The song “Keep On” was written more than a year ago, I cannot stand the REM/pop vibe
in it no more. So I restarded the recording from scratch. Was fun to use the new “Horns” stock
plugin from Logic Pro X.4.
Unfinished recording :
the bass track is a draft take (a friend is thinking about an improved version, but the right groove is there)
vocals are unedited (no gain, time or pitch tweak)
still some tweaks to do for the drums.
a little bass solo is missing after the bridge.
Produced ITB, Logic/Slate stuff/Logic Horns/Logic drummer (largely rewritten)/Tokai Japan Love Rock Les Paul like+Telecaster BAJA takes/UAD stock guitars Amp plugins (Plexi/Jcm800)/SquierJazz Bass.
The new one :
Both these are great. I love the melody and the way the chorus lifts.
In both versions, I’m finding the verse vocals getting buried, but they are harder to hear in the new version. I see you have yet to address the gain issues with them, so I’m looking forward to the finished mix!
You’ll probably hate me for it, but I think I actually prefer the relative simplicity and the groove of the old version of the song. (The horns sound pretty cool, btw!)
If it were up to me, I’d suggest amalgamating the two versions, with the old version being the main part of the song, and the new version being a “reprise” that comes in at the end… I’m trying to think of an example of what I mean… oh ok… here’s one… notice when the main groove of the song finishes around 3:50, it starts again with a reprise that totally alters the feel - it segues from a rock solid driving beat into a kind of faux Gypsy Jazz ending…
Something like that would work really well with the 2 versions you have here, IMO.
This sounds actually pretty close to a finished mix already. I like how it sounds. so up front without anything poking out. The instrumentation is superb. Guitar tone and sound design is well conceptualized for my taste. good job. I really like the vibe and feel of the song. The atmosphere was well translated.
One thing I heard was a bit of a clash between the lead vocal and the horn lines at 1:34 - I think the vocal tuning might need just a little tweak there. Also the word “die” at 2:37 is a little out as well.
Have you thought about adding some harmonies in the chorus?
There is 2 harmonized tracks on it. Very low, maybe too low. Probably need some tuning tweak, nothing drastic. A thing : sometimes the horns are a bit out of tune, that is weird, but I am pretty sure of it
Added some fx and samples, and the feedback at the beginning that make sense with the lyrics,
in french we can say “larsen” so i forgot to talk about a larsen effect…
Still in progress.
Thank you for the review! Now I am listening to your new mix. The intro horn sounded like old & outdated MIDI instruments, and then suddenly it sounded much better and more realistic (that was my initial impression, though the intro sounded better on second listen). The horns sound pretty real, so that’s cool. The vocals are good. I like the melodies for the most part. Audio quality is good. Now I’m listening to your old one. This one does remind me of REM…though more so during the verse. I’m OK with that because I like REM. Though a person could argue it sounds less original. I like both versions. Hard to say which I like better. Though I’m not thinking the percussion/drums at 2:45 goes with the older song. I like the children sound effects. In some ways I like the older vocals when you sing with more intensity. Good job on both. On second listen, I think I like the older one better overall. What state or country are you from?
This is now really nice - listened to all mixes - and this is the best for me. The vocal is sitting better and now has the main focus rather than the hard panned guitars. Great vocal performance too…
!