added once I extend the song. I kind of wanted it to have a cool feeling, whatnot somekind of lounge music, therefor the ending kind of fits.
If I'm going to extend it though, I probably wont keep it at that.

I'd absolutely love putting some lyrics on my songs, but I'm using a notation software, and not something like FL Studio or other things, and therefor can't add tracks over.

I'll do my best to make it better next time!

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert