JP Doyle – Singles

JP Doyle – Singles Review

When I got listening to this new set of JP Doyle songs, I started with “I’ve Got Everything” and had to shake my head in complete awe and wonder.  Was this really the same guy that I’d heard before when I was listening to a bunch of singles from last year?  “I’ve Got Everything” sounds like it was stripped right outta the golden era…you know, Frank Sinatra’s time & such…so like…I mean…well…that’s not how I remember JP’s music sounding, you follow me?  I remember this guy mostly from a track called “One More Thing” – which we’ll get into later on in this review – but “I’ve Got Everything” sounded like the freakin’ polar opposite to what I remember about that downtrodden tune!  I mean, I’d dare to say that “I’ve Got Everything” is even like…optimistic JD!  For real – listen to how far this guy has come within a year’s time will ya?  “Life couldn’t be better for me” – these are words I would not have associated with his music last time around…and he’s wearing this suit very well.  Obviously you’ve already read my impression of the sound you’ll hear – it’s throwback a question, but also timeless in the same respect; there might not be a ton of this out there right now, but this is a very welcome sound and style we all seem to love to hear whenever it shows up again.  I don’t have any illusions about something like this – I don’t think JP goes into making “I’ve Got Everything” expecting that it’s in lockstep with everything else that’s out there in the scene right now…in fact, I think you make songs like this because you actually couldn’t care less about what else is on other people’s playlists.  You make songs like this because you’re interested in the craft itself, and quite likely have a wide respect for all kinds of music.  As a result of his genuine interest, it felt like “I’ve Got Everything” came out wonderfully sincere and not contrived at all – and it’s because of that, that I think a whole lot of people out there will really fall in love with this song.  “I used to be a miserable man…sadness all around, every day” – it’s good to hear this change in JP’s life and that his perspective has brightened up from what I remember…this song really sounds great to me.

“It Was Love” still has a ways to go, but the right ideas are in place so far.  Love songs can be tricky and tough to pull off…it’s harder to write about happiness than people tend to realize, but clearly, if JP can pull off a song like “I’ve Got Everything,” then eventually he’ll find a way to make something like this work too.  Is he going to be able to turn this around from being a good song into becoming a verifiable hit?  No.  I’m not going that far with my assessment, but I think he could still end up with a quality tune outta this, sure.  The question really becomes about what it is you’re looking to get out of the material you create – not just JP, but any creative person, in any kind of art.  Do you want the stuff you make to create a big splash with the public – or is it just something you’re making for you?  Does it need to be a big commercial hit?  Do you just want to make something that is as perfect as you can make it?  These are the kind of questions that’ll help you assess whether or not to keep going with something you’re working on.  For example, if JP wants to perfect this song so that he can sleep better at night, then of course, keep on workin’ at it!  If he’s looking to send this out to the record company to land a deal, then it’s time to move on to something else instead of going back to tinker with this some more – make sense?  We can spend our lifetimes making a song, but that’s not always the best use of our time – so it’s kinda crucial to understand what your goals are.  I like what I hear with “It Was Love” and I can hear where JP would likely go with it in versions down the road – but even if he were to get it fully polished up to the best shine he could bring to it, I still don’t think that would get this track on the radio, you know what I mean?  If that doesn’t matter to him, and he’s just making music for his own personal stash and wants to get something as right as he’s capable of, then for sure, keep on experimenting with this song and see what else can be done with it…otherwise, it’s probably time to move on.  “It Was Love” doesn’t need too much really – the writing is fine, it’s just about getting the vocals to where they need to be from here.  Lyrically, I really like what he’s got goin’ on here and feel like he’s caught the right angle to sing about love from in a convincing way.  It’s nice to hear JP have his head in the clouds as opposed to having a cloud over his head like he did with “One More Thing” – happiness really suits him.

I’d probably take a dozen copies of “It Was Love” before I took one “Magical Day.”  Don’t get me wrong, “Magical Day” is actually pretty damn close to where you’d want it to be, and on a technical level, it’s much more of a finished tune than something like “It Was Love” is currently – but I don’t think there’s too much space out there for tunes like “Magical Day” right now if I’m being honest with ya.  It’s just short of having a musical-esque sound to it…you know, like where some sitcom drifts off into an aside where you hear a song like this and everything is perfect and pretty…I dunno…there’s just so much of “Magical Day” that both seems like it’s been done a million times, and also never really found too much of a way to reach the masses.  Like…the ceiling of potential for the reach of a song like “Magical Day” is incredibly low…I guess that’s what I’m saying…it appeals to a very niche element of the audience out there.  What I would do in this particular case, would be haul out my albums by Jellyfish, and see if there wasn’t something they did that could help make a moment like this have a bit more flair and character.  I appreciate the calming vibes of “Magical Day” and how chilled out it is at the core, but I’m not hearing a whole lot to get me excited enough to reach for it again, or that there would be something about it that I missed in listening to it the first time, you feel me?  I feel like JP still has plenty of opportunity to give this song the kind of diversity it needs to stand out more from what we’ve heard in the past, and that he can definitely build on the existing strengths that it already has to make it even better.  As it stands, I’d be worried about this track becoming background music, or getting outright passed over – which is a little unfortunate considering that the performance is actually pretty damn good throughout.

