This is a review of "5 Acoustic Songs" recorded by John Parkes. The review was written by Holden DeForge in 2004.

I pray to the sweet Lord that the cover of this CD is supposed to be ironic; perhaps it's a nod to the current 80's rock revival. It's truly awful, the moody figure staring out from behind sunglasses with some weird mask. It's the kind of thing you see advertising gigs in a Working Men's Club. Alas the music would be more suited to a similar venue. Former Fuzzbird singer Parkes can't really sing, he's been around the circuit for quite some time so it's surprising no one has yet pointed this out to him. The attempts at falsetto are frightening and there are many occasions where he stretches his voice far beyond its limited ability. The songs don't make up the deficit, some decent melodies occasionally offer themselves but it's lyrically inept and not very enjoyable at all. At 5 tracks it's 5 tracks too long, it sounds like someone's ego project, fair enough and more power to him, if he enjoys it then that is fine. There are far better singer/songwriters on the circuit though, with songs that can actually stir some emotion in your bones, so whilst Parkes may one have been Division One, he's now languishing in the Conference.