It took a while and I'm quite glad it's over!
FMGWABP
absolutely love this, has a retro feel but still sounds of the moment. fabulous.
Love that analog brass sound right from the start...terrific opening and theme! Amazing production and performances on this - so many parts working perfectly together. The results are well worth the wait! Could have been plucked right out as a lost hit from the Seventies, and yet sounds fresh and new.
Yes, I'll say it once more for emphasis: amazing!
WOW !!!!!
Yes yes yes I love it !!
fanbloodytastic !
Ditto the above comments !! And may I add, fabulous backing vocals !
Quote from: oldrottenhead on August 19, 2013, 07:00:05 AMFMGWABP
??
Cheers guys! Yeah, I have to say, it was quite migraine-inducing trying to pull this particular production together! The initial idea came quickly enough. I composed it all on my trusty ol' Boss Micro (as I do with most of my musical ideas) then I transferred some of the foundation tracks across & began building it up on my Mac. Half way through the production I thought: "Sod it!" but I'm now glad I persevered with it as, even though I say so myself, I feel it has something - a 'vibe' if you will. It's hot off the presses. I literally finished it this afternoon & thought I'd just stick it up on here first for some much appreciated valued opinions from some fellow songwriters with critical ears. Talking of ears this pair got pretty jaded from all the constant take-on-take multi-tracking involved in this (it's just me, myself & I). I tell ya, I must have listened to this particular composition about 200+ times to get to where it is now (and I still don't think it's done!!! For starters I want actual real brass on it plus my piano playing leaves much to be desired (think lost pigeon dawdling along the keyboard and you'll get the idea!)) Right ... onward and upward - glad this one's over for the time being. I've still got that 12/8 timing song to finish (see previous thread) then, after that, the next song from me is definitely gonna be just straight vox + acoustic with NO overdubs (in fact I could have recorded an entire vox/acoustic album in the time it's taken me to put this one song together!) Anyway, thanks for the kind words people - you're a good bunch!
FMGWABP explained https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=18993
Fantastic song. I love the production and arrangement. The choir sounds really good.
JOA
Excellent ...
Quote from: Jarle on August 19, 2013, 10:24:01 AMThe choir sounds really good.
Thanks Jarle! Technically it's not a choir (although I wish it was!) It's just my voice layered. The lead vocal you hear from start to finish on this track is actually the first take guide vox which I laid down purely for tracking purposes. I suppose I just got used to hearing it as the song progressed so I thought: "Fair enough, I'll just leave it in!" The Guide Vox just decided it wanted to be the Lead Vox for this one and who am I to argue?!
To get the 'choir' effect you speak of I doubled the lead vocal melody from the second chorus onwards then overdubbed a new counter harmony part. That was the vocal arrangement I stuck with while I tracked the rest of the instruments then, once I had all the music down, I came back to the vocals and added some call & response block vocal overdubs in sections where I felt the track needed to lift (four additional parts in total panned L to R 20<10=CENTRE=10>20).
It was only when I gave the first playback to a friend this morning that I was informed that my overdubbed vocals sound a bit 'choir like' and that has been reiterated again by you Jarle so there must be summat in it! I actually like the idea of having a real choir on this now it's been pointed out to me - I like these sonic happy accidents!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I'm speechless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Well not for long :D
You have a really infectious lead vocal there, very charming and personable. Beautifully put together. I see what you mean about the brass - what did you use? (I wonder if you could use something else, or even replace it with some vocals).
You could have a real choir if you wanted - post the vocals that you need either here (or in collabs) and I'm sure we'd all chip in.
Just stunning - I can't wait for some acoustic/vox posts from you :D
Quality all the way through, loved it, now downloaded!!!
Can't add to what has already been said. Excellent.
B
HI . well executed original song writing. good vox also
easy to listen too. and a captavating song cheers NEIL
WOW!!! What an incredible production and song ... I'm blown away by your
musical ability and excellent vocals ... DIG THIS!!!
kb
This stands out from the crowd, your hard work in getting it to this level has not been in vain. Superb. Roscoe
Excellent. I like the overdubbed backing vocals and the hand claps. Good songwriting and production too.