“One More Thing” is a track that I’ve technically reviewed before, back in the summer of last year.  That being said, I still have that single and I could completely hear how this has been updated to become a much stronger version of this sad-ass song – and to be completely honest, it’s way better now.  If you read my past comments on “One More Thing” (which you can do, by clicking here) – you’ll see that on a fundamental level, I believed in this song before and knew he was onto something.  The writing was solid, but the performance was a little uneven is all…and those are the issues that have been resolved.  Did he make other changes, like remove the word ‘snafu’ from the lyrics like I suggested?  Heck no!  And ultimately, why should he?  I’m just a random dude on the internet and I have never once claimed to know anything more than YOU probably do…I simply tend to listen to a whole lot more music than the average person does, that’s it, that’s all.  My advice is always a take it or leave it scenario – take what you think works for YOU, and please, please, please…leave the rest.  Besides – I agree with JP’s assessment that a single word wasn’t what was keeping this track from its playability – it was way more on the side of technical details, specifically in the vocals.  As it stands now, “One More Thing” is freakin’ good to go if you ask me…it’s still got JP with a raincloud directly over his head in terms of the subject and theme, perilously mired in a moment of the futility of depression…but…fuck is it relatable!  You’re gonna have moments in your own life where you feel just like he does on “One More Thing,” where every part of your day is broken beyond repair…and hopefully, when that happens, you’ll be able to reach for a song like this and know you’re not alone.  This is the mix this song deserved though – I’m stoked to hear an update like “One More Thing” and how much more robust this track sounds now.

“You’ll Never See It Coming” is…not quite ready yet…this is still in its incubation period.  What I’m less sure about is how to get it to where it needs to go.  Musically, I feel like it’s basically in line with where JP would want it…and as tends to be the usual, it’s more within the vocal department that things need a tune-up.  Where things get trickier here, is that you could go about it two different ways – you could alter the lyrics and expand things a bit so that each line of the verses doesn’t feel so short and cut off, or, you could approach the singing of these words differently and add a bit of personality & soul to’em, to draw out each line and not have everything feel so choppy when we hear it.  I’d probably opt for the second scenario…I think the words are good enough, but I do think there’s a ton of opportunity to have some fun while singing them and bring out the character in the words…and right now I’m not convinced that’s the performance we’re getting here.  I’m also being fairly specific to the verses as well…to be fair, I think the chorus and main hooks of “You’ll Never See It Coming” ended up in decent shape.  Could they be better with a different singer that could tackle the verses with a bit more confidence and style?  That is probably the case too…but yeah…as it stands, I’m fine with the chorus, but I do want a whole lot more outta the vocals in the verses when I’m listening to this song.  Musically though, this cut’s got some real groove to it…I dig the short but solid guitar solo included…there are lots of positives to build on here, and I feel like there’s a really good chance that “You’ll Never See It Coming” might have the most memorable hooks to be found in this entire set of singles I’ve got here when all is said and done.  To me, that’s worth pursuing and polishing up as best can be done.  I’m still not gonna be the guy to say that “You’ll Never See It Coming” is similar to a lot of what’s out there right now, but that’s not the criteria for what makes a good song either…it’s different from what you’ll find on most playlists, but I feel like this is the kind of track that has the potential to bring listeners in & convince their ears they want more.

As far as “Fantasy Woman” goes, it’s the track I’ve had for the least amount of time in this set due to an error I made in listening to JP’s tunes, but I’ve still been able to give it a bunch of spins since I got it.  From what I understand, Doyle was going for a somewhat Bowie-esque type of vibe on this particular tune, and since that’s a bit more specific, I can address that head-on.  I definitely admire the pursuit of that kind of sound, but as currently constructed, that’s gonna be a tall ask of “Fantasy Woman.”  The most I can vouch for is that it contains a few Bowie-esque elements to it…the lyricism…a noticeable inflection in the vocal pattern at one point…going for a more atmospherically inclined sound – these are pieces we could perhaps trace back to the roots of Bowie’s catalog.  Other than that, the majority of this song is spent elsewhere…closer to something you’d find in the Carpenters or Air Supply musically, and more like the Beatles vocally than something you’d find in Bowie’s material.  To be fair though, as I understand it, this track is still somewhat under construction too though…so in the grand scheme of things, I’ve probably got what’ll go on to become a demo version of “Fantasy Woman.”  The question becomes, does JP try to bend and shape this song into a Bowie tune from here, like a blacksmith would hammer steel into a sword, or does he go back to the drawing board for that particular goal.  My advice would be to go the latter route for sure, but it’s up to him of course.  To me, it’s not like he doesn’t still have a song here with what he’s got in “Fantasy Woman” – I could see some folks out there potentially digging this in its final version, even if it’s probably going to end up in the Adult Contemporary section.  The point is – the song is already there and its melody & flow have been established; to force it into any other shape is likely going to taint what’s working and it could sour what might be its best ingredients.  In my opinion, it’d just be a whole lot easier to try to go for the Bowie sound on a blank canvas if that’s what JP really wants to capture from here.  “Fantasy Woman” doesn’t quite have that X-factor he’s looking for…it’s probably still a bit too on the safe side of songwriting to find its way to that Bowie type of vibe, but I do notice some comparable attributes in it that he could easily take with him into a new song.  To take “Fantasy Woman” as it is now and give it that Bowie-esque spin would be akin to taking your Ford into the shop to get rebuilt and leaving with a Chevy after replacing all the parts…it’d be a very tough process, but not impossible if that’s what JP really wanted to do.  Does he need to?  Nah.  Not really – but again, it’s up to him.  As it stands, “Fantasy Woman” has a nice psychedelic tinge of color to its melody, a kaleidoscopic type of approach to the vocals…it’s going where it’s trying to go on its own, which is why my recommendation is always to build around what a song is truly calling out for.  We can all sit around and try to bang the square peg through the round hole, but life’s a lot easier if you just use the circle instead, you feel me?  Let the music be your guide JP – it might not all become what you envisioned at the start of the process, but you’ll often be pleasantly surprised by where it can end up.

Find music by JP Doyle at Apple:  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jp-doyle/554641859

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