This song has been around for a while, and we finally got a demo with a guy who can sing it properly.
Andrew pitched in with some eq and compression tips, and helped me to understand where some of the problems with my monitors are. It is EZ Drummer 2, but again, a proper recording is a future project.
It needs to be played loud, but let me know what you think,
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The lyrics, just in case:
Everybody needs someone to hold on to.
All I want to do is hold on to you.
I’m thankful for the time I have known you
Everyday I wake up and it’s something new.
If you’ve got to leave, get your wings
I will find you up above where the angels sing.
Fly away, my broken Angel
Every story needs to have its’ own ending
Some are silver, some are cold and gray.
Thought we’d live to see the sunset together
But it seems our final chapter won’t turn out that way.
If your leaving, spread your wings
I will listen to the heavens where the angels sing
You’ve been wonderful, since you came into my life, but your eyes are telling me it’s time for leaving.
Goodbye Angel, you will always be my wife.
Until we meet again I’ll keep believing.
That intro is just downright sexy. Yes the dude can sing, but you have more grit that I like.
Mix is really tight now. the solos are just the right length. It’s not “watch me show off” that I have heard so many times.
The fly way is hypnotic and hangs in my head.
Best spot for this track is in a movie scene. Excellent
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Thanks, yeah the intro has the berm chicka womp wah thing going a little bit to get you to put quarters in the machine.
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Outstanding groove!! You did a great job of maintaining a modern sound with a classic rock vibe. That’s challenging! Mix is sounding really good to me. I’m on my laptop, but its translating great. Well done!
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Thanks, it is amazing what happens when you peel off a couple of layers of sludge and reverb. The pop in the drums gave it better energy so setting levels became easier.
Outstanding Bob! It’s sounding really good on my computer speakers at work. (I haven’t had a chance to hear the new mix on my studio system yet).
The performances are great - as I’ve come to expect from you - But most of all though, I love the songwriting and arrangement skill on display here… This just flows really beautifully as a song - the arrangement is really engaging, and all the parts serve the song. Nothing is surplus to requirements, yet it’s definitely not a spartan, minimalist type of production.
The melodies are really great too, and this hits the sweet spot where your vocal exudes power, but it’s nuanced and used effectively… and man those angelic harmonies at 3:28 are worthy of Michael McDonald! Great stuff!
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It’s my buddy Deryle Hughes singing. I sit next to him at the desk and give him ideas of what I’d like to hear, and we build it up phrase by phrase. It was a tedious/ fun job editing it all together. His range and power on a song like this is really helpful. I can get the point across, but he can hit what I can dream up, so it works out great.
Your observations on the starter mix were spot on; once the drums got the transients back and the bass had low mud reduced I had all kinds of room to set good levels, whereas before, turning anything up or down just made it worse. I need to keep in mind that my headphones don’t hype the bass much in the 2-300 range, so I tried to get more meat there, which ended up being a mistake. Good catch on your part.
Oh wow, you guys have very similar singing styles… Is that the same guy as on the other song? Did you do the BG vocals?
Yes, same guy. He did the background vox too.
He sings my songs with a bluesy tilt based on the demo I give him, and then we compose the performance as we go.
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That’s awesome - He’s a very talented dude!.. and you coached him very well. This performance is much tighter than the previous one. You make a great team!
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Cool tune @StylesBitchley with some nice touches like the Robin Trower sound at :40. Your vocalist does a good job here but I think your voice would be good too, just saying. I think some horns would be good to add to this, would be worth the investment.
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Wonderful performances by all involved. Loving the vocals, very mature and powerful.
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Robin Trower is one of my idols, so whenever it fits I steal a little from him. Thanks for the voice comments. On this one I did a voice demo and I couldn’t quite get where I wanted to go. I sing emotionally with no technique. My range didn’t cut it for this song.
Deryle has been singing for 40 years. He can blow the roof off my little bedroom studio. He has a voice microphones seem to like. Thanks very much.
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StylesBitchley,
Thank you for the review! Now your song: everything sounds great! I might have mixed the super high background vocals a teensy bit lower, but that’s it. I think it is radio worthy.
Cool tune, I think the vocals are really good and the instrumental mix sounds nice.
Maybe just adjusting the higher end of vocals a bit could be good. Saying that, is only my personal preference. Very cool tune, and your vocals remind me a bit of Buddy Guy, one of my faves. Best of luck!
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Thanks very much. I hope to record it properly soon, but for a bedroom recording it works pretty well.
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Most definitely!!!
I agree with Paul, this is very tight. I think what I am noticing, and find myself doing too, is using Toontrack drums though the whole song with the same groove clip. Having the same looped drum groove with cymbals crashing though the verse and the chorus really doesn’t help to distinguish between the two. Great song and every part of it is well down, I would just try a closed cymbals groove maybe for the verse, or not have it so crashing during the verse.
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