Product Details

• Published on: 2009-10-26
• Released on: 2009-10-26
• Running time: 2267 seconds

Customer Reviews

Super Sampler!
Wow, what a treat! Mostly a mellow vibe with some funk tracks thrown in (#2 & #9) to shake it up a little. There's one long (somewhat discordant) instrument driven tune in the middle I didn't care for as much (#5), though most people will probably like it. For some reason, it reminded me a little bit of E.L.O., maybe it will grow on me...

(#3) The pure simplicity of acoustic guitar and Matt's vocal (I think I hear faint harmony in the background), with a nice guitar and harmonica instrumental in the middle of the song.
(#4) Reminds me of a "reined in" U2 or Coldplay.
(#7) Zee's voice and musical style is very much like recent popular artists Corinne Bailey Rae, Adele and - agghhh I'm having a brain freeze and can't think of their names - but you'll recognize the style. It features acoustic guitar, with percussion.
(#8) Reminds me of Jason Mraz.

Bottom Line: Great intro to these artists. I was not familiar with any of them except Jack Johnson.
Take it for a test drive - can't beat the price! I'm sure I'll be playing this a lot.

Great Mix Of *Folk* Rock And Some *New Wave*
The BRUSHFIRE RECORDS FALL 2009 SAMPLER has a pretty good selection of songs on it. The only name I recognized on the list was Jack Johnson but the rest of the tracks are great if you're into alternative rock.

To me, alternative rock sounds a lot like the folk rock of the late 60s and early 70s where the songs are like little song-stories. Simple sounding but with an important message, heavy on guitar or keyboard, mellow, and with a minimal accompaniment from other instruments, it's the singer that takes center stage. Think Laura Nyro, Carol King, James Taylor or Arlo Guthrie type songs and that's what most of these tracks remind me of.

Tracks 1,3,4,6,7, and 8 exemplify the above, perfectly. They're mostly mellow rock songs that tell a story and have a strong message in them.

Track 2 is a wonderful up-tempo song with a fun message and uses a harmonica throughout. I've never heard of this group before but this track is one of my favs on this sampler. They remind me of "Canned Heat."

Track 5 is very reminiscent of 80s New Wave music. Listening to this track and I swear I'm hearing shades of "Erasure," "Pet Shop Boys," and "Sparks." I don't know if that was this group's intention but it really brought me back to the 80's and listening to radio station KROQ.

Track 9 is another favorite of mine. This song is funky and has a good beat and reminds me of a combination of Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" and "Superstition," so it's very funky.

Anyway, since this was a free download, I suggest that you give it a try. It really does show a good variety of what's available on the "Brushfire Records" label and you can play it on iTunes.

I'm Impressed!
I have found a lot of the record company samplers to be just OK. This one though is impressive. I don't think there is a single clunker on the entire album.