Songcrafters.org

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Unplugged cover of the 1981 single by Jon & Vangelis which was also included on the second edition of their album "The Friends of Mr. Cairo".

Thanks to oldrottenhead for the great vocals. I especially love the backup vocals.

Everything in this recording except the vocals and percussion was played on my Godin xtSA solidbody guitar. I used the piezo bridge transducers instead of its magnetic pickups in order to approximate the sound of an acoustic guitar. This was further enhanced by an acoustic processor effect patch in my BR-864. No other effects were used, although the octave of some tracks was changed in Audacity and a bit of reverb was added to a few tracks.

The bass track was recorded with the Godin using the same acoustic settings. Then I loaded it into Audacity and dropped the pitch by one octave.

There's a rhythmic sound which runs throughout the whole song but is most noticeable at the beginning and end. It was achieved by picking a palm-muted G string for a percussive effect.

For the guitar break, I recorded a single track, then duplicated it twice in Audacity. I then raised the pitch of one copy by an octave, lowered the other copy an octave, and mixed the levels of all three to achieve a thicker sound. I used the same technique with the accent chords in the last verse.

All of the percussion was played in real time on my Yamaha keyboard by tapping the appropriate keys. The snare and kick drum were recorded to separate tracks so that I could control their relative levels. The other percussion sounds were castanets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castanet) in verses 1 and 2, vibraslap (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibraslap) in verse 3, and bell tree (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_tree) in the intro and verse 3. Again, these are all percussion samples from the Yamaha keyboard which I played in real time.


Dedicated to Jim's mum...

Dont Know the Song....

But I'm very taken by this track!!


Superb Instrumental!

Superb Vox!

Stunning dedication....



Very Well Done to All!




Peace

T(Osckilo)

Third Listen...

I Love the detail in this track!

Jims Vox is expressive as ever....

And the Music Wraps around the Vox!

Very Impressive!

Bass is Very well placed as Well!

Sounds Great through Cans and Lap top speakers!

Wow!

Thanks Tharek. It was a fun project and Jim did a great job, as always.

Quote from: OsCKilO on February 27, 2010, 09:41:29 PMDont Know the Song....

Here's the original:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqLAVyRaXw

Jon Anderson is the lead vocalist of Yes. He's an alto tenor and hits some pretty high notes which, I imagine, would be pretty hard to reach for most vocalists. So Jim sang the main vocal in more of a Peter Gabriel style and range, and tried to sing closer to Jon Anderson's range for the backing vocals. I think it worked quite well.

Vangelis Papathanassiou is a keyboard player. So the original was mostly synthesizer, making it a good choice for an unplugged cover I think.

Great song and nice job of arranging and putting together a lot of parts. I especially like the subtle percussion parts.

have been dying to hear how this would come out, braw fmgwabp. thanks for the dedication to my mum i'll need to burn her a copy.

i got my first vhs recorder and john and vangelis where on top of the pops the same night i got it. so i taped top of the pops my mum nearly chewed up the tape starting and pausing this song to get the lyrics its a favourite of hers.

was a bugger to sing, jon anderson has always been one of my favourite vocalists his range in this song is phenomenol even singing this an octave lower was extremely difficult.

I do know and love the original. And I must say you've done a great cover of it !!

superb performance and production!

Impressed of the "acoustic" sound you've managed to get out of that godin.

piePod for sure !

3rd listen now ...

oh ... and the vox ..... any Jon Anderson song is hard to cover ... and WOW ... great result ...

love it

 

I Like this one Better than the Original!

But i'm a sucker for acoustic numbers........

Great song guys.  So good to see a song post from you 64G, they are few and far between, but great stuff when you do.  Nice vocals.

Wow - great collab guys ~~~ 64 guitars and all :)  Very melodic and the guitars fit perfectly with Jim's vocals!!  I do agree that I really like the harmonizing backup vox ORH - they get to one at a deeper level that way!

Thanks 64G for your in-depth explanation on your recording wizardry - pretty flippin cool techniques!  Nice creative work in deed!!

Beautiful song - On my second listen. I hadn't heard the original before, but I like this version better as well.

I'll have to say that when you do show your musical side it's all business - High quality and well put together with great playing. Incredible job isolating all the instruments. Lots of things going on, but you can hear everything. Overall, a fantastic production.

I like the vocal additions, Jim - You da man as usual.

Excellent tune!

Mark

Yes I know this one and WOW guys this is really top notch. Great vox and awesome mix
What a gem...great work!

Not familiar with this song either...

But you guys did a phenomenal job on this. The tracking of the music is perfect, and ORH... Great great job on the vox. The harmonies were right on. You have what a lot of singers lack... feeling!

Great collab guys!

 

Wow!  Great work!  The little details were really awesome! 

this is as good if not better than the original --
well down -ORH -jaaaz -you have some range in your voice - 8) 8)

great backing 64

Thanks for the comments everyone. Much appreciated.

