Search - Jerry Kiernan :: Ocean Wanderer

Painfully Ordinary, Painfully Simple... just Painful...

bordersj2 | Boston | 09/15/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"To be honest, I don't know a great deal about the artist or their history. But upon some quick research you can tell that the beach and California is certainly loved. Looking at the product information here, what I expected was to hear consistent atmospheric music, highlighted by Spanish guitar work. But what was it that I got?



An act that has it's work cut out for them. The guitar play was very disjointed. It's as if the musicians had entirely different songs in their heads as they played. Never mind that on several occasions you could hear that they were woefully out of tune. But maybe more annoying on this album was that the background 'beat-machine' sounded awefully mid-80's Casio-ish. After every song, I was left wondering if this was inspired by sailboats and the ocean, or Death Valley & tumbleweed. If I had to say one thing positive, it would be that if there was just one guitar, and ther ewasn't any other sounds or effects in the music (this means no casio beats, no casio guitar, no casio bass), while this would still fall short, it might be better. Assuming the songs and directions changed. There is some talent here. But unfortunately it's largely washed away.



I can't recommend this. The beat's the same on every song (not that it matters, because the play . The tone's the same & the production work is non-existent. It's a real train-wreck. And when the core's poor to begin with, so goes the rest of the album. If you want to hear better Spanish guitar, stick to the masters like Segovia. If you want to be taken to the beach, listen to bossa nova. But this is a release that you'll be hard-pressed to ever play again. Just listen to "Determined Drift"... a song loaded with rifts determined to make the already proven impossible work somehow; yet fail. But the biggest surprise of all, is that this is the THIRD album they've released."

If you love acoustic guitar solos, don't get this.

M. A. Ramos | Florida USA | 09/04/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I cannot even classify the type of music it is. You will hear a mix of styles from flamenco to Jazz. And just when you think you can enjoy it the style changes and the music seems interrupted by the percussionist. The mix of songs does not work well together and I could hear no theme as the artist claimed to aim for.



I was not inspired at all when I listened to this music. And instead of the providing me with "an escape to inner tranquility whether observed from the shoreline or during an excursion at sea", I felt like I was in a storm.



I love listening to solo acoustic guitar. And this guitarist is obviously skilled, but does not lay out the type of music I feel is going to be offered. And the songs seem to be more discordant jam sessions with no one listening to what the other is playing. I gave it three stars (closer to two perhaps) because of the obvious skill of the player and it some of the songs you can hear great potential. I just think this CD needs to me rethought and remixed for my taste.

"

Ocean Wanderer - Feels Like "A 3 Hour Tour"; Needs Work

Mark | East Coast | 09/15/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Ocean Wanderer manages to do something that is both depressing and uncommon - it makes me regret purchasing a music CD. This album may only be about an hour long, but it feels like the "three hour tour" from Gilligan's Island. The weather starts getting rough, your journey turns very rough, and before long you're in a place you didn't plan on ending up.



I am very generous when it comes to art, understanding that it is subjective and everybody has their own preferences. And I also know how nerve-wracking it is to put yourself out there and perform for others. Unfortunately, I also know too much about music recording to give this CD more than 2 stars with a straight face.



There are several problems with this recording; alternately weak and mediocre compositions, poor quality recording, excessive layering and an incoherent ordering of tracks all rear their ugly heads. You can also hear instruments that are incorrectly mic-ed or not mic-ed at all and sections where the instruments are way out of sync.



But even with all those faults, it's clear that this album had no producer. When an artist produces their own work, they had better be entirely objective and extremely exacting. Those are two very hard things to be when it comes to your own work. A producer and recording engineer would have heard how far out of sync the layers on the first two tracks get. Instead, the artist sounds like they produced this one with minimal re-takes and very little time spent in mastering. The results are not good.



What is most confusing perhaps is that several tracks do show potential. One can certainly hear some ability on some of them, but then out of nowhere some simple notes sound off. Still, it seems like none of the less impressive portions were stripped away and instead everything was just layed down in the hopes of "getting it out there." A professional manager, producer, or even a decent recording engineer would have stopped you from doing that to yourself Jerry.



I personally did not recieve this as a preview record and actually purchased this with my own money. At the present time it looks like I am the only one guilty of that offense to write a review. I realize that others may love this, but it was not my cup of tea. I love music of all kinds, and the description seemed right up my alley. I will never again purchase instrumental music without an MP3 preview.



Some tracks, like tracks 5 and 10, partly prevent the album from being a total loss. But for most people, that will simply not be enough reason to purchase this. Even on the better tracks, there are abrupt tempo changes that seem to defy any musical logic. So the good tracks are only 70% good, and the bad tracks are completely bad.



I almost purchased the first two CDs when I saw this was one in a series. After hearing this, it would take a lot to even give those albums away to me for free. If they ever do land on my desk, I will keep an open mind. But with this recording's faults that is a very big "if." Even though there are some decent aspects hidden within this, they are not nearly enough to warrant the price of admission.



Sorry Jerry, it's back to the drawing board.

"