It was an interesting year to judge. After several listens, many songs moved up the list. Songs like Adenine and The Voice seemed to get better the more I listened to them. The instrumental Half Past Dawn had a melody I found myself humming over and over again but it just missed the Top 10. The uniqueness of Memories was hard to ignore and good rock songs like You're Everything and It Should Be Me made the list. My Samlor and One Foot On Your Doorsteps are songs with strong hooks and deserved to be in the final consideration as well. All of these songs moved up as I listened more. I had the same experience for the winners. The more I listened, the more I realized that No Hard Feelings, River Dance and Oliver Otter are so well-crafted they deserve to finish 1-2-3, respectively.
One other note: I usually don't suggest changes to songs in this process, but I felt compelled as I do believe there are a several songs with bigger opportunities beyond this competition. By the way, it's much easier for me to tell others what to do with their songs. Now if I could only apply my input to my own stuff. Thanks for including me in this great contest.
Here are my thoughts on the winners.
This song is one of those where it's just nice to listen to without the analysis that we writer/musicians typically impart. Certainly every song has strengths and weakness, but just about every word and syllable in this song is right where it should be. My sense is that this song was written by someone who has composed a lot of songs. This is so well crafted that one has to dig to find a problem with it.
The lyrics in the first verse set the stage for the song nicely. The melody in the verse is very skillfully understated, then at 40 seconds the setup for chorus brings some melodic intensity and you feel that something great is imminent. The melody and lyric in the chorus, especially the first two lines are perfectly married and unforgettable. The syllables work perfectly with the melody. Also, at 1:29, I love the line "I drowned in the bottle for weeks…".
Although I think the opening verse is good, the opening line is not as strong as it could be, I might have changed the opening line around where it starts with "Laughing like she had no scar while hanging out at the corner bar". I think it would have made the intro a little more unique and visual. But that is my suggestion for this song.
From a commercial perspective, this is a song that any artist could sing and has strong crossover potential as well. This could be sung with an acoustic guitar, sitting at a piano or it could be a good instrumental as well. I can close my eyes and hear numerous productions of this melody. That's what makes it great. I would love to hear more from this writer as my assumption is he/she has some other good stuff in the can. Great job and congrats!
This a very simple lyric with a complex melody that work well together. Interesting opening melody and lyric, then at 30 seconds it almost sounds like a different song. The melody and rhythm of it seem to carry the song at this point. Then again at 45 seconds, another part is added and it seems it could be a different song again. The chorus is brilliantly crafted and especially at 45 seconds where the melody hits a high note while singing the words "high as a mountain". Then again at 54 seconds when the words are "low, oh, oh" and the melody is moving down the staff. Very Bach-like. One seems to only remember the words "high" and "low" during the chorus because of this. Another interesting chorus note is that words "mountain" and "valley" feel like an intended rhyme although they are in two different phrases in the chorus.
I mentioned that it sounds like the parts of the song could be different songs. I say that with admiration and not criticism as I believe the writer probably doesn't hear it that way. These parts are woven together in the unique style of the writer, but a feel part of the bigger picture. This song was not in the running after the first listen, but I found myself humming the unique melodies of it over and over. It grew on me and "low, oh, oh" kept dancing through my head when I wasn't listening to it. This was probably the stickiest melodic phrase of this collection.
It would be interesting to hear other songs from this writer as I believe his/her style is a little non-mainstream, but not too far out there to be ignored. Great work!
This is a kids classic and you can see the video while listening. The description of Oliver and the easy to sing-a-long melody is as close to perfect as one can get in this genre. Like many other memorable nursery rhymes, this writer has skillfully created a song that children will remember their whole lives. The melody is easy to sing and very visual, which makes it even easier to remember. Some great lines, "come up with a coin on your nose" and "holding your paws like saying a prayer" are examples of the descriptive nature of the lyric. The song is full of vivid scenes and I would bet this writer works with kids or has a brood of their own.
