RARB REVIEW

School: MIT
Group: Logarhythms
Album: Songs From The Bagel

Total time: 70:42, 24 songs
Tracks 1-12, 24 recorded 1992-93
Tracks 13-23 recorded 1993-94

Track Listing

Good Old A Cappella (6.2)
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (5.0)
Linden Lea (5.2)
Leave It Like It Is (6.2)
Sweet and Lovely (6.6)
Twisting (6.8)
Closer to Fine (6.2)
I'll Still be Loving You (5.6)
Steamroller (6.2)
Limburger Sandwich (6.0)
Don't Fear the Reaper (6.4)
Doctor Me (6.6)
All My Loving (6.4)
Friday I'm in Love (5.6)
There Is A Ship (7.4)
Bohemian Rhapsody (7.4)
All Through the Night (6.4)
Galileo (7.0)
Heart of My Heart (5.6)
Somebody (6.8)
There Be None of Beauty's Daughters (5.6)
Speed Racer (6.2)
Leave It (7.6)
The Long Day Closes (6.4)

Reviews

This album was reviewed by five members of RARB. In this compilation, their comments are always listed in a consistent order. Thus, for each song (and in the "overall" section), all comments numbered "1" are from the same reviewer, as are those numbered "2", etc.

Overall

This male a cappella group gets off to a bit of a slow start on this album, but fear not, they greatly improve after the first couple of songs. This album includes an unusually large number of choral pieces, including traditional, madrigal and barbershop styles. This type of singing is clearly the strength of the group. They work well together and consistently demonstrate smooth blend and masterful use of dynamics. On some of the other songs, however, the Logs could be much tighter with their rhythm and tuning. It is primarily the pop songs that suffer from less discipline. Because of this, the Logs do not always sound consistent — sometimes they are really together, and sometimes they are all over the place. The group could also benefit from some vocal percussion in their pop selections, though they do make use of some effective snaps and hand claps at times. Overall, Songs from the Bagel is worth a listen if you are a fan of tight choral harmony and don't mind some other songs in between.
Rating: 6 (6.9)
The album really varied. Some songs were very crisp and polished while others sounded like they just figured the arrangement out earlier in the evening. With 24 songs on the album, I think it's a challenge to learn all of those and do all of them perfectly. They have some outstanding basses, but their mixes tended to be bass heavy. They could have had some nice effects by completely dropping the bass lines for a verse or two here and there since it's normally so strong. In general, this group is very solid, as is most of the album. I just they're capable of taking it to a higher level and haven't done that yet.
Rating: 7 (6.7)
I really want to commend the Logarhythms for the diversity of this album. There's such pressure these days for groups to follow the cutting edge and sing weird stuff from the alternative charts. The Logs have some current numbers, but they also have older standards, choral stuff and a little barbershop. I love hearing college groups do ensemble work, and it sells very well to alumni. They do have a tendency, however, to do lots of stuff by their favorite artists (Indigo Girls? Queen?) — I'd rather hear more variety among the contemporary songs. This group doesn't have any showboat voices or arrangers, but they do a lot with what they have. The one problem throughout is their "blurry" sound which leads to imprecision. I think it comes from the second tenors mostly, but at times all the parts have this muddied blend of untrained voices that takes away from their arrangements. No vocal percussion to speak of, and nothing too ambitious, but this is a nice little album and a decent listen.
Rating: 7 (6.6)
They sound a lot like the Skidmore Bandersnatchers would if they took themselves a lot more seriously and had more pedestrian bass lines. They have very similar song choices, but the 'Logs don't do them tongue-in-cheek. The bass line thing is compounded by the fact that on the earlier recordings they are very bottom-heavy. They also remind me of the UNC Clef Hangers, especially the soloists. All their slow songs sound the same — very traditional. The sound quality is extremely uneven — about half of the tracks are significantly thinner and more distant sounding than the other half. Their name strikes me as being very ironic, as most of their songs would be much improved by the addition of a little rhythm. There is really no need to have 7 slow traditional ensemble numbers that all sound the same. The reason I keep reiterating this point in the song critiques is because I am repeatedly annoyed by it. I also don't really like this trend of putting eight hundred songs on a cd from different years, although I totally understand why groups do it, but it doesn't make for a very listenable cd. No one wants to listen to 24 _a cappella_ songs in a row no matter who's doing them. I like many of their song choices a lot, though — original and good songs to do _a cappella_. With a little editing, this cd could be quite a bit better than it currently is.
