About the Reviewer:
Andre is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related and strived to become a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed “Guitar Nerd” Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording.
Overall Impression:
With its heartfelt lyrics, excellent performances, and wonderfully arranged musical ideas, “Have A Little Faith” is a great piece of songwriting that is both feel-good in nature and delicate in its execution. The Silvers have written a catchy and uplifting track that is layered with interesting concepts and a keen eye for detail, great work!
Strongest Point(s):
To start with, the lyrics are great and are expressed well through the smartly understated vocal performance, they fit the style of the track perfectly. The performances across the board are extremely strong and full of subtle nuances, the guitar harmonics first heard at 0:46 are marvelous, and I like how these little details have been sprinkled throughout the track, they are inspired and show a great amount of attention to detail. The instrumentation is rich and varied and has plenty of contrast in terms of tone and texture. I love the little nod to James Bond at 0:38 in which the main theme can be heard on electric guitar, it was a great Easter egg to discover! The short guitar solo at the end is tasteful and a perfect way to bring the song to a close. The production and overall mix are great and have both clarity and polish, the nuance of the performances and musical ideas have been captured expertly and ensures the listener is kept engaged throughout the track, great job!
Area(s) of Improvement:
I wouldn’t say this is an area to improve, but the main vocals, which have been double-tracked, are curiously split and panned to the left and right, where it would be more expected to have the main vocals placed center and extra vocals panned around them, the backing vocals are placed in the center but you would expect these elements to be reversed, backings to the left and right and main lead down the center, but I understand this might have been a stylistic choice, just something I thought I’d mention, either way, this is a great track and doesn’t need any further improvements. (Note: the reason the vocals are probably panned is that there are two different people singing lead vocal and each is panned to opposite sides.)
Target Audience Appeal:
This will certainly appeal to fans of soft rock, however, the artist targets that have been included, such as Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga don’t fit this style of music and belong to the modern pop genres, I would definitely stick to the rock genre as your main area to target.
Artist target suggestions:
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, R.E.M, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, XTC, Peter Droge, The Sons, Al Stewart, Neil Young, Soul Asylum, Steve Miller Band, The Eagles, John Mellencamp, Mudcrutch, Peter Frampton
Note: Here is the link to the remastered version done by Diamondisc Audio from a Drew Youngs mix and master. “Have A Little Faith” from the Rushmore album.
Categories: Music, Reviews, The Silvers
Leave a Reply