Album Review: Elohin – “Converted the Biography”

Elohin – “Converted the Biography”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Bradford Davis
Rating: 4.3 (Out of 10)
[xrr rating=4.3/10]

The cost of music production is exorbitant. Creating music with the right levels of bass, proper highs and lows, and the hard-to-quantify-but-you-know-its-there-when-you-hear-it feel is both an art and a skill.  And it can drastically change the overall quality of music.  Personally, I’m not a huge fan of most top-40ish hip hop blasting your radio these days. But, one thing every song that makes it that far has is elite, excellent production squeezing every last iota of good music, even out of a mediocre single.

Why spend so much time on production values?  Because this, my dear readers, is a debilitating problem on Elohin’s Converted: The Biography.

Now, let’s not get it twisted, this is not a very good album. But oh man, the interesting, enjoyable parts of this album are dramatically handicapped by the “made in my uncle’s attic studio with the pantyhose covering the old microphone” production quality.  Elohin has, on occasion, some interesting, thought-provoking songs, such as the title track and “Round We Go (Love Story).” The latter tells a very endearing background about meeting his wife.  But ugh, they get killed by sound quality.

I think a skilled producer could make some of the instrumentals average, even pretty good. But instead, everything is mediocre. Listening to this album, especially as a reviewer, is a chore.  No one, except the purist, tea-sipping, dashiki-wearing hip-hop-hipsterish fan will complete your record when it lacks this much sharpness. OK, maybe if you’re a 16 year old rap prodigy recording gems on your smartphone’s voice memo feature, you’ll get some play. But Elohin is just aight. Sometimes.

Writing pointed critiques of music are tough. They’re harder when the people you review aren’t blaspheming, didn’t make fun of my momma, didn’t say anything explicitly evil…but are Christians!  Elohin and I have a bond much deeper that goes way deeper than what I, or anyone makes of his CD. But, I don’t like his CD. It’s not a good CD. I really, really don’t like his CD.

My suggestion to anyone out there trying to make quality, life-changing music? Find a good, pro-bono producer. Or, to avoid disgruntled reviewers like yours truly…spend exorbitantly. It’s worth it.

Comprehensive Ratings:

1. Music – 4
2. Flow – 4
3. Creativity / Originality – 3
4. Relevancy – 6
5. Content & Character – 7
6. Credibility & Confidence – 7
7. Personality – 5
8. Presentation Quality –3
9. Overall Production Quality – 1
10. Potential Impact – 3