Critic's Review
Larry Belanger, All Music Guide
On Valley of the DogZ, Smart Apple gives the listener an opportunity to experience the multiple styles of music which have been a creative influence. Teddie Tapawan does all vocals and plays all of the instruments on the album, guitars, bass and drums, with the exception of one song, "Doin' Nothin' ." "Doin' Nothin' ," which has a Blues, Country-Rock quality, features The Mac Brothers. The Mac Brothers are Bob Wagers, guitars, John Kirincic, bass guitar, Frank DePeder, drums and Harpie, harmonica. This song allows the listener a chance to experience Teddie Tapawan doing only vocals, with a full band, instead of the usual one man band format. The song aptly displays that with a band or alone the quality of the music suffers in no way. The tight sound of the music is maintained on all of the songs throughout the entire album. From the Reggae groove on, "I Drank Alot Today," all the way to the other side of the musical spectrum with the Rap-Rock drive of "Valley of the DogZ." With each new album that Smart Apple puts out, one can feel the maturity materializing in the new compositions. The material selected for each song on Valley of the DogZ explores a different style. This serves to display the multi-dimensional capabilities in the amazing artist who is the genius behind Smart Apple, Teddie Tapawan. Smart Apple comes at a time in music history where it is very hard to get radio stations to play their music because they are swamped with submissions from so many independent labels. Smart Apple has made a wise choice with the selection of various styles of music as their format for Valley of the DogZ, maybe it will be enough to get them noticed in the competitive world of music today. Time will tell, but for now Valley of the DogZ is an excellent selection for one looking for music filled with a spicy variety.
