[.ca] Smilin'

Rockapella, wella, wella, wella!:
If you enjoy real vocal skill you have to hear this. Once again Rockapella gets you movin. With songs like Surfin Safari, Shambala and Smile In My Heart you get to be crazy, smooth and in love. You have most likely heard the originals of a few of the tunes on this album but you will enjoy Rockapella's versions just as much if not more. With their rich vocals and harmonies this is a great one to listen to whenever you want.

Disappointed Fan:
I have been a Rockapella fan for years and I have many of their albums. After listening to this album many times very closely, I must say that I am very disappointed. The group takes a step backwards with this album, going back to a previous style of sound that they used in some of their Japanese albums. I can't understand why they did this, since their latest albums have been more mainstream and hip. I found this CD to be cheesy, poorly arranged, and dull. Generally, the chorus of each song is way overdone and makes up most of the song. In fact, one song, Dance With Me, mostly consists of the chorus being repeated over and over again. How dull. The monotony of that song is broken up by one of the album's many cheesy moments, in which Kevin Wright's voice is altered to sound like a goofy announcer talking about a dance competition. Please. It's almost as if Rockapella wants to keep their kiddie-style image. Cheesapella strikes again with the intro to Summertime Blues. I can't play this for any of my friends due to the monkey-sounding grunting in the intro. Sorry. One can tell that the members of Rockapella recorded their tracks on the album separately, and that various sections of song were looped and spliced together. Not that there is anything wrong with studio techniques; they are often done to save time and usually go unnoticed. I do have problems with such shortcuts when they ruin the coherence of songs and are noticeable, which occurs throughout the entire album. A prime example of this is 2:34 into Hear Comes the Sun. What an ugly connection between two sections of the song. I almost thought my CD player had skipped. Another moment occurs 1:22 of Off My Mind, an example of the chorus and verses being recorded seperately and spliced together. The splice is just too obvious and not smooth. Many times the chorus melodies don't match up with the verse melodies very well at all. Pink Flamingo has a very catchy chorus but boring verses, and Jenny Come Away has the most annoying chorus I have ever heard in a Rockapella song to date. Off My Mind suffers from the same fate: a very promising beginning with a laid back groove of vocal percussion put down by Thatcher and a smooth verse sung by Scott followed by an annoying chorus that ruins the song. Surfing Safari makes my ears nauseated. The arrangment is just obnoxious and ruins the song. The middle of the song is very cool, though, and offers a much needed break from the dreadful sounds of the actual song. My final complaint involves Scott, the high tenor. Must he screech on every song? The guy's voice is incredible, but he seems preoccupied with including at least one part in every song in which he belts out a high note, which either ruins any sort of soft mood that occurs in a song, seems out of place, or is just grating to the ears. It got old very fast. Let's see, 2:05 into Shambala, 2:33 into Flamingo Sing, 42 seconds into Here Comes the Sun, all of Summertime Blues, 2:55 into Smile in My Heart, various parts in Jenny Come Away, and most of Surfing Safari. When he comes in on Here Comes the Sun, I cringe. The shining parts of the song, few and far between, are No Doubt at All, Lazy River, the style of song in Off My Mind, most of the vocal percussion, and the very beginning of Jenny Come Away. I wish I could send the rest of the album back for tweaking, because it definitely gave me the Summertime Blues.

DO IT ROCKAPELLA!:
This is a great CD! It may not be the best there is, but it is certainly better than some of the music I've heard lately. It blends old-time classics like Shambala to modern songs, like Surfin' Safari. Whether you're listening to it in the car, or if you're just listening to it while you're sitting around, it's the ultimate summer CD.

Awesome:
I have to say that this is one of the best Rockapella albums I've heard yet. It ranks up there with Don't Tell Me You Do and In Concert. I really like Here Comes The Sun, Summertime Blues, Dance With Me, No Doubt At All, Surfin' Safari, and Shambala. The whole album is upbeat and fun and I really like the vocal percussion.

A soundtrack to the summer:
One of the qualities I love about Rockapella is their sound is always evolving, but they sometimes stop along the way just to have fun. Criticizing this album for being less lush than 2, or over or underprocessed, or less "live" than In Concert overlooks the fact that "Smilin'" is simply about having a good time and taking time out from the seriousness in life. This album is different, but that's what makes it special. Like it or not, Smilin' is energetic and playful, yet relaxing and makes a wonderful lounging in the backyard/crusing on a summer roadtrip soundtrack. Try to imagine the events of a summer weekend "down the shore" and these songs evoke beautiful imagery. Think boat rides, jet-skis, beach volleyball, porch swings, and summer love. While some criticize the album for being cover-heavy, I say Rockapella puts a new spin on some familiar and not so familiar tunes. Dance with Me has more pizzaz than the original tune by Orleans. It's mid-song breakdown is playful and rhythmic. If its cheesy, then heck I love cheese! Lazy River, complete with an old-time radio-ish snippet of In the Good Old Summertime is just plain dreamy. Off my Mind is an original I'd like to see featured in concert; simple but captivating. This is our last chance to hear beloved bass Barry Carl with Rockapella, and our first to meet George Baldi. For this reason, and the aforementioned, this album is a must-have for Rockapella fans.

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