Post by Audiozoo on Jul 5, 2017 10:56:02 GMT
groverwindham.bandcamp.com/album/words-of-wisdom-2017-acoustic-effort
10 track album
approx. 37 minutes long
1. Heart Of Stone
That's some nice guitar techniques!
He is a good singer, he is singing about being himself
The mixing is good, there is some reverb on his voice, but it is not over-bearing
He is singing about not looking back with regrets
Getting up again after falling
the song has good structure
"you'll never heal yourself with a heart of stone"
there is a guitar solo at around 2:00, well done
he has good timing in his singing
all the instruments play together well (bass drums acoustic guitars)
2. Amos
This song has a harmonica in it. This is also in a different key from the previous song, some good variation.
This song is about Amos, a drunkard who once served the military.
This song is fun to listen to. it reminds me of Bob Dylan!
This music is quite easy listening, and quite relaxing.
Grover has some natural feeling vibrato to his voice.
Some nice guitar based plucking arpeggioes around 2:45, very nice to listen to.
3. Trying To See In
This song has a different rhythm to the previous too, more of a shuffle.
Blues scales, country & western genre.
The vocals are well paced out and relaxed.
I like how the lyrics take a question & answer type balance between the blue scale picking
Very skilled guitar playing, nice to listen to.
Always varied and natural. Fun feeling song.
"i wish that being myself was my only sin, always stuck on the outside, trying to see in."
Great songwriting! very poetic self-reflection.
4. Chasing Dreams
Slightly faster song, straight rhythm, no shuffle this time.
Drums back up the instruments - but i suspect it is actually guitar beating, not drums - there are no cymbals and it could be layered recordings.
I'm starting to realise this is recorded by a solo artist, it's not a band! That changes things.
I'm impressed to think that each layer of the recording is all coming from the same mind.
He is clearly able to adapt to fit different production roles; guitar strumming, lead line picking (very skillful), singing, songwriting, guitar beating and percussion.
All from one person. That's incredibly talented and valuable.
In Grover's songwriting, i notice that he varies his notation so well, it never gets tiring on the ear.
"i want holes in the soles of both my shoes, chasing dreams i've never seen."
Again, very poetic self-reflection. A signature!
5. Woman For Me
Shuffled rhythm. great album variation. Different key. Major scale with blue picking at the end of 8 bar phrases of vocals.
This song is about a woman, reminiscent on how she was not the type of woman for him, and searching for the right person.
Some really impressive guitar picking around 1:46.
Haha! Wow, that verse was pretty funny I would recommend this is the first song Grover shares with people. They will get to see his unique sense of humour.
This song is fun to listen to. Again that's common from Grover.
Quite a short song but very good.
6. Friends
Slower song. Major key. Seems pretty passionate & serious.
Grover is singing about love. You can really appreciate his singing ability in this song, as it is a lower tempo so his notes are more stretched.
There is a snare sounding percussion in this song, so it could be a drum.
I like how well Grover's song structures are paced out, quite unpredictable and non-repetitive, decorated with occasional guitar lead line picking, which is a great way to counteract the vocal lines.
I can hear a bass guitar in this, I do think Grover layered each instrument. Could be a band, still great songwriting either way.
Great solo around 2:30. Very creative & skilled work.
That was definitely a snare!
3:20, the guitar strums alone. A nice variation.
A longer song than the previous, but Grover's songwriting skills allow him to keep things varied so it doesn't feel like a 5 minute long song!
4:45 it's vocals and guitar strumming alone.
towards the end Grover hums then follows that with powerful vibrato. A great singer, singing from the heart.
7. Words Of Wisdom
This song has a shuffle, it's a bit faster than the previous, major key, no percussion so far.
Great variation from the previous song. Very well thought out.
Some percussion comes in around 0:49.
Grover sings in blues scales ostinatos over major/minor chord progressions.
12 bar blues type progression but it definitely sounds unique to Grover, even with a traditional production foundation.
