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Paul Maged

Light Years Away

Review by Gary Hill

This set is a bit uneven. Personally, I tend to think that opener is the weakest cut here. The penultimate tune is probably the strongest. There is plenty of variety here. That said, this all fits loosely under "pop rock." It's nothing Earth-shattering, but there is plenty of entertaining music on this disc.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017  Volume 6 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.

Track by Track Review
Pc Police

This rocker has a real modern pop meets emo sound to it. It's energetic, bouncy and rather fun. I don't really like the vocal style or the lyrics, but still if you ignore that stuff this rocks.

Moment of Strength
Starting with keyboards, this is a bit more of a mellow rocker. There is definitely a 1970s element here, but merged with something more modern. This another energized pop rocker. I like the vocals and lyrics on this one far more than those on the opener. That makes this a much stronger piece. There is a definite soulful thing brought in on the fast paced jam later.
Light Years Away

A cool rocking guitar brings the title track into being. This is a solid pop rocker that works pretty well.

Ashley Jane
More of a power-ballad based number this is a nice change. It's actually one of the strongest cuts here, too. The harmonica adds something special, too.
Half Moon

Coming in as a slower, mellower balladic cut, this grows out to a melodic rocker. It's one of the strongest things here. In fact, it might be my favorite cut here. Everything just seems to gel really well on this number.

Like a Stone
Piano leads this out in classy ways. The number is a proggy kind of building ballad. It's another highlight of the disc. It's quite powerful and beautiful. There is a spoken dedication at the end.
Moment of Strength (Reprise)
As advertised we get a reprise of the earlier cut. This is just piano and voice. Although I tend to think that previous cut, without the dedication, would have made for a stronger close to the set, this works well enough.
 
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