Greg Symons Music - I Want to Stay Forever
Instrumental Guitar
Michigan, U.S.
Overall Impression: Blending the sounds and stylistic traits of traditional folk music with some intriguing strokes of Latin-esque color, Greg Symons's soothing and undeniably therapeutic acoustic piece "I Want To Stay Forever" is both a highly melodic and character-filled piece of instrumental writing that marries an inspired level of technique with a strong sense of charm-infused musicality, ensuring listeners are in for an amiable and uplifting experience that they'll feel compelled to return to. Solo instrumental pieces such as this are by no means easy to tackle, especially in one take, and unlike vocal-led tracks that distribute the work as it were between both the vocal elements and supporting instrumentation, all the focus is placed squarely on the guitar in the case of "I Want To Stay Forever" which doesn't leave much room for mistakes, however, I believe Greg does a great job of effectively conveying the music in a way that has both great feeling and form and whilst there are perhaps a few areas that could do with some very minor refinement, on the whole, this is a rewarding listening experience that will appeal to many acoustic lovers.
Strongest Point(s): The use of chord melody is excellent and certainly brings a strong feeling of both rhythmic momentum and harmonic drive to the piece - combine this with the strong thematic development that underlines the writing and you get an instrumental that feels cohesive and conceptually well thought-out. It's great to hear how Greg places a strong emphasis on the importance of dynamics throughout the track, not only does this help add to the song's feeling of shape but it gives the writing that added nuance, ensuring melodies feel layered and the overarching chord progression to feel varied.
Target Audience Appeal: "I Want To Stay Forever" is a strong piece of instrumental folk-inspired songwriting and I'm sure fans of this particular style will find it to be a worthwhile listening experience.
Artist target suggestions: Jim Croce, Nick Drake, Andrew Gialanella, oakwhisper, Lina Grove, A.J Meadow, The Cabin Tapes, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Leo Kottke & Mick Gordon, Don Ross, Antoine Dufour, Tommy Emmanuel
Interested in having your Song Reviewed by our Professional Staff? Head to your RadioAirplay.com dash and click Song Reviews under the Special Offers menu!
About the Reviewer:
Andre is a freelance session guitarist, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar as well as teaching it, helping students learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and become proficient in home recording.