Loving the guitar solo picking around 2:05.
A second verse built up after a strum around 2:12.
"you can take it with a grain of salt, or learn the hard way... you only cut once if you measure twice"
"You can't shake a whole tree expecting angels to fall out"
Grover has a unique sens of humour and is full of charisma in each song.
At a campfire, this would be exceptionally heartfelt & entertaining as a gig.
8. Hanging Around
Slower song, with a harmonica, and a major key bases.
Okay, this song has Grover singing in a higher vocal range than others, and he really sings well with great emotion.
This is another song I would recommend as a single release. He does remind me of Jack Black from tenacious D a bit. That's a good thing, I love Jack Black.
"living on love, and three chord blues" What a great line.
Poetic Self-reflection and a unique sense of humour, emotional singing songwriting and impressive guitar playing & emotional singing throughout.
There's a solo around 3:40. Short but colourful in quality.
The harmonica creates a nice culture-rich variety against the acoustic guitar backdrop.
9. A Billy Joe Shaver Song
This is a fun song. major key, Shuffled, Moderate tempo.
Harmonica decorations. Verses ended by short guitar plucking lead lines.
This is like a Norah Jones song!
"Good friends come to see me any time they get a little frown"
"and my woman she love me double, when i do a Billy Joe Shaver Song"
Such a fun song to listen to!
Song ends with muted strums.
10. Christmas in Rehab
6/8 timing, major key.
"they turned my favourite time of year into it sucks to be me"
I love this song.
"there's mountains of powder, and drinks to be had, everybody's at a party, but i'm at rehab"
It's just pure genius!
This song could easily be a single release too, because the purely unique sense of humour would really get people's attention.
Okay, so this is a a great album.
I instantly think 8/10 as a score, i hate not giving 10 but i have to just go by intuition. Maybe it's because this isn't the style of genre i usually listen to (it's labelled as blues, southern rock, boogie-woogie, singer-songwriter, Charleston)
BUT - If someone asked me if i want to listen to something from this genre, Grover Windham would be my personal first choice
That's some nice guitar techniques!
He is a good singer, he is singing about being himself
The mixing is good, there is some reverb on his voice, but it is not over-bearing
He is singing about not looking back with regrets
Getting up again after falling
the song has good structure
"you'll never heal yourself with a heart of stone"
there is a guitar solo at around 2:00, well done
he has good timing in his singing
all the instruments play together well (bass drums acoustic guitars)
2. Amos
This song has a harmonica in it. This is also in a different key from the previous song, some good variation.
This song is about Amos, a drunkard who once served the military.
This song is fun to listen to. it reminds me of Bob Dylan!
This music is quite easy listening, and quite relaxing.
Grover has some natural feeling vibrato to his voice.
Some nice guitar based plucking arpeggioes around 2:45, very nice to listen to.
3. Trying To See In
This song has a different rhythm to the previous too, more of a shuffle.
Blues scales, country & western genre.
The vocals are well paced out and relaxed.
I like how the lyrics take a question & answer type balance between the blue scale picking
Very skilled guitar playing, nice to listen to.
Always varied and natural. Fun feeling song.
"i wish that being myself was my only sin, always stuck on the outside, trying to see in."
Great songwriting! very poetic self-reflection.
4. Chasing Dreams
Slightly faster song, straight rhythm, no shuffle this time.
Drums back up the instruments - but i suspect it is actually guitar beating, not drums - there are no cymbals and it could be layered recordings.
I'm starting to realise this is recorded by a solo artist, it's not a band! That changes things.
I'm impressed to think that each layer of the recording is all coming from the same mind.
He is clearly able to adapt to fit different production roles; guitar strumming, lead line picking (very skillful), singing, songwriting, guitar beating and percussion.
All from one person. That's incredibly talented and valuable.
In Grover's songwriting, i notice that he varies his notation so well, it never gets tiring on the ear.
