Single Review: Rob Georg “When I Make It Home For Christmas”

Singer-songwriter Rob Georg is currently making a lot of noise down in Nashville. While there haven’t been many foreign-born artists that have chosen to follow in New Zealand-Australian singer, songwriter Keith Urban’s footsteps to make a name for themselves in the Country Music scene, one such artist is German-born cowboy/singer-songwriter/guitarist Rob Georg. Down in Nashville, Rob Georg has been releasing his songs and gaining a following because of his music. Having already released several singles that have garnered him praise such as making it into the US National Radio Hits AC Charts Top Ten for the song “This Ain’t My First Rodeo,” Georg is in the middle of completing his debut album which will be released sometime in 2020. But as for right now, Rob Georg is promoting a track perfect for the 2019 Christmas Season. Rob Georg’s new Christmas single is entitled “When I Make It Home for Christmas”. For this Christmas-themed track, Georg is joined by two other individuals: Corey Lee Barker (NACMAI songwriter of the year 2012) and Kristin K. Smith (writer, producer and vocal coach). Together, the three individuals created the track called “When I Make It Home for Christmas”. The song is not your usual Christmas fare as the lyrical content is not about Jingle Bells, Mistletoe, Sleigh Rides… This song is about so much more. This track is about spending time with your family for the holidays. More specifically, this song finds the main focal point of the track longing for the Holidays as he makes his way home from overseas, where he has been stationed as part of the military. The soldier in the song sings of the things he plans on doing once he makes it home to the one he loves, including covering her in kisses. Combining their efforts, Rob Georg, Corey Lee Barker and Kristin K. Smith have created a track that follows the more traditional Country feel to the music. Meaning that this track would fit in more with songs from Classic Country artists from the fifties, sixties and seventies rather than the artists currently creating Modern Country music with its Country/Rock blend. The track features a gentle pace as well as a soft musical approach with a strong Country feel to it. The mandolin and acoustic guitar at the beginning of the track set the pace as the rest of the instrumentation create that Classic Country feel. The piano and soft electric guitar on the track help to add depth to the track. “When I Make It Home for Christmas” from singer-songwriter/guitarist Rob Georg contains enough traditional Country feel that it could easily feel right at home among Bing Crosby’s “Jingle Bells,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” from Frank Sinatra, even “Tender Tennessee Christmas” from Amy Grant.

For more information, check out Rob Georg’s PR firm of Whiplash PR & Management by clicking on the logo for the company.

Find “When I Make It Home for Christmas” from Rob Georg HERE.

CD Review: Caroline Ferrante “Beyond”

Singer-songwriter Caroline Ferrante started out on the South Side of Chicago where she gained her knowledge of theater and voice. With this added knowledge, she ended up in the Washington, D.C. music scene where she has been making music ever since.

As a solo musician, Caroline Ferrante is constantly adding to her collection of songs. She has several releases under her name at the moment. Having already released Live from the Belfry, and Sky, Ferrante returns with yet another release called Beyond.

Beyond from Caroline Ferrante sets itself apart from her earlier releases as Ferrante shifted her style to take on a religious feel to the music on the four-song EP. While Ferrante stays true to her Folk music background, the addition of religious themes and words gives the tracks a much different feel than what had come before from the singer-songwriter.

Caroline Ferrante begins her Beyond release with the track “River Flow”. The track begins with a strong beat that is the result of several people clapping their hands and stomping their feet to create a rhythm for the rest of the instrumentation to go on top of. The rather strong beat in the song is met with the sound of an acoustic guitar that helps to create the actual music for the song. What is created is a sound that is Folk-Rock at its best. The lyrical content of the spirit being a river that washes the singer clean helps to bring the religious meaning of the song to life. The inclusion of other female voices blending together with Ferrante’s voice helps to create a strong chorus in the track. “River Flow” contains a strong musical approach to start the EP off strong.

The Beyond release slows down a little on the track “Peace Be Still”. Where the previous track of “River Flow”contained a strong beat providing a powerful backdrop to the rest of the music on that song, “Peace Be Still” is much more relaxed in nature. And while the previous song also contained a strong, religious message, the EP’s second track is much more relaxing to listen to. The laid-back feel of the music once again comes from the acoustic guitar; but this time, the instrument is played with a gentler approach. The soft, laid-back approach on the music works well with the lyrics about seeking the chance to find inner peace when everything around you is not the way you want it. As Caroline Ferrante sings the lyrics, she produces a crescendo in his delivery near the end of the track that is very reminiscent of the same type of build up one would expect from the late entertainer Kate Smith who was known for her pinnacle version of the song “God Bless America”. While the previous song on the release may be a stronger track because of its energetic feeling, “Peace Be Still” has its own strength in its musical beauty.