What a beautiful job. I had mixed feelings about the original (and Jon Anderson's vocal style generally), so I can say that I easily prefer this version! It lets the simple beauty of the song shine through. Just great work all round. Lovely, lovely, lovely. It's got a strange emotional draw. I feel a bit emotional now. But maybe that's just a week of too much work and very little sleep, and being dragged away from home by work.

I know this song so well. It was the first CD I bought when I bought my first CD player. I used to perch my then tiny daughter on my hip and dance her squealing  with delight round the room. It holds many powerful memories for me.

I love this version too. It's a daunting task to attempt to pull off a monster track like this one, both instrumentally and vocally, but you have both succeeded in making this work so well. It's a fantastic unplugged version and I love it.

PiePod for sure.

Nice one guys.

i'm gonna stick this in my mums mother's day card this sunday. i can hear her now "no bad james, but yer no jon anderson ur ye son"

Wow, I missed this. It's fantastic. 64, the level of detail you put into this is amazing. This was a pleasure to hear.

Quote from: Greeny on March 12, 2010, 09:16:43 AMWhat a beautiful job. I had mixed feelings about the original (and Jon Anderson's vocal style generally), so I can say that I easily prefer this version! It lets the simple beauty of the song shine through. Just great work all round. Lovely, lovely, lovely. It's got a strange emotional draw. I feel a bit emotional now. But maybe that's just a week of too much work and very little sleep, and being dragged away from home by work.

ditto...never heard the original but Jon Anderson's vocals make me cringe (much like Peter Citera :P)

This is a really good colab, lot's of cool things going on and Jim's voice brings this home. (pun intended)

Quote from: Satchwood on February 28, 2010, 09:34:23 AMThanks 64G for your in-depth explanation on your recording wizardry

Ditto that.  You have inspired me 64G, to take a closer look at Audacity as a companion for the BR600. 

Thanks too for providing the original so I can say not only that you have done a great song here but a great cover as well.

This is a beautiful, sweeping, uplifting song all the way through.  You did a wonderful job of orchestrating all the parts with fine tonal quality, balance, and fullness.  Jim, yee've shure got a high roof to yurr mouth. ;D

I missed this one. (holiday). Great job. I really like all the little percussive bits. To see so many people saying they never heard it before has really made me feel my age! I didn't realise just how long ago it was. Anyways, well done folks.

Nice one guys, I don't know the original, but this was beautiful

Always liked the pairing of Jon And Vangelis (I'm familiar with the original)..I must say you pulled it off very nicely..great idea with the backing high vox..works a treat:))

Nick

Im in awe at the incredible collab you guys did with this.
This is no easy song to cover!
And you both did a fab job of it....

LG

Remember the original is just a good if not better 1981 cant believe its that long ago superb collab lads !!

Dunny

Magnificent!!!!

Bump

            Great track, missed it first time around. Didn't think I knew it, but I did!

                                                   henwrench

This is fantastic, thanks for the bump! I know I heard it, but I see that I didn't leave it a proper comment.

The instrumentals were so delicately put together. Fantastic work 64, and as usual, great vox Jim.

my mum did like it but she prefers the original, mothers eh?

Glad as well this was bumped too, nice work guys!
 Really liked Yes in the eighties, avoided them for 20 years & like them again now.
Still your version is better!

Bumpity bump
What a beautiful song. You guys did a wonderful job. I always liked this song, but this is spectacular.

A real spine tingling performance!  Glad this came back across the top of the board!

Gets me every time. So much emotion squeezed into one song. And I still prefer it to the original!

Wow , missed this one twice , this is totally excellent you guys , i'm lovin everything about this , Jon & Vangelis were big faves of mine , you have certainly done them proud with this rendition

A bloody BIG well done , as Tommy said , i to will be looking more closely into Audacity

And 64 , that Godin sounds excellent , have you got  a GR , whats the tracking like.



Jim ( respect ) for the vox



Rob

Thanks for the bump, Ken. And thanks to everyone for their comments.

Quote from: facemask93 on April 02, 2011, 04:18:01 AMAnd 64 , that Godin sounds excellent , have you got  a GR , whats the tracking like.

Unfortunately, I don't have a GR or any GK-compatible gear. It's something that I'm very interested in exploring but I haven't been working since before I got the xtSA, so I can't justify the expense right now. When I get a job, I plan to buy some GK-compatible gear, though I'm not yet sure what I'll get. I always wanted an AXON AX-100 MkII (http://www.axon-technologies.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1&menu=101). By all accounts, they're much better at controlling external synths than the Roland GRs. And I like the rackmount design, the included editor, and the extreme versatility (up to 12 play area zones via fret, string, and pick position splitting). Unfortunately, the AXON is no longer being made and I don't like the idea of investing in technology that is no longer in production. I'm hoping that some other company will buy the AXON technology and release a new version.

