Song: Back Up
Strongest Point(s)
Outstanding production, solid mix. Nice intro header, great rhythmic character. Charming sound and vibe, love the flute/piano combo. Rhythm section sits well in the back of the mix, allows the focus to be placed on the vocal, piano and flute. Nice shuffle groove. Great harmonic progressions, gorgeous extended jazz chord voicing. Fantastic piano vamp style and technique. Brilliant titular hook in the chorus, will absolutely stick with listeners. The stacked backing vox there add a ton of character and color. Instrumental section sounds terrific, breaks things up nicely. Nice repetition at the end, great sudden ending. Wonderful vocal performance; good phrasing and clarity, with an amicable, personable delivery style. Incredible lyrical content; tackles a universal subject that rarely receives any attention at all, and does so in a humorous and enlightened manner. Approaching the self-psychology of aging with such a timeless tune is a bit of delicious wit. All in all this is a tremendous work of song craft, and a fine finished track that actually has the potential to do some good in the world. Excellent job, by all involved!
Overall Impression
Texas-based singer/songwriter Dana Clark promotes healthy self-esteem and a positive body image, on her release of "Back Up." Featured on her 2019 album My Heart, this spirited track incorporates a light and lively jazz-pop arrangement consisting primarily of flute and piano, with a shuffling rhythm section that's comprised of electric guitar, bass and brushed snare drum. Clark delivers a wonderful vocal performance here, her gentle alto encouraging listeners of a certain age to abandon any hang-ups about personal appearance and strive to live life to its fullest. Its warm, inviting sound and self-affirming message make Dana Clark's "Back Up" an easy recommendation for adult music lovers of all types, particularly those with a taste for vocal jazz and vintage pop.
Vocals: Strength
Lyrics: Strength
Instrumental Performance/Execution: Strength
Melody/Rhythm: Strength
Recording Quality/Overall Mix: Strength
Arrangement/Flow: Strength
Reviewer: Steven Azami, a multi-instrumentalist with over 25 years of experience in the music industry as a touring/session player, a producer, and a music educator.
Song: When This Pandemic Ends
Strongest Point(s):
Both the lyrics and Dana's highly expressive vocal qualities are certainly a match made in heaven, Dana's vocal style is perfect for this style of track and her talents as a multi-instrumentalist can clearly be heard throughout. The fusing of genres certainly helps give the track its unique personality and it's great to hear Dana drawing inspiration from a number of styles that undoubtedly play an important role in her creative process, whether it'd be the ultra-hip sound of the Jazz flute or the highly expressive bluesy qualities of her keys playing, this is a performance that is an absolute joy to listen to, and when you add in the highly relatable nature of the lyrics on top of this, you get a song that feels endlessly replayable. Whilst the performances and writing are clearly of a very high standard, I would like to also mention the fantastic bouts of call and response that occur between the flute and keys throughout the track, not only does this provide some fantastic melodic character to the song but also gives the writing a feeling of momentum that listeners will thoroughly enjoy.
Overall Impression:
I think its safe to say that at some point throughout the pandemic we all probably went a tiny bit mad, we are but only humans after all, and Dana Clark's wonderfully quirky "When This Pandemic Ends" perfectly sums up the many feelings and scenarios that the majority of us found ourselves in, and does so with a great sense of humor and an even greater sense of musical creativity. Mixing elements of rock, jazz, and alternative styles together with a great sense of panache, Dana has done an excellent job of creating an engaging musical backdrop for her brilliantly conceived lyrics to flow over, giving listeners a solid listening experience that is superbly performed and fantastically written.
Vocals: Strength
Lyrics: Strength
Instrumental Performance/Execution: Strength
Melody/Rhythm: Strength
Arrangement/Flow: Strength
Recording Quality/Overall Mix: Strength
Reviewer: Andre Avanessian, freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the UK.Andre Avanessian