Another strength of this song is that each verse and chorus starts with the words Oliver Otter. This is the straightforward brilliance of it. Kids will get this right away and then have the confidence to learn the lines that follow. Definitely a top 10 song from the beginning of this evaluation process. Excellent songwriting and kudos to this writer.
"Toothbrush on the sink", "lighter in my pocket", "arm on my shoulder" and just about every line in the song…all great. And it seems that many of the unique phrases in the verses have the same number of syllables which fastens the song together. "My heart still jumps when the telephone rings" is a great line that every listener will connect to. There are so many lines in this song that could be titles in another one. Very good lyric writing.
The more I listened the more I liked this. Inventive, well built, a very strong lyric and a quirky melody. Although this grew on me, it did not fare quite as well until I started scoring it. During the scoring process, I realized that this is a lot stronger than I had thought, but only lacks that needed melodic hook to win. Sometimes songs don't need an unforgettable chorus to be memorable and that is the case here. With that said, I would re-title this "You Stick Around" as that is the most memorable lyric in the song, but I still don't feel like the chorus was as memorable as the verses are unique. Overall, it's a sticky song and this writer should be very proud of this work. (One last note: I don't take the production into consideration at all when judging songwriting contests. However, this production is one of the best I have heard in a long time. Hats off to the producer and writer).
The opening line, "Some people say a man should never keep his feelings bottled up inside" is the perfect set-up for the song. Best opening line in this collection of songs. Another great line, "With the siren song she blinded me to dangers greater than I could've known". "I have scrambled up the mountainside but slid into the brambles down below", another clear image. This is an incredible lyric all the way through. You can remove the music from this and you have a great piece of poetry.
Although the melody is not the most aggressive I have ever heard, there is something mesmerizing about it. Like the song above, Memories, this song doesn't have a distinct hook and melody. In this case, it's hard to distinguish the chorus from the verse after one listen. The melody in the chorus is almost identical to the verse. It becomes clearer the more you listen, but I think this might be Achilles heal of the song. Hits grab the listener immediately and I don't think I would have gotten there with this song had I not listened to it a number of times.
With all that said, this has grown to become one of my favorites in the collection. I am going to recommend this and Adenine to a sizeable folk radio show that I am connected to. The lyric completely carries this song and the folk listener really doesn't care about any of the critical input mentioned here. Very nice work!
Another song that grew on me. One of the best hooks in the competition. The chorus on this song is extremely strong. The melody in the chorus is "folk", kinda "rock", but finishes the phrase "country". A well crafted song by a writing team that works well together. If this is not a team, then it's a pretty good songwriter who did this.
"Confession is no place for an honest man, to rationalize….." This is a fantastic line and I believe the best one in the song. If it was my song, I would move this entire verse to the front of the song. I realize that there might be some tweaking to do afterward, but I do believe this is the strongest verse in the song.
I thought the opening line, "Last night I left the bed where we lay sleeping" seemed a little forced. I might experiment rearranging the phrasing in the first verse to make the opening lyrics more effective. If that didn't work, I might bring the aforementioned verse to the forefront.
I would love to hear more of their stuff. Very well done.
Great theme and very believeable. Very strong hook, well constructed. Simple lyric with lots of feel written into it. The melody of the hook whines with the lyric. Perfect. Very nice setup to the chorus as well. Great truth in this song. Love the line, "I could have been your prize". Well done.
Very good hook, easy to sing-a-long with. Strong and memorable melody in the hook. A good marriage between the hook and melody. Good educational kids (and adult) song. I now know what a samlor is.
Verse lyrics are very uncomplicated, but delivered particularly well. By far, the best bridge in this contest. Good melodic hook, but the lyric in the hook may be overused in song. Very well done.
This grew on me as I listened more. I didn't connect with it at first, but as I listened further I realized this is a pretty skilled and seasoned writer. Lots of subtleties that aren't heard the first time through the song. As I mentioned above, I am going to recommend this song.