The GR-55 has some impressive features but I don't like floor-based gear. I want the hand-operated controls up on a table or stand or in a rack, within easy reach so that it's convenient to experiment with the settings. With floor-based products, I think you end up using only the preset patches because it's too much trouble to bend down and fiddle with the hand-operated controls. But I'm not content with preset patches. The joy of having a guitar synth is in being able to create new sounds, and that requires easy access to the controls. Sure, I could put the GR-55 on a table or stand, but then I wouldn't be able to access the foot-operated switches and pedal properly. I think it's very bad ergonomics to have both foot-operated and hand-operated controls in the same case.

Roland got it right with their VG-99 virtual guitar system.



All of the hand-operated controls are in the VG-99's main unit which can be sat on a table or mounted to a stand, and there's a separate, midi-controlled unit for just the floor-based controls. I wish they'd used that same design for the GR-55.

When I'm ready to buy, I'll look at what guitar synths are available. If the GR-55 is the best I can find, then I might consider using it as a tabletop device and buying a separate midi foot controller for it. It's not ideal, but if nobody buys the AXON technology and releases a new version of it, the GR-55 and a separate midi foot controller might be the best option.

Dear 64chitarre,

first of all, a GREAT cover and collaboration.

The GR-55 is THE absolute guitar synth. I can confirm. I received it few days ago, and since then I've been explorating its enormous possibilities.

To tell the truth, my first sensation wasn't so good at all: it seemed that all the *usual*  problems of *all* guitar synths were there too: strange *plus* notes, garbage, missing notes.
Well, I was wrong. It's FUNDAMENTAL to setup in proper way expecially the sensibility of the strings: LOWER than recommended by the manual.
Then, some other important editing has to be done with each patch you want to use,but at the end you obtain exactly what you need. And believe me, this was impossible with my previous, old GR-30 that I think I will sell soon.

Going to the *minus* of the GR-55: yes, you are right, someway it has something of "schizoid": it should be on the ground, but as I told it's fundamental to edit it WITH HANDS, and quite often too, so unless you want to spend most of the time before playing on you knees (????), or unless you love to have backbone pain, this is a WRONG idea. Moreover, since Roland till today has decided not to release a computer editor (an independent one is already available, though.)

In the next days I will upload my first experiments with the couple Godin ACS-SA - Roland GR-55. Believe me, great fun and incredible possibilities.

Alfredo

Quote from: alfstone on April 02, 2011, 06:31:00 PMIn the next days I will upload my first experiments with the couple Godin ACS-SA - Roland GR-55. Believe me, great fun and incredible possibilities.

I'll look forward to hearing that, Alfredo.

Have you tried using the GR-55 to control an external synth, such as a keyboard, via MIDI? That was one thing that I heard was a weakness in previous Roland synths. Apparently, tracking was very good with the internal synth but poor when using MIDI to control an external synth. That was one of the strengths of the AXON. Its tracking was excellent with external synths. In fact, there was no difference in tracking between the AXON's internal synth and an external one because they both used MIDI. But Roland did it differently (at least in all the synths before the GR-55). They only use MIDI to control external synths. For the internal synth, they use a more direct approach that doesn't require any MIDI. So tracking is fast internally, but the extra step of converting to MIDI slows down the tracking with an external synth. I don't know if the GR-55 still has that problem.

Never heard the original... gonna check it out now.... Nice one guys. Love it

V/R
Tod

Quote from: 64Guitars on April 02, 2011, 11:51:53 PM

Quote from: alfstone on April 02, 2011, 06:31:00 PMIn the next days I will upload my first experiments with the couple Godin ACS-SA - Roland GR-55. Believe me, great fun and incredible possibilities.

I'll look forward to hearing that, Alfredo.

Have you tried using the GR-55 to control an external synth, such as a keyboard, via MIDI? That was one thing that I heard was a weakness in previous Roland synths. Apparently, tracking was very good with the internal synth but poor when using MIDI to control an external synth. That was one of the strengths of the AXON. Its tracking was excellent with external synths. In fact, there was no difference in tracking between the AXON's internal synth and an external one because they both used MIDI. But Roland did it differently (at least in all the synths before the GR-55). They only use MIDI to control external synths. For the internal synth, they use a more direct approach that doesn't require any MIDI. So tracking is fast internally, but the extra step of converting to MIDI slows down the tracking with an external synth. I don't know if the GR-55 still has that problem.

Of course it will be my next step, in the next days.

BTW, you may give a look here:

http://www.joness.com/gr300/MIDI_SPEED.htm

in few words, according to the test's author comments on the MIDIguitar Yahoogroup, the GR-55 behaviour should be exactly THE SAME both on internal and external (via MIDI out) sounds.

I'll try, I'll try...

Anyway, again about the GR-55 possibilities regard this topic...well, I have almost the sensation that it's even unuseful to connect it to an external synth, since...you have more than 900 tones  :o available onboard,

http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/en/manuals/res/61493876/GR-55_l_tonelist_je01.pdf

and believe me, they are really very, very good. More, you may use up to 2 tones AND a COSM guitar together, and averything can be easily edited as you prefer!

Ciao!
Alfredo