Rating: 5 (4.3)
The Logarhythms have a great feel for the traditional ensemble- type pieces, and they invariably do these very well. In the modern cover tunes they suffer from generally weak solos (though there are exceptions) and a tendency to go flat on the high notes. Interestingly, the more challenging the arrangement, the better they seem to perform it.
Rating: 7 (7.0)

Individual Tracks

Good Old A Cappella (6.2)
1. This is a groovy tune, street corner doo-wop style. The solo is good, and there is a very nice change in dynamics in the middle. There are a couple of places where the rhythm becomes hazy and the group is not quite together, but it is pretty good overall.
  Rating: 5
2. The basses at the beginning were far too rigid, and I thought the song dragged a bit. I think this song can really be used to get an audience into a performance, but this version was just too stiff for it. The blend was incredible, and the soloist had a great voice. They just need to take the song to the next level. The gratuitous use of street corner sounds at the beginning was kind of cheesy.
  Rating: 7
3. I like the intro a lot, with the street corner noises — the "live" parts have much more energy than the rest of the song. Much as I usually dislike covers of Nylons songs, this one is well done.
  Rating: 8
4. Intro is kind of cute, adds to the on-the-road theme that they have for half the album. They over-enunciate — for once I can understand all the words, but that and the slow tempo make it a not very exciting version of this song. Soloists are also kind of stiff. Arr. not very original. But they are on pitch and in synch, and it's not bad, just mildly boring.
  Rating: 5
5. Competent, but lacks excitement.
  Rating: 6
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (5.0)
1. Great song choice and a good arrangement. The energy level is high, and is sustained throughout, but this song suffers from major tuning problems in the background, from the outset and all the way through.
  Rating: 3
2. Turn down the reverb!!! It sounded like they were in an echo chamber on this one, and it really made it difficult to hear all the parts. The tuning was a little off in parts, but the group's timing was excellent.
  Rating: 6
3. Background "dobedowas" are very muddy. I like the single soloist, and thought the double leads were less clear. The background was not very precise and general, and there is a distinct lack of dynamic interpretation. The ending sounded off.
  Rating: 5
4. Not well balanced between parts, can't hear soloists, kind of muddy-sounding — the sound quality changes noticeably between the last song and this one. Nice percussion. Overly predictable use of unison. Basses aren't audible on lowest notes.
  Rating: 5
5. OK, but the lead is a bit too reserved for me.
  Rating: 6
Linden Lea (5.2)
1. This is a pretty song, madrigal style. The arrangement is full and has movement of different parts at different times. The tuning and blend in this one are much better than in the last song. Here is the first glimpse of the group's mastery of dynamics.
  Rating: 6
2. Some of the high parts were off and a bit strained. This is a nice traditional piece, but it needed a lot of fine tuning. I felt like they practiced until everyone knew their pitches and then they recorded it.
  Rating: 4
3. I like the idea of college groups doing madrigals a lot, and they seem to enjoy singing this one. But this one is not done very well. The pitch is often questionable, and like a lot of all-male ensembles, the Logs have trouble keeping any of the harmonies crisp. Unless perfectly executed, lower harmonies blur easily, and these are no exception.
  Rating: 5
4. Not my kind of song, but a change of pace, at least. A little heavy-handed. This song, especially coming right after the previous two, makes them sound a little bit stuck in the 50s. They don't blend as well as they need to, to be able to do this song well.
  Rating: 4
5. Beautiful tune, very nice arrangement. One of the better performances.
  Rating: 7
Leave It Like It Is (6.2)
1. The solo on this song is rich and smooth. The background arrangement is simple, but it works with this light tune. There is an unexpected and very effective change in dynamics in here as well.
  Rating: 7
2. The soloist was excellent. The rest of the song didn't do a lot for me. I had never heard it before and it just didn't draw me in. On the other side, it didn't push me away either. If the background vocals could have incorporated some harmonies with some of the lyrics rather than just being "doot doot..." it may have been more interesting.
  Rating: 6
3. The soloist is smooth and mellow, and although not flashy does an excellent job. The general mood of the song is good, but the high tenors sound consistently flat on the higher sections. The bass is nice.
