Well Michoel Pruzansky aka PRUZ has released his 3rd album and has smartly entitled it "MP3".
Lets begin the review shall we?
For all the info on this album regarding song writers etc. click here for the song book.
1) L'tav Uvid: Chosen as the first fast song because it grabs your attention and is arguably the best fast song on the album. This is a great straight ahead rock tune that I did not get tired of no matter how many times I heard it. The harmonies and vocal background which interestingly enough was done by Yitzy Waldner who is in my opinion, one of the better song writers in Jewish music today. Pruz or who ever he hired to help with his arrangements made the right move in hiring Daniel Flam to assist with brass and brass arrangements no doubt. Rating 10/10
2) Al Shlosha: Another fast one: hora/disco this time. Composed by both Baruch Levine and Yitzy Bald. Not sure if that mean that one did the low and the other the high part. The low part is fantastic but in my opinion the high part doesn't fit quite as tightly with the words. Great sax parts by Shloime Cohen and everyone in the band gets to show off a bit after 3:20 Rating 7.5/10
3) Pia Puscha: A ballad written by Yitzy Waldner is a great contemporary ballad with a great arrangement by Eli Laufer. Eli also sings on this album which lends a nice dynamic to the feeling of this song. Did not care for the use of the flugel horn (I think that's what I'm hearing) and/or perhaps the mix on the intro the string section should have sounded better as they do later on. Great ballad. 9.5/10
4) Al Yisroel Shalom: Composed by Yochanon Shapiro. A rock/disco and this song is not bad but didn't really do it for me. The repetitions of "al yisroel shalom" just started to bother me after a while but that's just me. Rating 6/10
5) Shomer Yisroel: By Yochanon Shapiro has a very kumzitz type style to it. Not contemporary in the way that Pia Puscha is. The acoustic guitar with the flute is a nice touch. Avrumi Schwebel was a solid choice for a kid to back him up. Rating 8/10
6) Sheyovo: Another rock tune with some hard hitting brass and mens and boys choirs. I enjoyed this tune but again the repetition strikes and the song just falls short of being fantastic. Rating 7/10
7) Show Me The Way: Yitzy Waldner hits another home run here. Fantastic contemporary tune for an english ballad. Some will argue that the words could have been developed better. All in all a very inspiring song. Rating 9/10
8) Zeh La Zeh: If this song sounds familiar that's because you heard it on Shloime Kaufman's album Avodas Tzedokah and he also is featured on this song. Written by Yitzy Waldner this remakes really makes this song sound even better. Rating 8.5/10
9) Mi Bon: Ballad by Elle Shwab and starts with vocals Avrumi Schwebel who does a solid job and every note he performs is perfect. This is a contemporary ballad as well and one of the better performances by Michoel on this album. Leib Yakov Rigler does a nice job arranging this tune with very tasteful string arrangements. The song itself wasn't quite as good as the other ballad but still a solid tune.Rating 8/10
10) Torah: Another catchy moderate rock/disco/hora by Yitzy Waldner. This song is a lot of fun to listen to but I could of done without that synth that the arrannger, Ian Frietor seems to be fond of. Rating 8/10
Bottom Line: Michoel went all out getting some of the better songwriters, arrangers and musicians to take him to the next level. This album is a very solid offering with no real filler type songs. Although not every song was a winner for me you may very well feel different so be sure to check it out and decide for yourself.
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