Cold - AndyR Original

[Ella]

Wonderful rock-tune and great performance! There is maybe a little-bit James Bond-feeling and some David Bowie too. I like it! Very well indeed!

[AndyR]

Thanks folks

It started off with that riff in the intro - I'd been listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin what with their re-issues etc. And I was thinking The Rover, and this riff came out.

Then I started playing with chords that could replace or accompany the riff - that's when James Bond appeared (that made me laugh, Ella). I spotted him immediately and did my best to remove him, quite successfully, and promptly forgot all about it... But listening now, I can hear how one of extra guitar parts in the verses (the off beat one I was so proud of when I came up with it!) suggests him again rhythmically, and some of the harmonies elsewhere have brought him back as well.

Anyway I didn't know where it was going until "Your wagon train..." sang itself and gave us a song. Then I started messing with big chords and that gave us the bridge/chorus section. Improvising over that gave us the "All I ever feel is, all I ever feel is, all I ever feel is ... cold" - Mrs R's favourite bit - and suddenly I was stuck with a song called "Cold". Somewhat less upbeat than Led Zeppelin's The Rover (with its rather more hopeful "If we could just join hands").

I messed around with ideas, and while I was looking for a second verse I came up with "You chose this ground" thinking in terms of someone picking an area (of a relationship) to have an argument over, something they're certain they can force, and win, the argument over. But I've been reading a lot about Waterloo. I know A LOT about the battle of Waterloo, I have done since 1970 or so... And with its 200th anniversary this year, various family members got me a lot of new books last Christmas. I saved them up for this summer, and that's what I was reading when the 18th of June came round - and that's what came into my head with "choosing ground", Wellington had picked out the Mont St Jean ridge, a year before, as a good place to stop someone trying to march north on Brussels. And on the night of the 17th of June, the rain did come, big time. Napoleon needed to force a big fight and victory before the huge invading armies of Austria and Russia got to France's borders. He was very happy that Wellington stood that night and didn't keep retreating. On the Sunday morning, he thought it was going to be a walk-over, and it should have been, but the overnight rain (as well as keeping both armies awake, cold, and hungry all night, and hungry/thirsty the next day) meant the guns couldn't be moved into place in time for his "9 o'clock start". And time is something he didn't really have.

So, basically, the words are a jumble of stuff based in the battle of Waterloo (from both sides) and the idea of a relationship where the singer longs to feel something other than cold (btw, the "reach for the blanket" bit, and the original "cold" was quite literal - I used to get so hot at night, Mrs R cold, now it's round the other way as I get older, I FREEZE at night and my old bones can't cope!!).

But when I'd finished it and typed it up for posting, I saw how it was much more about Waterloo (for me) than I'd realised, and in a way that I've never really considered in all these years - the humans involved, the physical feelings, and the emotional side, and the huge amount of death and suffering that even the survivors, both winners and losers, went through.

"Next to a battle lost, the saddest thing is a battle won"

===============

Interestingly, having read Blooby's tale of cutting and pasting in his recent one, this song was put together "on the machine" by cutting and pasting parts to fit where I thought it should go (at least one of the cut/paste guitar parts is still on there). I do it sometimes, but it's most unlike me - usually I have a complete song, arranged in my head, that needs recording.

And that's what caused the problems with the vocals I think. The guide vocals were put in place with a hand-held SM57 just to give me something to arrange to. When I came to do the vocals "properly", I found that everything had been recorded to fit those vocals. I also found that repeating the vocals was almost impossible - especially where there were twin leads.

I had to replace the vocals after the instrumental - the two voices weren't in agreement over lyrics, and one voice wasn't enough to carry the high part after the key change. Also, the last quiet vocals were a mess of cut/paste and drop-ins, and there was just too much microphone contact and popping for that amount of exposure. But if I was going to keep verse one and two (and "Your wagon train" was the line I was having the most trouble repeating to my satisfaction!), then I had to get the same vocal sound on the last section - a month later and with a completely different backing mix to sing to!! In the end I got the loud stuff even better, the last quiet stuff not as good, but usable (the precise vibe of the last vocals is not so important as the first line - by the end you've already got the mood in your head, the singer is just retreating thoughtfully, and it'll take a lot for the vocal to mess that feeling up!)(I am, however, EXTREMELY pissed off that you can't hear the "d" on "planned" and the last Cold! ... it is there, it just doesn't seem to come out in the mix)

Finally, I was going to put choirs of oohs and aahs on the second bridge/chorus (and possibly the last). But I got fed up with it and too tired. Now I've posted it, I kinda regret not holding out for this. The second one (Draw near the fire) would have benefited from a slightly different treatment than the first one. You might not have noticed it if I had, but you would have felt more of a "we're going somewhere" progression (a bit like the verses - second verse has a vocal harmony on the second half, and it was SO tempting to do it to the first verse as well, but that would have given you a subconscious "here we go again" vibe on the second verse).

