Hi Cap,
              Are you willing to review a "cover" of one of my songs?

"Right Here, Right Now” – Ian Rushton   a review (pt.1)

Before I begin, one of my son-in-laws, who also writes songs, commented on how beautiful your work is. He is significantly younger, so I thought I should mention that encouragement.

I wonder what it means that I'm looking for things that need improvement? I'm looking, but I'm not finding. I wonder at this attitude, because usually I look for the positive first. Maybe it's just that an uninterrupted peon of praise will sound fulsome.

But you have to play the cards your dealt, and Ian has dealt his listeners a royal flush with this production. The song is excellent and the video amazing.

I was particularly impressed with the costumes Ian is depicted as wearing in this video. He seems to have plundered Aragorn's wardrobe. Maybe, in as much as The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, that is somewhat appropriate. No idea how this was accomplished, but understand that the short answer is AI. Not that it would have been this polished without a great deal of work as well, I imagine, but I have no experience in such matters.

What I'm more accustomed to tackling is an assessment of the music, performance, and song-writing craftsmanship involved in artist submissions, so I will restrict myself to those things.

If I were to choose the most appealing element it would be the piano riff that is featured at the song's beginning, and that also follows the line, “Beyond the walls.” That drop down to the riff is gold. Secondly, I admire the way the song catapults off of the crescendo lines leading into the hook phrase, “Right here, right now!” Sinking the hook, as I have often maintained, is a key element in good – that is, memorable – song-craftsmanship. Excellent work!

In what is pretty much a flawless piece of work, I could wish for one word to be dropped. The line is “I stand in the glow of a night well freed.” Lose the article. “I stand in the glow of night well freed.” It fits much better. 

The instruments are well chosen; the sound is unified; the method matches the message. It sounds full, strong, and confident. And, again, as I've often asserted, good art features agreement between the sound and the substance. We have that here.

Speaking of unity. I think there is a similarity in the essential message behind every song by Ian Rushton that I have reviewed: they are songs written in defiance of age.

It's interesting how we each deal with the transitions of life differently. The expression, age is undefeated is oft repeated – hmm, nice rhyme there, I might use that! In any case, I can't avoid comparing my attitude to the aging process to Ian's inasmuch as we are both facing the advance of old age. One does face it more unavoidably as it inexorably advances. 

“Right Here, Right Now” – Ian Rushton   a review (pt.2)

I have a template I admired in my father. He lived into his mid 90's, which is not uncommon these days. What I found admirable in my dad was the way in which he graciously relinquished things he could no longer do well. He headed up various organizations, but when he discovered he could no longer provide the sort of leadership and service he once had, he stepped down – with no bitterness or resentment. Later, it became evident to many people in the tiny town where my mom and dad lived that dad's driving had become increasingly erratic – missing stop signs, for example. When he had this pointed out to him, by friends and family, not by police, he willingly surrendered his license. During the last years of his life, as he lost memory and acumen, he remained cheerful and kind. He was my hero; and I cannot think of a better model than my father.

As a result, when I discovered that critical memory lapses, coupled with an inability to remain fully awake and engaged in the afternoon, compromised my ability to teach, I retired at age 65. I didn't want full pay for a half job. However, the delightful consequence has been that I've had much more time to devote to music. And these last 5 years have been quite wonderful for me.

True, I'm not setting the world on fire, but I am enjoying the time God gives me. Creating, encouraging young people in my church, meeting with the elderly in the church, and reviewing tracks in an effort to encourage younger (usually younger) artists.

We all have to deal with changes in life differently. Just today I was thinking of an analogy that seemed true of my current creativity. I grew up in Toronto's West End. There is a huge park there called High Park. It contains a very large pond known as Grenadier Pond. Each year it freezes over in the winter, but the park has always had a small contingent of year round ducks and geese. They do not migrate but stay in the park through the winter. There is a very small area of water in the pond, located above its outflow into nearby Lake Ontario. The slight current there combined with the unrelenting efforts of the perennial waterfowl population, who swim in it all day, keep one small place from freezing. I think that is like my creativity these days. It is not expansive or shockingly innovative, but it keeps flowing, and I'm glad.

