INDIE MUSIC DIGEST - Independent Music Reviews

CD REVIEW: Tim Miller - Session Lamar (EP)
By Cyrus Rhodes

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Artist: Tim Miller
Album: Session Lamar
Label: Independent Artist
Website: http://www.timmiller.com
Genre: Acoustic, Folk Rock
Sounds Like: Counting Crows, Cat Stevens, Josh Gracin, Adam Duritz
Technical Grade: 10/10
Production/Musicianship Grade: 10/10
Commercial Value: 9/10
Overall Talent Level: 10/10
Songwriting Skills: 10/10
Performance Skill: 10/10
Best Songs: Say Hello, The Point
Weakness: Commercial Value

CD REVIEW

Dallas, Texas singer/songwriter Tim Miller is back with his 2009 Session Lamar EP. You may recall Tim with his impressive 2008 release: Adelaide. Miller made a big impact with many listeners delivering emotionally charged music, sung from an even keeled perspective that was painfully honest, sincere, yet very straightforward.

So here we are in 2009 with Tim’s latest EP release entitled Session Lamar. Right from the start, this is a striped down musical presentation. It’s an extremely intimate, up close and personal musical display with Tim’s voice and acoustic guitar front and center. Most amateur artists will no doubt have a tough time holding anyone’s attention span for more than 20 minutes this way. The great ones like Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Elton John, Cat Stevens, & yes even Tim Miller is can do it flawlessly. The EP opens with Opposite Ways, a bold assessment of a love that's just not going to work out. This is vintage Tim Miller. Next up is a gem from Cat Stevens' Father And Son, a timeless piece about the timeless conflict between an older generation to a younger one. There are also 3 songs from Adelaide. Say Hello, The Point, and Man Overboard. Most of these songs are sung from a deeply honest perspective, giving a very grim assessment of relationships, and love turned lukewarm. Other songs deliver deep, thought provoking wisdom. Having officially reviewed Adelaide on a syndicated level last year, I applaud Tim for choosing these 3 songs for Session Lamar. They are a perfect fit for this striped down kind of production.

What is world class songwriting? Well most people would agree a great song will touch listeners deeply and emotionally. The deeper the connection, the bigger the impact. The real selling point for any song is the (singer to listener) emotional delivery. Here experienced artists will make this connection each and every time. It's why they're famous in the first place. It cannot be faked and has to be totally genuine. At the end of the day people don't buy plastic and paper, they buy emotions. This is why Tim Miller has so much potential as an artist. His music has an amazing amount of emotional depth to it. You will find honesty, vulnerability, pain, joy all delivered with a simplistic purity that is without any pretense. But above all it’s sung straight from the heart, and from a deeply honest perspective. The music of Tim Miller does not attempt to hide the truth in any way, shape, or form. In fact it tells it with bold honesty and genuine conviction via Tim’ smooth voice, and his world class songwriting. What’s truly impressive about Session Lamar, is all of the above is further magnified and intensified via the up-close and personal musical presentation. Tim Miller fans will no doubt love this one!

I guess could go on and on all night about Tim Miller. You simply have got to get your hands on some of his music and see what all the hype is about. You should start with Session Lamar. What can I say it's simply amazing!

Cyrus Rhodes