The energy level goes way up on the next track of the four-song Beyond EP. The track “A Little More Faith” finds Caroline Ferrante joining forces with a Gospel choir to bring the song to life. And with the combination of Ferrante and the chorus, there is definitely a lot of life in the song. The music of the song contains a Folk-Rock approach with a stressing on the word Rock. The entire musical ensemble blends their various musical and vocal talents together to create a track that is one of the strongest points within the four songs included in the release. The music and the vocals come together to create a track that is sure to fill up your ears as you listen to the song.

Beyond from Carolina Ferrante comes to a close with the track “Hear Your Name”. This track is one of the more spiritual tracks of the EP as Ferrante sings to and about the one above. The guitar and piano found on the track blend together to create a musical sound that is beautiful and easy on the ears. The feel of the music, the lyrical content and the vocals delivery from Ferrante all combine to create a track that feels very reminiscent of a rather well-known singer within Gospel music circles- Amy Grant.

If you had to come up with a one-word description for Beyond, the latest release from Carolina Ferrante, “Energetic” is probably the word to use. Right from the start, the listener experiences the Folk-Rock of “River Flow”. Then, the pace decreases as it slows down on the song “Peace Be Still” but the intensity on the track does not decrease. As the release continues, the other tracks help to finish out the EP with both beauty and strength.

To check out the music of  Carolina Ferrante, check out her song “Peace Be Still“. 

CD Review: DeDe “Love and Fairy Tales”

DeDeWedekind is a singer-songwriter that finds her sound from influences such as Tori Amos, Celine Dion and even Amy Grant. She has a large amount of spirituality within the lyrics of her songs just like Grant while still having enough of a pop-like sound in her music. In fact, since DeDe’s music is both pop-based and spiritual at the same time, she can easily be considered a “crossover” artist. That “crossover” sound can be found on DeDe’s current five-song release called Love and Fairy Tales.

Love and Fairy Tales from DeDe begins with the track “Blame It on the Summertime”. On this track, the beauty in DeDe’s voice helps to bring the emotional words to life. “Blame It on the Summertime” is the definitive “pop” song as the track has a very accessible feel to the music and would easily fit in with other songs that would be found on Adult Contemporary radio stations. While the song contains a rather strong emotional pull to it, the instrumentation is very strong itself and helps to create a track that is beautiful and energetic. The crossover appeal of the track makes it one of the best songs on the new release from DeDe and makes for a very strong start to the release.

The new release from DeDe continues with “The Fairy Tale Song”. The track has the same type of pop-rock feel to it as the previous track. However, while the lyrics of “Blame it on the Summertime” contain a lot of emotion, the lyrics of this track contain a lot more fun to them. The lyrics of the song refer to several of the fairy tales that we have all grown up on. The way the lyrics were written for this track, the listener ends up being able to sing along with the song with little effort. When taken together, the lyrics and the easy feel of the music create a track that is fun to listen to and would be a nice addition to any Adult Contemporary radio format.

On the track “The Plans I Have for You,” the feel of the lyrics take on a much more spiritual feel than the first two tracks of the release.  DeDe seems to channel artists like the aforementioned Amy Grant on this track as she creates a song with the same lyrical feel as many Christian hymns created by the most popular artists in that genre. “The Plans I Have for You” takes the music of DeDe into a more serious direction but it also adds a lot of beauty to the Love and Fairy Tales release as the track contains a much stronger orchestral feel than the previous tracks as the strings featured on the song give the song a lot of body. The song allows the listener to see the writing ability of DeDe and the song proves that she can create a serious track when she wants to.

Just as “The Plans I Have for You” proves that DeDe can create a serious track, the next song from DeDe of “Just Desserts” allows the listener to experience the less serious side of DeDe as she takes Love and Fairy Tales in a more lighthearted direction. Taking the music in a Classic Country vein, “Just Desserts” feels like a track that would have been written over twenty years ago, back in a time when people used to add a bit of humor in the songs they wrote. The wordplay contained within the lyrics of this song about an ex-lover will definitely bring a smile to your lips as you enjoy the scene that plays out during the song.

Love and Fairy Tales from DeDe comes to an end with the track “We’ll Never Part”. As the rest of the release allows the listener to experience the writing ability of DeDe, the track of “We’ll Never Part” is the song that most definitely shows off the vocal ability of the musician. The track feels like something that could have come from a Broadway musical and the way DeDe sings the song, she seems like she would easily find a place alongside the best performers on Broadway.

When you listen to Love and Fairy Tales from DeDe, you get a brief glimpse into many different aspects of the personality of DeDeWedekind. No matter what song you listen to on the release, you will find something that will grab you. The well-rounded release does wonders to bring out the talent of this talented up-and-coming artist.

Reviewer: Matheson Kamin
Rating: ***** (five stars)

Click HERE for the video to “The Fairy Tale Song” by DeDe.