The stand-out song on this C.D., for me, is "Everyman Wants To Be Free."
These are great musicians; I love the saxophone. I think they will become famous with a little more polishing of the Hoodlum Pharaohs' performance. They definitely have a club music sound, which I think club-goers will enjoy listening to, and dancing to.
The male vocalist is really good. I would like to hear him sing more of the lyrics instead of speaking so much... The exception would be the song about the condition of the world; the spoken portion of that track seemed right, and very appropriate.
The first few tracks were wonderful music, but a little too similar; they sounded a little repetitive.
The female back-up was lackluster in one of the earliest tracks, speaking without any emphasis or melodiousness. It would have been better without that on that particular track, even though I feel certain she is capable of singing well. It detracted a little from (rather than adding to) this particular song.
I liked the song "Send Me A Letter."
With regard to Track 14, I like the softness and gentleness of this track.
It would be nice to have something gentler interspersed between some of the first five tracks; those five sounded a little too similar as far as the music being played. The beat in all of those was good, but a little repetitive in general; however, the quality of the music in those was extremely good.
Track 1 would be good to dance to.
I like Track 2's saxophone and guitar playing.
Track 3 is my favorite track; I like the words, but it would be better with different music when the male vocalist sings.
I really liked the beat on Track 4, but the back-up singing was not very good. I like the words, and the saxophone playing was really good on this one. A little less like just talking too much, spoken words should be sung more of the time. The paino on this track sounds amateur.
I really like the varied sounds on Track 7; it's one of my favorites.
Track 8 sounds a little too repetitive.
Track 9 has something to say; it's very good.
Introduction by William Mortensen Vaughan
Music CD review by Frances Hawkins Green, edited by William Mortensen Vaughan
HOODLUM PHARAOHS - Do you think your audience and us are stupid and unsophisticated , do you author? Did you even take the time to listen to our CD? Or did you give your kid sister 10 bucks to take a listen and scribble scant notes for your lazy arse while you watched the latest Big Bang Theory episode on tv? What you wrote looks and reads like this to us and others: sloppy notes created in a hurry or borrowed without doing much homework and filled in to try and fool your readers and get a good grade! No homework and research needed everyone is just like me, they don't care! For the sake of our reading audience lets start again from the beginning dummy. We are all fully aware that artists from time to time get a poor review. That is perfectly acceptable to us. Wise artists can grow by paying attention to their reviews for better or worst and that's show biz! I don't just speak for myself when I recall that I mmade vast improvements as a musician partly through the useful yet sometimes cold cruel words of other musicians, myself included as I grew. However, with this "ri-veu" I've ran into a situation that I have never encountered. This article that you claim you wrote as a "ri-vewe" has many biased overtones founded underneath it's surface that one generally would never find in professional Rock Journalism. I know I almost married one of the most talented Rock Journalists and she would agree with every single word I have wrote here. None of us and the people we are connected with will accept your article at face value as one that is fair and truthful. We are in saddened that you would LIE to your readers and create ridicule about performances and large portions of our album that EVERYONE that has come in contact with can honestly tell you don't existent and can't be found anywhere on our CD or on any past CD's or anyone's CD anywhere! WE DO NOT HAVE A FEMALE VOCALIST ON THIS ALBUM! Your a liar and a bad one at that! I mean did you even read the credits man? CONTINUED BELOW
ReplyDeleteCONTINUED FROM ABOVE - Because that's where this phuk'd up lie of yours began! Again people that know our group and this album know you simply lied your way through this article or whatever it is, pure trash. If you had done your homework like a true journalist should, you would have found some music industry names that genuinly support us and would never if some of the things you said we're on our album were true! Our music does NOT have any history of trying to pass regular everyday speech spoken in the car for true singing that well from our individual sources for passion. It takes community members in the likes of THE KINKS, THE STONE ROSES and RONNIE SPECTOR (PHIL SPECTOR'S wife) to give you an idea of who pride's us and what we're doing besides our friends and family! In other words...You phukt up All this info is documented and can be found by simply putting our name into a google search box. It may take you countless hours to do all the required research, but it is all there documented so any one with proper morals could do a proper review. Something you never had any intention on doing! Therefore we have crap that you or someone else made up! "The female back-up was lackluster in one of the earliest tracks, speaking without any emphasis or melodiousness." Ya ok but WHERE is it ya stupid sHiTHeAd??? You made that up Jerk and I'm glad we caught you. Spoken word as a main vocal part on a song is something most musicians stay away from mostly, ourselves included. Unless for some reason it's just one of those "must-haves". Reciting poetry in a song or in a park is always good on some level as long as an audience can relate to the words and the poet's passion. So to be fair (unlike you) we do have a song on this album written and recited by a true poet about how we came to be as a people and culture through bloodshed and many wars and it's name is 'Tightrope'. It can be heard at the center of our album where it belongs and no where near the beginning. Your a fruit cake man!
