Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

Non-Prog CD Reviews

Jim Wellman Dawn to Dusk Review by Gary Hill Thematically, this is definitely music for thinking persons. That said, the killer jazzy grooves, appeal to your soul and body. The mix is quite intriguing. Some songs have female lead vocals. Some have male sung lead vocals. Others have male spoken vocals. The topics are fairly deep and meant to get you thinking. While you are thinking, though, you are likely to find yourself grooving along to the music. It’s infectious. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Lucy Percussion leads the album off, and they take it out into a killer jazz jam that really feels like something that could have come out in the 1970s. The bass brings some funk. The female vocals bring some serious class.

Lewontin Campbell A little less energetic than the opening piece, this is a great jazz tune nonetheless. Instead of the female lead vocals, we get male ones. The song is a real powerhouse with a great bass line. This song isn’t as instantly captivating as the first one was, but it’s still quite successful.

Probably Good I really like this song. It might be a bit more towards a pop rock sound, but the jazz elements still shine all over this thing. It sees the return of the female lead vocals, and they really shine.

Premature Truth There is more of an AOR rock vibe here, even leaning toward prog rock at times. The vocals are of the male variety and some are spoken. It’s an intriguing piece of music overall, really. It’s different, and more artistic than some of the rest. It holds up quite well.

Feedback Loop I really dig the funk on this song. It’s only vocals are spoken. They are essentially a two way conversation about the science of evolution. That’s brought in by a phone ringing and it is obvious that one of the voices is at the remote end of the conversation. The music basically serves as a soundtrack.

Night of the Meme With male sung vocals, this is a smooth jazz journey. It has some scat vocals later in the run. It’s quite a pretty and classy song.

Red or Blue Funky jazz with female vocals makes up this cut. It is another feels like it would fit well in the 1970s really.

For The First Time Female lead vocals drive this one. Musically it’s not a huge change. It seems to be about the possibilities of modern technology changing society for the better. I dig the rhythm section solo bit. When it comes out of there it really makes me think of George Benson quite a bit.

Happy Song With both male and female vocals prevalent, this has a bit of a Latin groove to it, Beyond that it’s not a huge change. It is a fun cut, though.

Cynical Century This one feels a bit more like a proggy, jazzy kind of pop rock sound. It’s a lot like something Dream Academy would have done, though. And yes, that means there are definitely Beatles musical references here.

Let the People Rule Ya Drums start this cut off, and they work out from there into a killer uptempo jazz jam. The vocals are both male and female on this number, and the groove really works well. There are some spoken words on this, too.

More CD Reviews

Metal/Prog Metal

Non-Prog

Progressive Rock

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
© 2025 Music Street Journal Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com