===============

Anyhoo - thanks for listening And I'm so glad folks like it... I was fairly convinced last night that it was a bit too ploddy and depressing sounding... I was aiming for more "desperate" and less "tired" and "resigned"... but maybe it's better it ended up like this...

(I've got a song, a year or so old, called "We Wait" that starts "She was dead when I put her in the ground" - I've tried it at least once and we fell about laughing because it was SO depressing... But if I can get away with "depressed" like this one, mebbe it's time to try that again! )

[artokh74]

That's a really cool tune. The verses gave me real chills actually.  No puns intended.

Not so sure about it being that depressing. In my book this is probably closer to uplifting, somehow.
I suppose if you can still feel the cold, it's still FEELING SOMETHING, right?

[AndyR]

That's a really cool tune. The verses gave me real chills actually.  No puns intended.

Not so sure about it being that depressing. In my book this is probably closer to uplifting, somehow.
I suppose if you can still feel the cold, it's still FEELING SOMETHING, right?

Keep talking

"Uplifting" is one of the things I wanted, but I gave up trying to get it... But if I've got it anyway - RESULT!

And the "chills" in the verses - yes! That's what I was after. I felt I needed a "warm" sound, but I feared the warmth had removed the chills...

But, and I assume this is what happens to everyone else, when you're listening to your own stuff, all you can really hear is your own voice and you've no idea what actual effect it's having on others...

[Blooby]

This vocal reminds me of Jack Bruce .

Absolutely. I was waiting for a Ginger Baker listless "thwacka-thwacka" drum fill. What are you running your main melody guitar through? Sounded great. Loved the bass as well.

Blooby

[Jarle]

I love it. Fabulous song and amazing vocal.

[bruno]

Really like the central motif on this track. Great vocals, can't really pigeon hole the style, this is quite operatic (almost), really enjoyed the ride with this one
B

[AndyR]

I love how people are hearing different things - all stuff I look up to, but don't necessarily think of while I'm doing my thing... Interestingly, on this one, I had huge problems listening to bridge/chorus one and two while mixing - all I could hear was "boring old Andrew voice" droning away! In the end I decided it is what is and I can't do nothing about it.

Blooby - all the guitars are going through my Vox Tonelab LE on this one. I think it's my stock "Marshall Bluesbreaker" patch (rather than my stock "AC30" patch - that seems to work better for Fenders rather than Gibsons). I do know that all the guitar parts used the same patch with no tweaking - I just adjusted the volumes and tones and pickup switch on the guitar.

That lead would have been bridge pickup wide open. Other scrunch and lead parts would've probably been the same, maybe the tone backed off a spot. The jangly parts would have been middle, with the bridge on 3-4, neck on 2-3. Other rhythms would have been bridge on about 5-6 (maybe plus neck on 4-5), maybe the tone backed off a bit.

Bear in mind they would all have had some +/- EQ during mixing to blend them together (fat/warmth with 100Hz, fat/hardness with 200Hz, scrunch/bite with 3000Hz, tinkle/fizz with 5000Hz) - and they were all cut below 50Hz as they were recorded.

I'm finding this Les Paul (with Bare Knuckles Stormy Monday pickups in) pretty much works like this on any of beasties I can play it through here (the Tonelab, my Yamaha THR10, the Laney Cub). It really is a fantastically versatile instrument...

But strat fans will be pleased to hear I've finally been playing the trusty 60s Roadworn for the last week or two...

[chapperz66]

That's another fine song Andy.  Such clarity.  Very impressed.

Paul

[Geir]

This is right up my alley !

The powerful vocals and the guitarriffs combined with a dynamic performance that reminds me a bit of early Rainbow and Whitesnake .... Really excellent stuff Andy

On your recommendation I'm now reading "Guerilla home recording" and I'm now even more impressed with your productions than I've ever been !!!