Black Crow (rock/pop, 80s)

[stoman]

I'm not sure if the decisions I made for this mix were the right ones. I'm biased and can't tell if the song sounds acceptable like this. Please be honest!

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Black Crow, Black Crow

Lyrics: Casia
Vocals: Jessica Rasche
Solo Guitar: Bobby Clohessy
Drums: Jay Carros
Bass: Jean Lui Toudou
Composed, arranged & mixed by Steffen Offermann

Apollo loved Coronis but she did sin
The fires of revenge have done you in
You were just the messenger
Cursed to black from white
Facing the devil in the darkness of night

Black crow, black crow what did you see
Your tormented soul's lookin' back at me

You were Apollo's messenger
Scorched by revenge
You possess the gorgon's blood
Now you can avenge

You have the power to bring to life
Those who have been wronged
You will be a sign of death
Until the violence is gone

An eye for an eye; a score for a score
Keeps you black for ever evermore
That's what you get for bringing bad news
That's what you get for telling the truth

Black crow, black crow
Messenger of news
Stripped of your glory
For telling the truth
Stripped of your glory
For telling the truth

Regards,
  Steffen

[Wiley]

WoW!!  I am very impressed with everything.  The production, the lyrics, the individual players, your female vocalist!!  The mixing was superb!!  Sounds totally pro to me!! I would by this one!! Great job!!
PJ

[Greeny]

This is pro-level in every way. Studio-perfect - from every aspect of the performance, to every tweak of the mixing. It certainly doesn't sound like the thrown-together home recordings most of us on here get up to.

I can't fault the mixing or production. But for me, it's that level and sheen of perfection that gives this song a very 80's sound. I prefer a bit more dirt and grit. Just a personal preference.

The vocalist is superb and sings the words very convincingly, but I have to say I'm not crazy about the lyrics. They are clever, but don't appeal to me on a human level. I'm sorry - I'm not trying to be mean, just honest. And you did ask for honesty.

[chip withrow]

Powerful musically and vocally, and wonderful production. The guitar playing in particular is really, really strong.
I can imagine this playing as film credits roll - the lyrics begin to tell a story that could probably be fleshed out a bit into an interesting movie.
Upon re-reading the lyrics - I think I understand what you are saying, and I think these words would also work in an acoustic ballad setting. Something like "Dog and Butterfly," the great Heart song from the '70s. And your vocalist has some of that same Nancy Wilson-like authority to her voice.

[The Gobi Desert Canoe Club]

Hi Steffan, production-wise this is absolutely first class. The performance of all the artists is supurb and I especially liked the guitar work.Not my sort of music, but this is still a quality posting..............Willie

[Vanncad]

Wow - this might be the best produced song I have heard yet on this site.

Great music and singer!

Not really a radio song, but I could almost envision this as background music for some type of theatrical performance (ala Cirque).

Good job man.

[stoman]

Thanks for your feedback, folks!

An acoustic ballad ... yes, that might work too. I don't know what the lyricist's original vision was. When I read the lyric this composition just happend "automatically".

I'm honestly surprised that you think the production is good. I had a lot of trouble with the seps (especially the drums), and this is the third remix of the song because I just could not find the right treatment for it. The original version was completed in 2009.

Regards,
  Steffen

[Ferryman]

I think overall this sounds pretty good to someone that hasn't heard it, very polished and clean production. The vocals sound excellent, very well produced and a great performance. I don't think there's anything badly wrong with the mix, nothing sounds odd to me, the main thing is the vocals come across really well so they carry the song.

I think the one thing that I wasn't wild about was that it is all very clean and sounds a little too precise for me, but that's more a style thing rather than a mix thing - I like noisy, aggressive music mainly. This certainly has a style of the 80s era, if that's what you set out to achieve you have done it. 

I get the impression you are a bit like me, somewhat obssessive about the mix and you want everything to be "just right" as you hear it in your head. But to us folks that come on here and listen to your work we go "wow, that's sounding pretty good - must be another Steffen track!".   

Cheers,

Nigel

[Mach]

Wowsa this is gonna be stuck in my head all day.
Mix sounds pretty good to me.
Reminds me of the band Road Trip.

Mach

[stoman]

Hey, guys! Thanks again for listening!

@Mach:
The file the link in the first post points to has been updated recently. You probably listened to the new (final) version.

I should update the credits, too - the drums and the bass have been replaced.