by

Leonid Xanth
(Xanth)

Very nice. Good piano work (I like the "shadow" piano twinkling in the background), appropriate drumming, good melody. You have some good ideas that were realized in this song. The sax could use a little more work to make it more life-like (it sounds very MIDI-ish being so flat) and you had a couple places after a chord change where it just sounded off-tune---it might have been better to fade it out before the change and wait until at least a quarter-note into the chord change. The coronet/trumpet could use a little bit of perkiness to make it more interesting. A solid song with only minor cosmetic fixes that could turn it into an even better one. A richer bit of piano work or bassline work would also aid this. I list it as one of my 20 top Intermediate-level songs.

Nice intro; nice, simple drums. Catchy simple piano theme. Lil'bit hollow - not too much bass. Nice woodwind instruments; drums are lil'bit mechanic. Nearly no mood changes; theme is well-defined, but repetitive. Good panning, volume and sample work shown. Too little lead group instruments are in the tune, I'd recommend some basses / grand pianos in. The author is probably fellow russian :), I'd comment that it's not fair to show his origin, but... Well, the tune explains author's emotions and feelings towards our beloved river Volga correctly. That means no additional points, but that's good. Samples are really good. Overally - fine, classic intermediate entry with a few leaks. Little repeti- tive and too cheesy. Overal rate - 68, I think.

A very competent sounding song with excellent mixing. The background accompanyment does not in any way interfere with the melody lines which is commendable as it seems to be a difficult thing for many trackers to achieve and appreciate. The arpeggios in the background really add to the song and help add complexity without causing a cluttered sound. Some of the harmonies to the lead line do in parts seem to have difficulty fitting at times which is perhaps the biggest problem with the song. Apart from that this piece has a lot of appeal and is well composed.

This song reminded me of Sade. The great drum samples were downplayed by the redundant (but skillful) programming. The lead piano sample was played a little too far out of its range at times. Perhaps the multisample zones could have been adjusted some. The sax sample was a touch too synthy, and it almost made the song sound like stereotypical elevator music. The chord changes remained consistent with the style of the song without sounding repetitive. The piano on channel 16 was terriffic. Even though it was played very subtly, it added a great deal of definition to the overall sound. The mix was rather well controlled, more so than I would expect from an intermediate entry.

Well, no offense (this is my 20th vote so I am gettinb blunt) I have herad this type of song a million times and frankly am sick of it... it was very un creative, that is mostly the reason for the score. the technique didn't really impress me either.

percussion is great. Intro is great. Background chords are very nice. Piano lead is...not the great. Notes themselves aren't bad, but the sample doesn't do much for me, they seem kind of overloud, and a little reverb/echo would've done a lot for the "feel". Sax lead is handled much better, imho. Fits the style of the peice more, lays out a better mood, and is at the right volume. Cymbal crashes sometimes get cut off. Sax and Trumpet (?) duel is nice, but again the trumpet seems overpowering. Too loud. When you add in the piano, the sax is almost lost. Overall, this tune is very well crafted, but I wish the volumes on the piano and trumpet leads were lower. I'd have scored it in the 80's.