  Rating: 5
4. Lead's voice is nice and resonant, however it sounds like the background is not even in the same room as him, in fact they sound like they're live (in terms of sound quality, not energy) and he sounds _very_ studio. Basses are off-rhythm with each other. I like this song, though. This song in particular sounds like it could have come off of Safari (by the Clef Hangers).
  Rating: 6
5. Excellent lead, nice feel in the background voices.
  Rating: 7
Sweet and Lovely (6.6)
1. This one is classic barbershop, which you don't hear much of in college a cappella groups. The tempo and rhythm vary in this song, and the group stays with it all the way through. Rich harmony and great blend.
  Rating: 8
2. Another traditional barbershop-type song, but with a much, much better blend than Linden Lea.
  Rating: 7
3. Yay barbershop! This is well done for a college group — in my personal experience, it's tough to get a bunch of people who have never sung this style before and are not exceptional musicians to do this well. The pitch on this is pretty good — it's a pity the overall blend is blurry.
  Rating: 7
4. Bad song order, to put three slow/ballad-like songs in a row. Sounds like an inferior version of "Linden Lea". There are just too many songs of this genre on the album, and this is not one of the better ones.
  Rating: 3
5. A nice change-of-pace BBS number. The tuning is a bit more stable here than usual.
  Rating: 8
Twisting (6.8)
1. This light and boppy tune has great energy — it moves. An interesting arrangement with movement in the background. Every pitch may not be right on, but it almost doesn't matter because the notes are short and the song moves on.
  Rating: 8
2. Hard to make out the lead vocals, but outside of that, the song was pretty cool. The arrangement was pretty cool.
  Rating: 7
3. The high tenors sound very good here — clean and easy, and the background in general comes together more than on other parts of the album. The choruses have a good ring and overcome that blurry sound that the Logs seem to always have. The energy is a plus.
  Rating: 8
4. I am very impressed that they thought to do this song _a cappella_, however the execution doesn't quite live up to the original. The best parts of the arrangement are the ones that depart from direct imitation, and in this regard the chorus is quite successful. They should have only used one soloist though.
  Rating: 4
5. Energy is great, ensemble a bit shaky. I really like this as an a cappella number.
  Rating: 7
Closer to Fine (6.2)
1. This is a good arrangement of a song which I thought would be hard to translate to a cappella. The sound is faithful to the original. The background is really together, and the solo is good — it's sung with feeling, but is not overdone. Nice ending.
  Rating: 8
2. Well... it could have been done worse. The bass line was far too strong, and the numerous people attempting to simulate acoustic guitars just didn't cut it. When you have that many people singing "ba-da-da-da-da" that fast, it's going to get muddy. I think they did a good job, but I think they should have tried to put a new twist on the song by doing it a cappella rather than trying to use their voices to duplicate the original.
  Rating: 6
3. Both of the soloists have talent, but neither of them is particularly suited to the song, and they don't always blend together. This is particularly noticeable at the beginning of the song, but they settle in during the middle of the song. The background isn't bad, but has the usual occasional pitch problem and overall blurry feel persist. Still, this is a good rendition of a song that's tough to do a cappella and tougher for an all-male group.
  Rating: 7
4. A very straight rendition of the song, without much soul. Also too slow, although the instrumental part is nice. Soloists are plaintive and slightly awkward. Arrangement is also rather busy, yet the bass line is boring. Bad choice of syllables.
  Rating: 4
5. Excellent leads, and it was nice to hear some application of dynamics. The backgrounds, however, could hardly have been more interesting to sing than they were to listen to.
  Rating: 6
I'll Still be Loving You (5.6)
1. This is a pretty and mellow ballad, in contrast to the last two songs. The solo has a sweet voice, but is a little weak. The rest of the group supports him well, though, and the chorus stands out due to the nice blend.
  Rating: 6
2. The tuning was a bit off, and the chord phrasing could have been done better to create a much better blend. It sounded to thin to me. This is another song that it sounds like they didn't fine tune it enough.
  Rating: 6
3. This is a nice song, but the pitch problems kill it. The slow complicated chords of the intro and verse are not the Logs' strength. The choruses are pretty good and save the song from utter disaster, as somehow the weakish soloist and weird background come together and manage to leave their problems behind.
  Rating: 5
4. The background sounds off at times, and unintentionally dissonant. Arrangement is kind of random, although parts of it are very pretty. Solo also sometimes a little flat. Again blend is not very good.
