Customer Reviews

Worn & Grazed: A Park the Van Sampler

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All-in-all, well worth the download. Not as *immediately* enjoyable as some more "mainstream" music - a bit more of a listener-participation flavor (ala Pink Floyd). If you want something melodic, understandable, laid-back, but a bit "edgy", you would likely enjoy this. If you do like this, you might try the Stackridge "Anyone For Tennis?" and the Barzuk sampler as well.

The songs are very listenable and creative. However, I found that some tracks seemed to need better production, at least for my "melodic preferences" (mainly in the first half). On some, the vocals seemed to have been filtered through a "make it tinny-buzzy" filter as if heard on an old AM radio, while the instruments still sounded "full". However, on others the sound was more balanced. There seemed to be a "general" preference for "odd" chords and backgrounds - not enough to detract really, and some might find these to be creative additions. There is also a leaning toward "odd" instrumental sounds (ala Pink Floyd for instance). I mostly liked the second half of the album more than the first half.

Like most samplers, I normally give each song/artist a fair "listen" before I pass judgement. So I downloaded the album. The tracks that appealed most was "The Old Dog" (Dr. Dog)with it's folksy yet alternative sound; "Summer Grof" (Sprinto) has that fun summer sound and just makes you feel happy ~ short, sweet, but catchy; "Ghosts of Perdition" (Pepi Ginsberg) is a smooth jazzy tune that's easy on the ears and puts you in that toe-tappin' mood ~ I like Ms. Ginsgerg's vocals; "Hey Little Kitty" starts with steel guitar and is another perky little song by The Peekers. I like the vocals. I don't know if "cute" is a positive or negative description depending on the listener, but I just can't get this "little kitty" song out of my head. Overall, I keep most of the songs in my playlist. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.

After a casual run through of this compilation, I was not all that impressed. I'll keep it around a while though and see if it grows on me. The saving grace track is There Was No One Before You, There Was No One Before Me by The High Strung. So Long by The Teeth is also not too bad. Reminds me of the big bombastic style of Roky Erickson.

I am used to Amazon and iTunes putting out mediocre, mostly hip-hop tunes. This offering is truly different from anything they have offered for free recently. I enjoyed listening to every tune and would like more of this kind of music available for free so everyone can enjoy music that is not over-dubbed and/or over-hyped.

Worn & Grazed has a very relaxed vibe going on. This is something to listen to when you are in the mood to just chill. Thankfully it is not the typical bubble gum pop or hideous rap garbage. This Indie music deserves a listen. If you don't like it at first, it will grow on you. And hey, for free, you can't beat the price to try something new and different. I am a huge supporter of Indie music because my husband is a musician with his own label.

In my opinion, this is the best free sampler available on amazon. The others are great, but this one gave me the most worthwhile songs. Make sure you check out "So Long" by The Teeth!

I feel bad writing a poor review of free music, but this sampler disappoints. From the samples, the album seemed to have a unique indie/quirky feel by meshing indie aesthetics with retro sounds. Unfortunately, the best of each song is what can be heard in the 30-second samples, and the full songs end up feeling stale, uninspired and generally uninteresting. After one full listen, I was finished, which is too bad, as I was rather excited for this sampler.

Just a bunch of mediocre pop-like songs that have been done hundreds of times by wannabe bands. The one exception is Rafter by Tulsa. It has an electronica vibe and well worth keeping if that genre is among your tastes. The rest I deleted.