'Love me in Obscurity' - Original by Greeny

[Satchwood]

Classic Tim Green. Why aren't you a published songwriter Tim?

Firstly, This is sublime Tim!

You are a Fecking Awesome Songwriter, singer and Musician!

Cool lyrics, singing, and guitar strummin.....classic TG all the way!!

[Greeny]

Beautiful, as per usual, Tim.  I absolutely love the chorus.  Nice chord progression and awesome melody sung over it.  The stripped-down sound is excellent -- just perfect for a live gig.  I also dig the strings -- what do you use to play your strings?  What type of keyboard and what tone, effects, etc.

Another brilliant masterpiece!!!  They just pour out of you, don't they?

Thanks! I played the strings on my girlfriend's electric piano - can't remember if it's a Yamaha or Casio, lol. Anyway, it's a full size keyboard. There are only a few sounds on there, and 'strings' is one of them. I record them from the headphone socket on the keyboard into the line-in on the Micro. Line-in tries to record in stereo to two tracks, but I always split them and record two separate parts. I'm not a keyboard player, so I do this all by ear and trial and error. My method is to have a lower, bass kind of string section on one track, then add a fuller swell and melody on the other. They seem to sound quite good panned L/R. There's no effects or tinkering required - just playing!

I love a good string section when it's used well. Apart from the obvious George Martin arrangements for The Beatles, I'm a big fan of the way Colin Blunstone used strings on his solo stuff (in particular, the songs 'Say you don't mind' and 'I don't believe in miracles').  T-rex used strings well too, in a totally different way.

Of course - real ones would be better, but that's not an option, lol.

[Bosko Schwartz]

I have heard you mention Colin Blunstone several times, but never The Zombies, which puzzles me.  Do you dig The Zombies?

On a related note, I hate to say this, as I am possibly the biggest Zombies fan on the planet, and Colin Blunstone is perhaps my favorite vocalist ever ... having said that, it will be a huge mystery to both you and I as to why I am going to say this, but here goes: I have never heard one bit of Blunstone's solo work.  Not one note.  Unless he played any of his solo songs when I saw him and Rod Argent live about 5 years ago, which he may well have.

So tell me more about it.  Is it anything like The Zombies (pretty much my 2nd favorite band, only after The Beatles)?  When is the time period of his solo stuff that you like, roughly?  Are we talking early 70s, late 70s, 80s, 90s, or all of the above?  Did he write most everything?  Did he have Argent or any other former Zombies on any of his solo albums?  I can't believe I haven't checked his stuff out.

[Greeny]

I do like the Zombies very much. Just not as much as the Beatles, Small Faces or Donovan, so I don't mention them too often, lol. They certainly are an influence though, and they're amongst the list of very greatest groups of all time. Colin Blunstone as a solo performer is a little bit hit and miss. He's not the songwriter (as far as I know) on his solo stuff, but as a vocalist he's almost unsurpassable. There are two of his songs you should listen to. Both are HUGE influences on me. Listen to the strings on the first one... breathtaking. I have a feeling you might like these...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-wekAq-s34


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9pS7pCx4Q8

[SteveB]

Colin Blunstone's Lady Wonderful, woefully neglected.   

[Greeny]

Also, I noticed that you have not juiced quite a few of your compositions with reverb. I've followed suit myself for a while now. Reverb is great, but it can trash a song quickly. I would actually like to see a reverb lesson posted someday - especially how to use the MBR's reverb, which is effin' tricky. Anyone?? Greeny??

Reverb is a tricky and subjective subject. I don't ever assume there's a right and wrong way to do it, as it totally depends on the song. But when you've got an arrangement as simple as this, you could easily over-do it and ruin the whole thing.

So I have no set pattern. Sometimes I don't add any reverb at all. For me, it's useful for adding some depth and pushing things back in the mix a bit - especially backing vox. It takes some definition off the tone to make things sound a bit more distant. For lead vox, I'll only use it when (as in this case) I recorded dry without any patches. If you're using mic effects for lead vocals, most of them will have enough depth and echo already.

There's one quirk of the Micro that annoys me though... if you adjust reverb as you go, it keep re-setting itself when you're not looking, lol. Not sure why, but I always have to double check before mastering.

Like panning, it's all down to taste and the feel that you're after with a particular song. For me, it should be quite subtle though, and as natural sounding as possible. That's my only rule.

[Geir]

I think I've come to a point where I comment on posts on this site in my dreams, 'cause I KNOW I've commented on this gem! Problem is my dreams aren't online yet ... well ...

This is a wonderful song Tim, and when I come to London I hope it's when you have one of your live gigs and that you do this one!!

[Hook]

OTD bump!
Rock On!

[Groundy]

OTD...Bump

Brilliant.....

Alex