  Rating: 3
5. I really like the treatment of the chorus, and this is a much better handling of the background voices.
  Rating: 8
Steamroller (6.2)
1. It's not easy to sing the blues, and the soloist on this one doesn't have quite enough soul, but it's a good effort and not bad overall. The arrangement is pretty good, and the basses are noteworthy, but the background sounds a little uncontrolled at times.
  Rating: 5
2. The soloist, Tyler Shubert, did a great job again. They really kept the energy in the song, but it was quite different from the original, making it enjoyable.
  Rating: 8
3. I would like this better, I think, if I hadn't heard the original. The background is good, the tempo nice, but the soloist is very different from what I have come to expect from the song. This song could really benefit from a little emotion — while they have energy, both the background and the soloist never seem to really connect with the country twang/swing/oomph of the song.
  Rating: 6
4. This is, again, a great song to do _a cappella_. arrangement is kind of weird though — parts of it work, but others are marred by bad choice of syllables, particularly for the basses. Solo doesn't get into it enough — he has a nice voice, although sometimes a little cartoonish. When the background gets louder on the last verse, the solo fades into the mix in a distressing way. This is one song on which they have enough rhythm to carry it off. The fact that the snapping is not always on only adds to the feeling of jamming.
  Rating: 6
5. I think this is the first blues I've heard on a collegiate CD, which is kind of neat. Decent arrangement as well, though it's a bit reserved for the genre.
  Rating: 6
Limburger Sandwich (6.0)
1. Here is a lighthearted song in the barbershop style. The cute lyrics lend a touch of humor to the album. The cutoffs are tight and the harmony and blend are very good. The pitch seems to waver at the very end.
  Rating: 6
2. Your typical humorous barbershop type song. The harmonies were solid. Well done.
  Rating: 8
3. Nice but blurry. What else can I say? The words are neat — I'll bet this would have been a gas with some unsuspecting woman on stage and the guys all clustered around. I approve.
  Rating: 6
4. Not as funny as it wants to be. Not badly sung, but not particularly interesting. The only thing I find amusing about it is the very end.
  Rating: 3
5. Another BBS number, nicely done.
  Rating: 7
Don't Fear the Reaper (6.4)
1. Good, rocking song choice. A good beginning starts it off well. There are some tuning problems, though. The harmony is slightly off at times. But the arrangement is good — lots of parts, as well as percussion give it a full sound.
  Rating: 6
2. It sounded like they took the song down a few steps, but I don't have the original here to compare. I was just waiting for a high harmony. The tuning was off in parts, but overall all, the song was pretty cool. A little more polishing, and I think they've got a winner.
  Rating: 7
3. This has a much crisper, almost more comfortable, feel than most of the others. The background is interesting, and pretty well executed, occasional pitch question not withstanding. The solo line is blends well. There's some really cool percussion stuff. A good listen overall.
  Rating: 8
4. Sound quality of this song again is a deterioration from the previous ones. It sounds like they are either live, or trying to mix as if they are in a church, or both. This song strikes me as being very random. Parts of this arrangement are quite decent, as are the swells. Nice and consistent percussion. A good ending is marred by someone's huge in-drawn breath.
  Rating: 5
5. Standard arrangement with a bit more reverb and some auxiliary percussion. Musically, this just as boring as the original.
  Rating: 6
Doctor Me (6.6)
1. This is a clever medley of Pocket Full of Kryptonite, Little Miss Can't Be Wrong, and Two Princes. The Spin Doctors' songs lend themselves well to a medley, and the transitions between them are smooth. The first and last songs in the medley are the best, since the middle song is weakly arranged. Overall, it's good, but is somewhat lengthy. Good, tight ending.
  Rating: 8
2. The background rhythms just bothered me. I think the syncopation needed to be a little more subtle. Another case of too much "doot doot" going on constantly in the background. The second song in the medley (Little Miss Can't Be Wrong) was much better, and the transition to Two Princes was very cool. Take out the first song of the medley, and you make this much better.
  Rating: 7
3. Pocket Full of Kryptonite gets only a six, but the other two are deserving of at least the eight so that's what I gave the medley. Kryptonite has a good beginning and the soloist does an admirable job. The background, repetitive and fast as it is, lends itself easily to pitch inconsistencies, but the parts that differ from that one repetitive Spin Doctors riff are nice. You get the feeling that they liked rehearsing this one. Little Miss Can't Be Wrong was very well done — nice solo, strong background. Good transition into Two Princes, which is also well done, especially the scat part. The end is nifty, and you get to hear that awesome scat guy again.
