Songcrafters.org

(Remastered 22/10/2021)

And here we go - Edith FINALLY gets it...

Actually, she's been getting it ever since I wrote it on the 29th May. I thought it would take a week or so, but it proved to be more of a fight than I was expecting.

On top of struggling to sing it (I am NEVER using the name Edith in a song again!!!), and then having to learn a new slide technique, I had awful trouble with the arrangement/mixing. When it comes down to it, I have two basic mixing techniques: "everything louder than everything else" and "everything quieter than everything else". Neither approach gave me ready results this time.

Anyways, we're done, finally.

After this little marathon, I think I might go back to the old shoe box and dig out some more ancient songs about death and wotnot. 1994 seems to have been a particularly good year for that sort of thing...

Just been on the other side listening to this ...another beauty from the house of Russe

It's been a long time since I came here. Very nice and impressive to start with this song.

What a monster. 6:30 and that must be the longest lead-out on the site...

But it just hooks you and draws you in - I was mesmerised. The close F major triad with the pounding slow rock beat give a solidity to the track and the lovely hooky riff - I just had to work out what you were doing - is very cool. And the slide - yes, it would not have been that same without the slide.

On top of that,  the production is fabulous, no mud, nicely avoided, it could have been a trap so easily fallen into, everything clear and separate.

However, I have to give a big shout out for the vocal, which is spectacular.

I think this is ace.

A very cool song Andy! The guitar "hook" riff and the harmonies that back it up are outstanding. The slide work is a perfect choice for this song......some fine tone. You did great on the vocal emoting and I can hear that "Edith" might pose some singing difficulties but you've pulled it off beautifully!

Wow, another wonderful piece of music from Andy! I really like the open, sparse arrangement here. It takes courage and some skill to create a long song that holds the interest of t he listener, and you did it with aplomb. The repetition of the melodic motif in the verses is very effective and really keeps you wanting to listen to the song. You don't crowd it with lots of lead work, just some subtle harmonic variations which are very effective. The slide guitar works really well, it suits the feel of the song. A "normal" guitar lead sound might lose some of the subtly of the song.

The production is fabulous, everything clear and well placed. I like the fact there's some powerful low end in there (I like a bass heavy mix myself) but like Flash says, you do a great job of ensuring there's no mud in there. And the vocals, well what can I say. Incredible. I've never heard the word "Edith" with so much emotion, not something I would have thought was humanly possible. It's a superb vocal performance, and I really like the lyrics as well. I think we can learn a lot from Edith.

An absolute peach of a track, superb and worth all the effort. But there's one thing......... If it were me, I would want that slide solo to be just a bit higher in the mix. But maybe that's just me...... ;)

Andy, I definitely love your style !!!! I'll wait for 90s death/whatnot covers by you ... 1994: I can tell you have in mind all I want for Xmas by mariah carey or can you feel the love tonight be elton ... they ever make me think about it and I'll love to hear your versions LoL
Cool song, 'straight in each limb', well done!

Man!  There is sooooooo much POWER in this!  I love it!    Everything in this tune is working together just right, from the guitar work to the bass, Rhodes (sounds like) to your thunderous vocal work.  This is a true winner.

 :) John B

totally progtastic brother. Loving that slide, powerful vocal performance I got a fright at the start.

Outstanding brother the vocal were clear and cut the mix nicely. Playing was outstanding well done
Tim

Liked this right from the start; captivating bass (with perfect tone) on the simple drum track! Catchy lead guitar additons and stunning vocals - excellent songwriting and performance!! I listened to this one time, yesterday and now this sounded event better! So well done, Andy!

Many thanks everyone :)

I was a little worried about this one - needlessly, it seems :)

I've got a fair bit to reply to... and some info I left out of the original post... but I'm meant working at the moment - so I'll be back later!

Wow - a monumental beast! I really liked the long intro and then the blistering vocal (builds the tension).

It's a corker!