Thanks for all the kind words folks! I've lived with the song for a couple of weeks now and feel that the original version I've posted here may not be the definitive version - I have a few more ideas for it so I'm probably going to revisit this one. I will post the results when done for comparative purposes. Cheers!
I'm gutted - you've taken down all but 2 of your vids off Youtube and 1 of those, you're not even singing in.
I was working my way through the vids and really enjoyed them all - Coffee Mate Kate, the Sex, Drugs and Sumo line-dancing one etc etc
I also really liked this song and vid too and think it's a shame you've taken off all the Astrud stuff with a Buddy Holly track (Lord knows I love Buddy Holly though)
Please say you'll put them back up at some point :D
OH ...
MY ...
GOODNESS :o :o :o :o :o
This is utterly fabulous. Superb.
Well done, sir.
================
Right, having got that out of the way...
From the moment it started I knew I had to hear it without reading any of the comments so far, so I deliberately listened without reading (I'd already spotted orh's FMGWABP, and totally agreed :D).
Now I've read the comments, I have a few:
I loved the "brass" sound, it seemed to fit perfectly after the intro and with the track. Real brass would sound good, but I think you might lose something. If you do get your hands on real brass, I'd be tempted to stick it on the middle (second chorus with the choir) and keep the "brass" early on and on the ending. What the "brass" does is give a wonderful professional "home-made" vibe - and that (together with the fabulous intro) adds this touch of innocence that seems to add weight and sincerity to the song itself, the vocal. If it was a real horn section, I wonder whether this would be lost and the feeling we get from the vocal would be lessened somehow?
The same thing goes for the piano. I know exactly how you feel - I'm in the same boat on my keyboard skills, and I spend ages trying to make it sound like I can play the wretched thing. But the piano part here is perfect. It also adds to the weight of the message in the song. Beautifully played piano might lessen that emotional impact?
The choir - loved it. I do all my own voices, and originally I found it frustrating... "how do I get that musical mob sound with just my voice?" ... but one day I created something that made me go "er... gosh!". Take a moment to stand back and hear what you've done on this one - you've made a choir, and you can make an even better one next time, if you want... it's in your power (use funny voices while singing some parts, scream/wail some, use falsetto on others, sing some "harsh" sounding ones deliberately badly). Fantastic what you've got here, and if you lean towards making those sounds again in future, you're going to make some truly amazing vocal treatments.
I am SO jealous of the intro. I can remember at least one song where I wanted to put stuff like that on it... But when I came to attempt it, I just couldn't do it convincingly, it sounded contrived and naff. Your intro is brilliant. I've listened to the song 5 times now, and each time I've forgotten that the intro is there... and each time it makes me laugh again.
Lastly, the "guide" vocal. I laughed out loud when I read that... my last one is the guide vocal too. I had to grit my teeth when I posted it with the "guide" vocal on it :D. I'd spent several hours trying to do the "proper" vocal (without the lyrical mistakes!!). That's the way I've always worked, get the backing band right, sing the lead vocal with the appropriate emotion, then do backing vox against the real vocal. But I couldn't beat the vibe of the guide, the music complemented the guide, but suggested something else when I tried to sing again... So I left it there and sang the backing vocals to the guide.
========================
Anyway, I forced Mrs R to come in here and listen to it (I have to make the coffee now!) - she loves it too.
Superb job. I'm in awe.
And I predict you'll do it again :)
Hey Haylie! (See what I did there?)
I'm rather flattered that someone is missing my 'nonsense' (sorry, audio-visual creations!) OK, I'll let you in on a little secret .... as you've probably already gathered from having previously viewed some of my D.I.Y. 'pop videos', I don't take myself too seriously! (In fact, going from some of my video creations, one might be 'fooled' into thinking I was a bit 'tapped in the head' shall we say?!)