Now, Ian, you have been here often, and I have spent time carefully critiquing your work. Time to reverse the process. I have 2 lists on my artist page called 'Essential Cam1' and 'Essential Cam2'. Please, choose any song you wish, and give me your reaction. I'm not looking for a tome such as I write, just your considered opinion. And, I genuinely want honesty, not flattery. 

Musicality..........= 🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹
Lyricism.............= 📄📄📄📄 1/2 (A few lines might be improved but this is very good work.)
Vocals ...............= 🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️ (Strong singing from a mature voice.)
Overall Appeal..= 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Production.........= ✅✅✅✅✅

So shall we keep the momentum going?   As you enjoyed the 'plastic' so much previously, perhaps further indulgence in AI plasticised videos is warranted?  😀

A fantasy epic, stretching the self-deluded limits:

					
Right Here, Right Now
					

				


Time moves like a shadow, soft and slow
A dance of light where memories grow
The horizon is endless, the shadows recede
I stand in the glow of a life well freed.

The ember still glows in a twilight sky
A compass of stars as the days drift by
Each breath is a whisper, a tale untold
Through valleys of silver, I walk bold.

Right here, right now, a new dawn breaking
Horizons shift, my spirit's waking.
Right here, right now, chains of the past rust and fall
Right here, right now, destiny calls - beyond the wall

The path winds onward through hills and haze
Each dawn unveils its golden rays
I’ve found the place where heart and earth meet
A treasure unspoken, its rhythm complete.

Right here, right now, a new dawn breaking
Horizons shift, my spirit's waking.
Right here, right now, chains of the past rust and fall
Right here, right now, destiny calls - beyond the wall

Age is just a number in life’s design
A fire still burns, and the stars align
Each step I take, the horizon calls
I’m rising again as the twilight falls.

Right here, right now, a new dawn breaking
Horizons shift, my spirit's waking.
Right here, right now, chains of the past rust and fall
Right here, right now, destiny calls, Right here...right now!

“Still Here” – Ian Rushton (a review pt.1)

I delayed reviewing this track in favour of handling Thielus Grenon's offering for several reasons, the one pertaining to this track is that I wasn't sure how I felt about the song and wanted time to refelct. And that was BEFORE I watched the video! 

Life in plastic, It's fantastic!...to borrow from Aqua.

Wow, I say in stunned admiration of the product, yes, but even more of the tech involved in making it! The video features plasticized nature scenes, most of which are superimposed on a background best described as variations of Vincent Van Gogh's  “Starry Night”. Then, in the foreground, in overlay pic-to-cartoon, is a fully animated version of Ian Rushton himself – also plastic -- singing the song in question!

What is going on here and how?

Did Ian film himself singing the track and then run it through a cartooning app that rendered him in animated plastic? Or, did he use stills of himself and then summon an AI machine that uses CGI to make this manikin version of himself? The questions are sincere, and I would really like to know the answer, and the software involved!

Maybe a magician never explains his magic. We shall see.

In the meantime, I am genuinely searching for words to capture my reaction, for unlike the video my reactions are not unified. The video, for its part, is highly unified. While composed of disparate elements – nature, impressionist paintings, and Ian -- it is all melded into a highly compatible whole. That's an amazing accomplishment.

I think I'm a Luddite. I wrote a song recently called 
								 Cam7Song - A I Machine
							  that hints at how I feel.

Okay, enough of that. Let's turn to the song. I listened to the audio version several times before viewing the video.

Have you ever been eating a meal with someone and noticed that your companion has food on their face? I always find it disconcerting. Depending on how well you know the person, you can handle the matter differently – but handle it you must, for you can't tolerate it.

There's something similar happening with this song. Before I can talk about its virtues and beauty, I need to point to the thing that is spoiling its beauty and bothering me so disproportionately!

To go from metaphor to actual, many of the lines in this song do not fit the meter! Too many syllables: just that simple. It's like staring at four fat ladies crowding onto a bus bench made for 3. Ian is a really good and experienced lyricist so I wonder that he is not bothered by it.