Cor Blimey! I absolutely love it. The production and the performance are both stellar. That chord change at the chorus - you bugger, lol. The slide guitar work on the refrain is gorgeous. Gives me a slight Gerry Rafferty vibe on the guitar work - just classic, wonderful stuff.

What a beauty.

So original Andy... that's a weird and wonderful journey you took us on. I was getting slight King Crimson vibes at the start, but then it breaks into something totally different. Very interesting piece and your slide playing is brilliant... on the money. Super stuff.

Mike

I forgot I was coming back to this.

It was actually meant to be longer - there's a minute and half left in the can - but I couldn't play the improvised slide solo I wanted over the end. I got lots of great ideas, but nothing that worked that well when exposed that much for a couple of minutes (too many fluffs and "stopping to think" moments). Talking of exposed... do you you really want that slide louder Ferryman?! lol ... I had to restrain myself because some really gorgeous tones and nuances revealed themselves when it was turned up louder.

Don't worry, though, I have plans to do more slide like this.

The story behind the song is actually quite simple.

Edith is the guitar I wrote it on - a Fiesta Red strat that can do Mark Knopfler, Hank Marvin, and... Robin Trower.
I hadn't played it in a while, so I cranked it up and played "Robin Trower"  ... my fave RT song is "I Can't Wait Much Longer".

I changed key, turned the guitar part upside down, inside out and then started doing James Dewar vocals over it.

"Edith Finally Gets It"  was a reference to not having played her for a while.

I ended up wanting to remove most of the "Robin Trower" vibe, and discovered my Korg can do both Ray Charles electric piano (Shake Your Tail-feather in the Blues Brothers) and Stevie Wonder clavinet.

I replaced most of Edith's parts with a P90 Gibson, and that's when the slide became a possibility. You can still hear Edith on the choruses - the guitar with wang bar action.

After that it turned into needing "space" in the verses... that's when the "EEEEeeeedith" turned out to be quite aggressive... I had all sorts of worries over vocals after that... In the end the ONLY option was belt it out like this and then figure out how to mix it so it was gut-wrenching but not ear-splitting! (I tried singing it more reflectively... that was, er, NAFF!!)

Obviously the lyrics ended up not about a guitar. It's about an elderly neighbour.

one more...bump today.... this one reminds me of a lost PF track....
amazing work here man....this came on just before I joined up the site in August so I never heard it...until today i put your list on to play during my workout...great music all down the list... but I had to mention this..

Quote from: StephenM on February 10, 2022, 04:41:11 PMone more...bump today.... this one reminds me of a lost PF track....
amazing work here man....this came on just before I joined up the site in August so I never heard it...until today i put your list on to play during my workout...great music all down the list... but I had to mention this..

Yep, it's one of my favourites. And the main electric (not Edith) is one of my favourite recording guitars. It's also one of the cheapest of the "regularly in use" ones. Needs restringing actually, ready for some more rocking, or for use as clean electric on other stuff.

It's one of those generally hated Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute DC (double-cut with two P90s) from a few years ago. People hated the scratch-plate.
The design changed later, but this is one of the originals.
I got it new in a sale, just before the change. Mine's the blue stain.

It was used on nearly all the songs around this period, loud and quiet. It's especially good at lead parts (here and The Practical Gardener). Actually, it's still got the same strings on from then!

By the way - this song is slated for remastering again when all the other projects have got out of the way!!
This one was remastered, from the original BR1600 stereo mix wav, in Studio One a few months back - the difference (to me) was WOW.
I'm halfway through the next batch (on pause for the acoustic songwriting demos for FAWM), and I've learnt even more about mastering - this one and all the first batch can be improved on even more. Like all remastering, it won't seem much of an improvement if you accepted the original, but it's the "initial effect vibe" I'm interested in - first listens - even these old recordings are starting to sound more like commercial releases to me.

well if it sounds this good now then it will only be even better after remaster...look forward to that!

Minimalist arrangement with enough interest to draw you in and keep you there.  Great recording

All I can say is it's about damn time that Edith gets it...