"i want holes in the soles of both my shoes, chasing dreams i've never seen."
Again, very poetic self-reflection. A signature!
5. Woman For Me
Shuffled rhythm. great album variation. Different key. Major scale with blue picking at the end of 8 bar phrases of vocals.
This song is about a woman, reminiscent on how she was not the type of woman for him, and searching for the right person.
Some really impressive guitar picking around 1:46.
Haha! Wow, that verse was pretty funny I would recommend this is the first song Grover shares with people. They will get to see his unique sense of humour.
This song is fun to listen to. Again that's common from Grover.
Quite a short song but very good.
6. Friends
Slower song. Major key. Seems pretty passionate & serious.
Grover is singing about love. You can really appreciate his singing ability in this song, as it is a lower tempo so his notes are more stretched.
There is a snare sounding percussion in this song, so it could be a drum.
I like how well Grover's song structures are paced out, quite unpredictable and non-repetitive, decorated with occasional guitar lead line picking, which is a great way to counteract the vocal lines.
I can hear a bass guitar in this, I do think Grover layered each instrument. Could be a band, still great songwriting either way.
Great solo around 2:30. Very creative & skilled work.
That was definitely a snare!
3:20, the guitar strums alone. A nice variation.
A longer song than the previous, but Grover's songwriting skills allow him to keep things varied so it doesn't feel like a 5 minute long song!
4:45 it's vocals and guitar strumming alone.
towards the end Grover hums then follows that with powerful vibrato. A great singer, singing from the heart.
7. Words Of Wisdom
This song has a shuffle, it's a bit faster than the previous, major key, no percussion so far.
Great variation from the previous song. Very well thought out.
Some percussion comes in around 0:49.
Grover sings in blues scales ostinatos over major/minor chord progressions.
12 bar blues type progression but it definitely sounds unique to Grover, even with a traditional production foundation.
Loving the guitar solo picking around 2:05.
A second verse built up after a strum around 2:12.
"you can take it with a grain of salt, or learn the hard way... you only cut once if you measure twice"
"You can't shake a whole tree expecting angels to fall out"
Grover has a unique sens of humour and is full of charisma in each song.
At a campfire, this would be exceptionally heartfelt & entertaining as a gig.
8. Hanging Around
Slower song, with a harmonica, and a major key bases.
Okay, this song has Grover singing in a higher vocal range than others, and he really sings well with great emotion.
This is another song I would recommend as a single release. He does remind me of Jack Black from tenacious D a bit. That's a good thing, I love Jack Black.
"living on love, and three chord blues" What a great line.
Poetic Self-reflection and a unique sense of humour, emotional singing songwriting and impressive guitar playing & emotional singing throughout.
There's a solo around 3:40. Short but colourful in quality.
The harmonica creates a nice culture-rich variety against the acoustic guitar backdrop.
9. A Billy Joe Shaver Song
This is a fun song. major key, Shuffled, Moderate tempo.
Harmonica decorations. Verses ended by short guitar plucking lead lines.
This is like a Norah Jones song!
"Good friends come to see me any time they get a little frown"
"and my woman she love me double, when i do a Billy Joe Shaver Song"
Such a fun song to listen to!
Song ends with muted strums.
10. Christmas in Rehab
6/8 timing, major key.
"they turned my favourite time of year into it sucks to be me"
I love this song.
"there's mountains of powder, and drinks to be had, everybody's at a party, but i'm at rehab"
It's just pure genius!
This song could easily be a single release too, because the purely unique sense of humour would really get people's attention.
Okay, so this is a a great album.
I instantly think 8/10 as a score, i hate not giving 10 but i have to just go by intuition. Maybe it's because this isn't the style of genre i usually listen to (it's labelled as blues, southern rock, boogie-woogie, singer-songwriter, Charleston)
BUT - If someone asked me if i want to listen to something from this genre, Grover Windham would be my personal first choice