Thing is, things have suddenly got a little more serious for me this end where my muzak is concerned. Much to my surprise quite a few folks appear to like my music and, as a result, I've now secured a publishing deal and my more 'grown up' sensible music (ha! ha!) is soon be made available on iTunes, Spotify, etc. through 'Trippy Toons' (my own record label!) That's the reason why I've had to take a lot of stuff down from my official YouTube account I'm afraid - I need to be serious apparently! The first 'professional' offering from me (available as a digital download single) will be a song called 'ROLLERCOASTER' (a medley in three parts). I've just finished making the (very serious!) video for it and it's due to be released mid-September. (You heard it here first! Great promotion eh?! 'Trippy Toons' is a new, small independent label that's been put together to promote my tunes but unfortunately the budget is practically non-existant so it looks like I'm just gonna have to rely on word of mouth and hope 'the good will out' as it were - tell all your friends!) NB: The video for the single will be going up on my new official YouTube account which can now be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9j5QrGkj-w).
But what of the old, 'zanier' stuff? Okay, DON'T TELL ANYONE but you can now find all the other 'songs'n'nonsense' you mention on my personal YouTube account here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riRpc0OSxtA
Thanks for your interest. Cheers!
Paul (aka TR!P)
I'd just like to once again thank everyone for their very kind words about my 'muzak'! It's very much appreciated as, up until VERY recently, I had absolutely NO confidence in what I was doing! You've brought me out of my shell somewhat and have given me a focus so for that I thank you! I'd especially like to give a special 'shout out' here to 'AndyR' for his recent appraisal of my latest work in progress! Personally speaking it's a terrific descriptive critique that has really got me thinking about a whole heap of musically related things that, prior to reading, I hadn't really contemplated - a BIG thanks for that Sir! Hopefully I can find the time to revisit said work in progress song (namely my song: 'I Don't Know Where I Would Be Without You') over the next couple of days and get to present the definitive version here (or at least a couple shortlisted mixes for consideration as a definitive mix!) Leave it with me and I'll see what I can come up with! I've definitely got at least one more signature guitar riff to include and I'm toying with replacing the piano on the verses with .... hmm? Like I say, leave it with me and I'll get back to you sonically so we can just let our ears decide! Again, thanks for all the input, it's been an immense help to me folks - really appreciated!! ;D O0 :r2 ;D
Gaun yersel Paul. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Super 8 on September 01, 2013, 03:26:58 AMHey Haylie! (See what I did there?)
I'm rather flattered that someone is missing my 'nonsense' (sorry, audio-visual creations!) OK, I'll let you in on a little secret .... as you've probably already gathered from having previously viewed some of my D.I.Y. 'pop videos', I don't take myself too seriously! (In fact, going from some of my video creations, one might be 'fooled' into thinking I was a bit 'tapped in the head' shall we say?!)
Thing is, things have suddenly got a little more serious for me this end where my muzak is concerned. Much to my surprise quite a few folks appear to like my music and, as a result, I've now secured a publishing deal and my more 'grown up' sensible music (ha! ha!) is soon be made available on iTunes, Spotify, etc. through 'Trippy Toons' (my own record label!) That's the reason why I've had to take a lot of stuff down from my official YouTube account I'm afraid - I need to be serious apparently! The first 'professional' offering from me (available as a digital download single) will be a song called 'ROLLERCOASTER' (a medley in three parts). I've just finished making the (very serious!) video for it and it's due to be released mid-September. (You heard it here first! Great promotion eh?! 'Trippy Toons' is a new, small independent label that's been put together to promote my tunes but unfortunately the budget is practically non-existant so it looks like I'm just gonna have to rely on word of mouth and hope 'the good will out' as it were - tell all your friends!) NB: The video for the single will be going up on my new official YouTube account which can now be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9j5QrGkj-w).
But what of the old, 'zanier' stuff? Okay, DON'T TELL ANYONE but you can now find all the other 'songs'n'nonsense' you mention on my personal YouTube account here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riRpc0OSxtA
Thanks for your interest. Cheers!