  Rating: 8
4. Severe lack of rhythm in this medley — not that the Spin Doctors are the funkiest band ever, but they do have some semblance of it — as well as lame syllables and too much emphasis on the high parts, and not enough on the bass line. Ridiculous choice of lines to echo ("the bitch is gone") with the tenors/baris. First solo's voice too thin and top notes are off. All of it is too slow, and too choral for the type of song, although parts of arrangements are mildly ambitious. The end of "Two Princes" degenerates before leading into thoroughly predictable unison.
  Rating: 3
5. Three songs with syncopated backgrounds, but syncopation doesn't really sit well without some sort of steady beat against which to measure it (I kept expecting to hear handclaps or a walking bassline to nail down the meter). Solid arrangement
  Rating: 7
All My Loving (6.4)
1. This is a high-energy arrangement, and since it is a live recording, the energy level of the performance is especially high. It is a solid rendition of the Beatles' classic, and the snaps keep it moving, but it isn't as tight as it could be, particularly the entrances.
  Rating: 7
2. Good solid song. There's so many good songs from the Beatles' era that can be easily done a cappella, and really help to solidify a group's abilities, and this is a good example.
  Rating: 8
3. The middle soloist is very good, and the obbligato on top of him is great too. The beginning section is decent, but, blurry and lacking definition. Once he comes in, the soloist has a lovely clear voice and seems to like the song.
  Rating: 7
4. Traditional (read: boring) arrangement, although not bad. More or less perfunctory solos. Sound quality is very thin - a live track, and it sounds like it. It has the appropriate amount of energy, though.
  Rating: 4
5. (A live recording) Good energy, usual arrangement. Ensemble in the beginning is sloppy, but improves steadily as the song progresses.
  Rating: 6
Friday I'm in Love (5.6)
1. This song, like the last one, has good energy in the background. The arrangement is very repetitive, however, and tends to get boring. I like the voice quality and confidence of the soloist.
  Rating: 5
2. The driving melody of the song really didn't come out from the background vocals, it was too masked. Once again, they worked too hard at imitating the original, which just isn't going to compare. Unless done extremely well, voices are lousy at simulating instruments. If you had enough people to sing every note in a beautiful piano piece, it just won't sound as good. Take advantage of the human voice, and do something different with it.
  Rating: 6
3. This is musically _really_ well done. The background is crisp and precise, the soloist nice, etc. etc. But it loses the song entirely. If the King's Singers tried to do a Cure song, it would sound just like this.
  Rating: 7
4. I hardly even recognize this song — they make it sound like some fifties song with a very male-a cappella-tradition arrangement. I'm not a big fan of it (the arr.) anyway — they always use the same syllable ("daba"), and it's getting old — plus it's very busy.
  Rating: 3
5. Excellent lead, good feel.
  Rating: 7
There Is A Ship (7.4)
1. This is a beautifully arranged version of a traditional song (which was also recorded by James Taylor under the title "The Water Is Wide"). It is very well sung by the Logarhythms. The choral blend is excellent, and the sound is soft yet strong.
  Rating: 9
2. Traditional barbershop song again, but a cool arrangement as the parts slowly come in. The mix was a bit bass heavy though.
  Rating: 7
3. This is a nice arrangement of the melody some of us know as "the Water is Wide." The bass gets lost sometimes — they don't quite have the range — but it's very pretty. Less blurry too. :]
  Rating: 8
4. Nice segue into "The Water is Wide". The later songs like this are more listenable than the others, but it still gets boring to have so many songs that basically sound like the same song over and over with merely a change of lyrics to hold our interest.
  Rating: 4
5. A King's Singers arrangement, performed with an excellent feel. My favorite cut on the CD.
  Rating: 9
Bohemian Rhapsody (7.4)
1. This song is a difficult undertaking for any a cappella group, and I was impressed with this version. There are some neat studio effects, most noticeable with headphones. The solos are good, and the background is together. The arrangement is good, and the choral parts are great. Well done.
  Rating: 9
2. This was surprisingly good. I was scared to hear it at first, expecting the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think the choral version of the piano accompaniment was a bit too strong, and needed to be more delicate. The thunderbolts and lightning section was more like powder puffs and flashlights, but I expected that, it would be really hard to capture the strength of the original.