ReplyDeleteAgain, does the negligent dummy that wrote this article think that us and his readers are a bunch of idiotic Baboons? Lets hope not. But let's continue just in case and also consider this. Hoodlum Pharaohs is made up of a very small handful of hand picked performers and together as artists they (we) represent decades of experience. So reader's please do yourselves a favor and ask yourselves this rather fun question to help light up the reality highway. Just how many music groups have you or your friends heard, that like us are professional enough to have a national record deal that extends internationally. Yet they have released this rather strange album they seriously put their very own life blood into where (examples) - OOOPS suddenly track 3's guitar parts became so out of tune that you stopped your car in the middle of the freeway and yanked out the battery or perhaps lets say during a chorus or verse the singer began to mumble with no obvious attempt to be a part of a serious music group? So, you guess the band members thought it was cool, its really terrible but we don't want to hurt the band members feelings and no ones heard it but you? Another: You loved the 1st song and songs 5-7 were cool...BUT... if only they would have used drums like most bands it would have sounded better... Uh here's another, the last 4 songs you truly enjoyed, yet you strongly imply to people to ignor any notion to listen to those tunes on their own because all 4 songs sound the same and we all nobody is going to do that after something like that has been said. Sound familiar? It should, this dum-phuk said the same thing about our 1st few songs on our album. That simply doesn't make any sense to me, I know the 1st few songs on the album well and there is a healthy element of continuity that should be present on any album.
ReplyDelete. CONTINUED FROM ABOVE - Yet I can't seem to come up with anything concrete that would make me feel as if they are somehow tied together in any other way to produce that. Please keep in mind that all our songs are test marketed first before we sort them for a release. Never not once has this topic ever been brought up about our songs all sounding the same. No never by anyone anywhere at any time and it would have somehow as it's one of things that always at the for front of our minds and let me say for the record test marketing your own music isn't always the easiest thing, people sometime express some difficult things right at you when it come to music! But the plus side is that they are also being genuine well they say something beautiful. This guy is such a pussy for lying to people, he was even trying to lie to us and we know our music better than anyone else obviously, especially after it's been test marketed! Lastly he tried or at least took a shot at permanently damaging ALL our natural attractions to music worldwide with an arrogant demeaning statement without explanation aimed at our hearts and minds. That statement presented as an insinuation was that repetition is not something good in music, it's bad, it is amateurish and somehow dangerously tasteless. I am livid! Please remember this. THERE CANNOT BE MUSIC WITHOUT REPETITION. Without it there are no melodies, harmonies, singing, lyrics, horns, guitars, grooves, Blue Beat, Dub, Jazz, Soul, Hip hop, swing, ocean waves in summer, pretty belly dancers and solid gold cigars to puff your love for life away with! Repetition IS music and music IS repetition and the more you have of one the more you must have of the other and this rule cannot be broken. Hoodlum Pharaohs has spoken, thank you for reading.
ReplyDeletePlease remember that you asked for the review, otherwise we would have been just as happy with an interview. I am sorry you are not happy with the review, but I am glad you posted your comments so everyone who is thinking of working with you can see your thoughts on the matter.
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