The Great HTF Music Challenge (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

Seriously, how can you not just smile at this? Plus, Bruno Mars has the most incredible voice.

Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open.

 

[Malcolm R]

Just… not my cup of tea. I think I heard more than enough of this in my teens to set me for life. About every ten years I listen to the sole Frankie album I have… and I’m set for the next ten years.

I've never listened to any Frankie Goes to Hollywood other than "Relax" as that was the radio hit. Maybe I should check them out.

 

[John Dirk]

Dead or Alive, "Son of a Gun" - What I hear is just another generic 80s electronica style dance/pop tune. Absolutlely not a style I care for.

Rakim, "Microphone Fiend" - Nope, still just don't get it...

I feel somewhat compelled to continue commenting on the tracks from these styles in spite of feeling like a broken record with my comments. That's as much as anything so it won't be taken that I'm ignoring them. I *do* listen as there's always a chance one of them will strike my fancy...

At the current maturity level of this thread I decided a while back to comment only on selected submissions sheerly for times sake. When I submit material these days I pretty much already know what regular contributors to the thread will think, although there have certainly been some surprises. While I do look forward to your comments, I also respect your time. This particular track was submitted with others in mind.

 

[John Dirk]

This started off well. A little infusion of Rick James, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, it still has the common problem. It’s the same measure repeated over and over for five minutes. After a while, I’m ready to movie on.

Yea, as the accompanying comments sort of alluded, there's really nothing musical here. It's all in the lyrics and delivery.

 

[John Dirk]

Seriously, how can you not just smile at this? Plus, Bruno Mars has the most incredible voice.

Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open.

Wow!!! I had no idea Bruno Mars could sing like this. Uptown Funk [his biggest hit] contains no hint of this level of vocal talent.
Great find!

 

[JohnRice]

Wow!!! I had no idea Bruno Mars could sing like this. Uptown Funk [his biggest hit] contains no hint of this level of vocal talent.
Great find!

Silk Sonic just makes me happy. Plus, that song is hilarious.

 

[JohnRice]

At the current maturity level of this thread...

LOL!

I don't know how to interpret that.

 

[Malcolm R]

Ben Platt is best known for roles in Broadway musicals The Book of Mormon and Dear Evan Hanson, and film roles in the Pitch Perfect films and the title role in the filmed version of Evan Hanson. Just an Oscar short of an EGOT, he's received Tony, Grammy, and Emmy awards for his work, among other accolades. He's released a couple of pop albums, his most recent being "Reverie". One of my favorite tracks is "Come Back". Nothing really groundbreaking, but I like his voice and the song.

 

[sleroi]

Rakim - Microphone Fiend - I like the underlying beat, simple as it might be. But once the vocals started he lost me. I found his voice and the lyrics kind of monotonous. After two minutes I was ready for it to end, but it went on another 3 minutes.

Silk Sonic - this was a nice enough song, and the band grooved together well and seemed to be having fun. Im not familiar enough with Bruno Mars to know how revelatory his vocal chops are here by comparison, but nothing here blew me away.

Since I havent contributed in a while, here are a couple of songs by a relatively new rock band from Iceland that I recently stumbled across, the Vintage Caravan.

 

[John Dirk]

LOL!

I don't know how to interpret that.

OK - I see your point. I meant at the current post count. LOL!

 

[BobO'Link]

Silk Sonic, "Leave the Door Open" - Wow! Just Wow! That's excellent and sounds like a lost track from the "glory days" of 70s "Smooth Soul." The band "dancing" in sync while performing is exactly what I'd expect to see on a track like this - considering that in the 70s it'd have been sung by a quartet/quintet dancing in sync with the band in the background. Excellent choice!

 

[JohnRice]

I've never listened to any Frankie Goes to Hollywood other than "Relax" as that was the radio hit. Maybe I should check them out.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the one I have and is probably their most elaborate, almost progressive album. I think it's as good as they got.

 

[BobO'Link]

I've now listened to the entire "An Evening with Sonic Silk" album. It plays just like that one track - truly a "Lost album from the glory days of 70s Smooth Soul." I may have to add a copy of this one to my collection...

 

[JohnRice]

I've now listened to the entire "An Evening with Sonic Silk" album. It plays just like that one track - truly a "Lost album from the glory days of 70s Smooth Soul." I may have to add a copy of this one to my collection...

I don't know how closely you listened to the lyrics on Leave the Door Open, but it is absolutely hilarious. They are really having fun with it.

 

[Malcolm R]

I like the Silk Sonic tracks I've heard so far, including "Leave the Door Open", but I didn't think they sounded much different from Bruno Mars' other ballads (like "Versace on the Floor" or "When I Was Your Man"). I feel a little bad for Anderson .Paak as most of the time I hear these tracks referred to on the radio and in the press as simply "Bruno Mars" or "Bruno Mars and Silk Sonic". Kind of like Wham! in bygone days, when it was all about George Michael and the other half of the duo was mostly ignored.

 

[John Dirk]

Ben Platt - Come Back
His voice sounds fine but the overall track is somewhat uninspired as if it were written for a TV show or film and not intended for critical listening. I still enjoyed it but wouldn't consider it at all collectible.

Vintage Caravan:
Can't Get You Off My Mind
I can generally appreciate songs like this mainly for the intricacy in the guitar and drum tracks as opposed to the vocals, which I usually find quite lacking. In this case however I think the vocals are actually the standout feature and the heavy drums/guitar detract somewhat. That said, the guitar solo towards the end was decent.

Dark Times
This one feels more like a classic Rock track. I like the vocalist, which [as alluded above] is something I'm not used to in songs like these. I prefer this one to Can't Get You Off My Mind.

 

[John Dirk]

Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo is an R&B singer who presents himself as the "gentleman" of the industry. His dance style is similar and likely derivative of Michael Jackson. In addition to his own work, he is highly acclaimed as a producer and writer for other popular artists. I am not a huge fan but I do like a few of his selections and greatly appreciate their overall positivity. Here are a couple of sample tracks with the latter being my favorite.


Miss Independant


Champagne Life

 

[BobO'Link]

Ben Platt - Not bad but nothing really stands out. Sounds like a throw-away soundtrack type song.

The Vintage Caravan, "Can't Get You Off My Mind" & "Dark Times" - Well... the name fits. It certainly sounds like "vintage" prog-rock stuff. Otherwise it's rather generic sounding 70s style prog-rock. Accomplished, but generic/formulaic (in spite of the very odd time signatures in "Can't...").

 

[BobO'Link]

Ne-Yo, "Miss Independant" & "Champagne Life" - I agree about the 2nd being the better track, though I didn't much care for either. It sounds like he lifted vocals from Michael Jackson as well as some dance moves.

 

[JohnRice]

This first song rolled across iTunes at work today. I'd forgotten about this album, so here it is with another Jazz infused tune I like.

George Benson w/the Count Basie Orchestra - Walkin' My Baby Back Home





The Harry Connick Jr. Trio - Bayou Maharajah