  Rating: 7
3. Nice beginning, As one might expect, the first tenors have noticeable problems at times, but really this is a decent effort at a bitch of a song.
  Rating: 7
4. Not quite as crisp as it needs to be to pull this song off. The faster section shows that they could do much better (more pop- sensible) arrangements of the contemporary songs they do. Great percussion in that one part. Some of the solos sound too country for this song. Not _badly_ realized, though; it just could be better. I'd forgotten how funny the song really is.
  Rating: 6
5. An ambitious undertaking for any group. This is a good arrangement which the group performs well. Ensemble hangs together well, even in places where the modulations in the arrangement are weak or ambiguous.
  Rating: 8
All Through the Night (6.4)
1. Here is another traditional choral piece, which is a strong genre for this group. They have a strong, full sound, with good blend and nice balance, and great use of dynamics to boot. A very pretty song.
  Rating: 8
2. Another traditional song, but not as strong as some of the other ones. The timing wasn't as good, but not that bad.
  Rating: 6
3. Along the same lines as There is a Ship but not as good. Pitch is iffy and the whole sound is very breathy, blurry. Some lines are very good, but overall not quite up to par. The song itself is pretty but unassuming, and this arrangement doesn't overcome that.
  Rating: 6
4. I like this song better than the other slow songs like it, maybe because I'm more familiar with it than with the others. Also the arr. is simpler, although sometimes a little overpowering for the song.
  Rating: 4
5. The traditional Welsh lullaby in a largely traditional, very nice arrangement. Very well done.
  Rating: 8
Galileo (7.0)
1. Their second Indigo Girls cover, this is a great song choice, and is very well arranged. The soloist is well-suited to the song, with just enough emotion and soul. This one is full and solid, and very well put together.
  Rating: 9
2. Better than Closer To Fine, but still not quite there. The soloist has a great voice, but I don't think it made up for the lack of female voices in the song. More could have been done with the background vocals to spruce it up.
  Rating: 7
3. Mellow and unpretentious. I like the soloist — relaxed and competent, if not flashy. The arrangement doesn't try to do very much but is appropriately executed. It doesn't have the flair of the original but is a nice listen.
  Rating: 7
4. The most prominent thing about this song to _me_ is the percussion, of which they have none, _and_ they don't replace it with anything very compelling. Again radical change in sound quality. Blend isn't all that good, and the arr. sounds very discombobulated. Solo isn't bad, and some of the descants are nice.
  Rating: 5
5. Solid arrangement and performance.
  Rating: 7
Heart of My Heart (5.6)
1. Yet another classic barbershop selection, this song is notable for its nice blend and balance, as has been seen in the other songs of this style on the album. Following the last track, though, it is a bit drab.
  Rating: 7
2. Short, simple full-harmony piece. Nothing spectacular, decent filler.
  Rating: 6
3. Nice little barbershop bit. Gets reeeal shaky at times, but also has some surprisingly nice moments, and there doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason as to where — a lot of the hard chords sound better than the easier stuff. I like the lyrics.
  Rating: 6
4. Not bad, just redundant. It doesn't add anything to the album, and is not measurably different from the other slow songs, except for being randomly short.
  Rating: 2
5. Another traditional BBS number nicely done.
  Rating: 7
Somebody (6.8)
1. I have heard many a cappella versions of this song, and this one is more upbeat than usual, which I like because it keeps it from dragging. Once again the background blend is good. Nice use of dynamics — good control. I like the way this is sung by the group, rather than by a soloist.
  Rating: 7
2. This was a very nice ballad. They did more with the background vocals rather than just "doot doot" and it paid off.
  Rating: 8
3. Not bad — a tad to fast and and lacking in inspiration. The soloist sounds decent, the background is acceptable, but the solo just doesn't sound like he's in love. It's like an intellectual exercise in love songs — needs something. The ensemble verse has more feeling, and some neat chords, but not all the improv works. Given the Logs style, though, I think the chorale effect is almost more successful than just the straight stuff.
  Rating: 6
4. The plaintive soloist makes this song sound like an entirely different kind of song. arrangement isn't bad though, in fact this song suits the 'Logs well, although there's something kind of bizarre about hearing this song with _such_ a traditional treatment (the third verse is sung by the entire group). It sounds very pretty though, especially the end. Strange heartbeat-like noise throughout the song — if that's percussion, I'd love to know how they made it.