Paul (aka TR!P)
Thank the Lord - I think you stand a really good chance at this - don't try to change who you are though to conform - part of your charm is your quirky nature and endearing vids.
The best of luck, you deserve it.
Great tune, i dig the brass sound also, it gives alot of charm to the track. Well done here and congrats on the deal!
Rock On!
OTD!
Rock On!
I absolutely enjoyed this song and production! The first time through I was listening with a critical ear but realized about half way through that by doing that I was missing the vibe of the song. So I played it again and took it all in just as a listener. This song has such an appeal to it from the slightly cheesy brass, the upfront first take vocal, the choir like backing vox, and the volume dynamics in your mix. After reading all the comments on this I can't add any more than what has already been said except that's it's fan-tastic and we have a new backing vocals king at songcrafters!
Farrell
I can't add anything more to what has been said, either. I'll just say that thus is excellent and you deserve every success.
Paul
Cheers guys, really appreciated! I still have my Boss Micro BR which I religiously use for capturing moments of inspiration and demo'ing new song ideas HOWEVER I'm now wondering if I'm still eligible to continue to post on here having migrated to recording with Logic? The thing is, I managed to get a track placed on a TV advert and with it came a small advance. By chance I got offered an Apple Mac running the Logic Pro 9 music software (already superceded as Logic X is now out I believe - technology eh?!!) and I've been spending this year so far getting to grips with recording on this new (to me) studio set up. It's been quite a steep learning curve for me I must admit as, deep down, I'm really just a dyed in the wool, 'old skool' portastudio 4-tracker at heart! (That said, you can do some pretty cool stuff with this newfangled modern gear for sure!) Anyway, after MUCH experimenting I now feel I'm at the stage where I can finally begin to start putting together a new project of homegrown original tunes. First off the blocks is a brand new track (working title: 'I Don't Want To Know') which, I have to say, is shaping up rather nicely this end! Anyway, I digress ... I really just came on here to say a big "THANKS!" to everyone who has commented on my back catalogue to date (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa3JAEXJkdB2cgFu1z0Xw0Q). Cheers for all the kind comments folks (oh, and, can I still be part of your club here??!)
Quote from: Super 8 on August 20, 2014, 10:47:40 AMI'm now wondering if I'm still eligible to continue to post on here having migrated to recording with Logic?
Certainly. Our members use a wide variety of hardware and/or software to create their recordings. The important thing is that all of the performances are your own or a collaboration with another Songcrafters member. In other words, we'd rather not have a lot of posts using pre-recorded backing tracks and loops, or collaborations with people who are not members of Songcrafters. We also discourage the posting of old recordings. We want to hear what people are recording
now, not what they recorded several years ago. We're not an archive site.
So, please feel free to post any new recordings which include your own performances or those of other Songcrafters members. The method you use to make your recordings doesn't matter, although I'm sure our members would like to hear about what you used and any details such as number of tracks used, effects plugins, drum machine/sequencer, etc.
By the way, you can add a Logic Pro icon to your signature if you want to. See the following guide:
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=8 (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=8)
You'll find the code for Logic Pro in the Software DAWs section at the bottom of that guide.
Really awesome work here! Fantastic songwriting! You've put all things well together! Top notch production as well!
Thanks for the kind comments
I can't add to the comments already expressed except to say that I really enjoyed the song. It has a great vibe and reminded me a little of Primal Scream.
Great stuff,
Ian
I agree with everyone! Good song and performing. You have great voice.
So glad it this got bumped, so much going on here that it's almost like your are getting about three or four songs for the price of one.
The "choir" sounds wonderful, and very interesting reading how you achieved this sound as am working on a song at the moment where I am looking for the best way to do this, and will certainly take on board your technique in this respect.
Seriously though, what a song, the attention to every nuance is remarkable and you deserve serious credit for not only writing this but for how you put it all together in such a perfect production....not an easy thing to do with so much going on.
These type of songs are the reason why we keep coming back for more on here!
Brilliant!!!!