  Rating: 6
5. The arrangement is better than the song, and apart from the occasional tuning glitches the performance is quite good. Unfortunately, the click track is audible through most of the piece.
  Rating: 7
There Be None of Beauty's Daughters (5.6)
1. This is another full, pretty choral piece. Just as in the other songs like it, the Logs demonstrate their strengths: soft harmonies and smooth blend, and the group working as a whole.
  Rating: 6
2. Another traditional tune. I started getting tired of these songs by now, as there wasn't enough good tracks between them to break it up. I think they needed to pick the order of songs a little better, so this song would have stood out a little better.
  Rating: 6
3. More choral stuff. Nothing too extraordinary here. Nice enough, fun for alumni.
  Rating: 5
4. Another one. Mildly interesting chords at one point, as well as archaic lyrics, are distinguishing factors. The swell on "swell" is uneven.
  Rating: 3
5. The Logarhythms do these ensemble pieces extremely well.
  Rating: 8
Speed Racer (6.2)
1. Wow, what a sharp contrast in style to the previous two songs. The group lulls you into peacefulness, and then zaps you with this one, which is not a bad thing. This cut does sound very much like the TV theme, but despite the nice sound effects, it is a bit sloppy and on the flat side at times.
  Rating: 5
2. Here's a change from the traditional songs... This was quite refreshing, and I could picture the TV show in my head. Nice change of pace!
  Rating: 7
3. This is really fun. Good scat-chords, good execution, upbeatness. Energy is a rare commodity on this album and this song has it in spades. Short sweet and peppy — I approve.
  Rating: 8
4. This is a perfect song to do _a cappella_ — I'm so amused. They also do it appropriately, with 50's lead vocals. Pretty cute arrangement. I love this song. Only thing I don't like is the way that the two soloists are sometimes not quite in synch.
  Rating: 6
5. Cute piece, reasonable arrangement, atrocious tuning.
  Rating: 5
Leave It (7.6)
1. An interesting arrangement, complete with vocal percussion, which is unusual on this album and a definite bonus on this song. It is full and strong, and the timing is on. Well sung.
  Rating: 8
2. Where's the bass at the beginning? Too much pitch bending going on in the background vocals for most of the songs, this is one song where they should have been more rigid as they are in most songs, and they weren't. The vocal percussion was GREAT. Some of the falsetto work left a lot to be desired.
  Rating: 7
3. Nice opening. This is one of the best all-male arrangements of this song I have heard. The Log's one foray into vocal percussion is successful if not overly ambitious, the chords are crisp, and the high stuff is in tune. The solos are decent too.
  Rating: 8
4. Suddenly they sound like a completely different group. Percussion and everything. Arrangement is very nice, understated, as are the solos. The only things I have quibbles with are the overly enunciated opening, and the way that they bury the chorus "Leave it!" in the background, and the slightly ridiculous falsetto in the end. In many ways though, this is the best version I've heard yet of this song, as well as being the best song on this album.
  Rating: 7
5. One of the better versions of this I've heard. The CD allows the subtleties of the background to be appreciated; things which might be completely inaudible in concert.
  Rating: 8
The Long Day Closes (6.4)
1. This is a nice, soothing song with which to end the album. It is soft and gentle, and at the same time smooth and steady. The basses are good and the group achieves a very nice choral sound. The dramatic crescendos and decrescendos are excellent.
  Rating: 9
2. Nice closer, but yet another traditional choral harmony piece. I would have ended the album with something that will stick out more in the typical college student's mind. The song was sung well, but it just didn't stick out amidst all the other choral pieces.
  Rating: 6
3. This one doesn't do much to distinguish itself. I like the grand unison over-a-few-octaves effect they invoke at times, and I'll bet it would be very well received at an old folks home or cocktail party. You laugh, but songs like these are very useful, and that set tends to have bigger checkbooks with which to buy CDs.
  Rating: 6
4. Especially by the time this song comes on, I'm entirely sick of this type of song, no matter how well done. Which they are not, although arguably they're not bad. The point remains that they're not good enough or even distinguishable enough from each other to justify putting _seven_ of them on the same album. This one is all right, their blend is better than most of the others, but at times blares unnecessarily in an attempt at dynamics.
  Rating: 3
5. What great dynamic control! And the balance is equally good.
  Rating: 8

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