Funky Fever rough mix

Bash This Recording
#1

So I thought I might try this competition thing for a change. Usually I tend to think I should be using my valuable time for recording my own songs, there’s still many left unrecorded… But I lik this song (I mean the 50’s versions of the original) and bashing some of you guys made the itch worse.
I like the original idea of the song, I guess it’s more about lust than love, which must have been quite a thing back in the 50’s. In my version the music is obvously funky - i.e. the musical version of raw sex in my opnion. The funny thing about the original lyrics is that lust is portrayed as something good, something which has always been around, refering to Romeo and Juliet and Pocohontas. Of course I can relate to that :blush:
The only thing I really changed in the song is that I’m saying that “fever” is way older than Romeo and Juliet or Pocohontas - by 2 billlion year or so (probably a bit shorter, but two billion fitted nicely in the flow).

About the instrumentation: I’m not a great bass player (there’s a thread about that somewhere), so how was I going to get a convincing funky bass? I remembered Stevie Wonder often did without a bass guitar just using a synth. And the low keys on the piano I heard in Dave’s (Chordwainer’s) murder song version of Fever reminded me of the way Issac Hayes used piano for some very sexy music… I was on a bass guitar-less path. Let me know what you think of it.
This is certainly not my final mix, but it would be nice to know if the bass/ kick balance is in the ball park, or way off.

Í’ll probably be adding some ear candy - percussion. I’d love to add some horns, but I don’t own a suitable plugin. Ideas are welcome.

Here’s mix two:

And mix 3 with some cheapo horns added:

Here’s the lyrics, as you can see, I’ve used the original as template:

Funky Fever

Does it matter if I love you
Does it matter if you care
‘Cause when you put your arms around me
There’s this fever rising up somewhere

You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you touch me light
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night.

Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
Baby do you need a light?

You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night

Everybody’s got the fever
That is something we all know
Fever isn`t such a new thing
Fever started long ago

When?

About two billion years ago
Life was pretty lame
‘till sex created difference
Lighting the first flame

And there was fever
Cells were touching
Fever in life’s youth
Fever became a big thing
Fever baby it’s the truth

When the earth, full of Dinosaurs
Was hit by a meteorite
The Dinosaurs they became extinct
Those little Mammals they’re all right

They got the fever, and out they come
Fever to survive their fate
Fever, mama’s suckling the young
While daddy he just wants to mate

Now you’ve listened to my story
Here`s the point that I have made
Life will give you fever
Be it Kelvin, be it Centigrade

It gives you fever when it hits you
Fever if you live you learn
Fever till you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn

1 Like
#2

I’m on travel this week and unable to listen, but will do once I’m back home in a few days…!

#3

Hi @Aef,

What I hear on my earphones sounds flawless.
In my opinion the piano/synth bass works fine with the song.
I love the guitar sound, both rhythm & lead.
The fingertaps/slaps, I don’t know if you recorded them or if they were samples but they are amazing.

So, I wouldn’t change anything you’ve already done here. I would only add.
Adding brass can surely bring some new interest as well as adding some backvox.
I don’t know about more percussion. Fingers etc seem to have that covered.

Top job! :+1:

#4

Thanks for your support. I’m glad you like it. I’m not quite satisfied myself yet. I’ve done a second mix with a few more instruments. Don’t have horns so I added a flute (low whistle to be exact) for added 70’s funk effect. I also got the timing right between bass and drums in one or two spots. But I still have to make a proper mix. The crashes are a bit too loud here and there. And maybe too far to the sides?

#5

First off, I’m listening to mix two: Evert, this is fantastic!!! I absolutely love the groove and the zesty way you changed up the chords in the chorus. This reminds me a whole lot of Thomas Dolby around the time he released “Aliens Ate My Buick”. I mean, a lot! As it happens, I know the guy that played lead guitar for him on that record (name of Larry Treadwell), and he shared some early mixes of the songs that were WAY better than what ended up on the album IMO, much more direct and not so over-produced, and this sounds like it could be part of that set of tunes. Treadwell is a huge effects guy and always got unique sounds out of his axe, and your fx on the lead really reminds me of that.

Totally buying the bass coming from piano and synth. Bass guitar not needed here IMO. Great choice!

And of course I dig the geologic history of sex in there too-- and big points for name-dropping Kelvin and Centrigrade! When you finished the guitar solo and got to the “when the earth, full of dinosaurs” bit, I was hoping it was going to be spoken rather than sung, so you got that spot on. I would suggest trying out a “telephone” effect on just your spoken part right there, crank the HPF way the hell up and make it dirty and gritty like a bad phone line. I think that would add another layer of interest, and then you automate it to go back to normal as you slam back into the final chorus with “they got the fever”. Then when that chorus ends with the “aaaoah” thing after “daddy just wants to mate”, it becomes kind of a counterpoint to the telephone effect transitioning back to the start of that chorus, if you follow me…

Some horns would totally kick ass during the guitar solo too, some stabs and flourishes… if you could pull that off somehow, go for it!

Last detail nitpick is I would hold that last low piano note and let it decay away rather than lifting the key up, given that you can still hear the final cymbal hit decaying away. See how that sounds. (Also you have about 45 seconds of silence on the end of the file, you’ll want to trim that off.)

Really great work!! :+1: :+1::+1::+1:

#6

Wow, thanks Dave!
Biggest compliment yet on this site :sweat_smile:

The comparison with Thomas Dolby is interesting. I have heard of him, but somehow never got round to actually listening to his work let alone buying it. I love funk music, best there is on the dance floor. I haven’t played it all that much. A friend of mine I played with in a band in the late seventies showed me how. He later became a well known jazz guitarist in my country. At the time he was still an angry young man who actually liked disco (a deadly sin for most of us at that time). But to be more precise, he was an early fan of Nile Rogers, and of course History would prove him right. So he taught me a few of those tricks. Only ever got around to writing one funk song. I’ll have to record that after this one.

Glad you liked the bass. I would have preferred some lively slapping and such, but this as least provides a nice steady basis for the rest.

I had suspected our number one science nerd (hope you don’t mind) would like the reference to Kelvin and Centigrade. Of course the original line was “Fahrenheit or Centigrade”. Just a bit of an update, at the risk of losing people on the way :joy: .
I would argue that the history of sex is a biological, not a geological one, but hey, each to his own discipline and Darwin for us all (or Einstein?) :wink:

Great idea to use the telephone voice, I’ll definitely give it a try. I still have to find something suitable to use as horns… Maybe I can find some affordable or free samples or even loops somewhere.

Oh and thanks for the tip on the last piano note. Hadn’t heard it, but you’re right.

I wonder how many are working on a Fever project? Haven’t seen much in the way of bashables. It increases our chances, but the fun of it is much more important of course. I hope we get some more original ideas out there.

Thanks again for your comments Dave!
Evert

#7

Dolby is best known for his one hit, She Blinded Me With Science, which was the beginning of his transition from spacier, synth-pop type stuff to funkier material. Not long before he started working on the Aliens album (which was some years after that), he had started a relationship with a woman that got very hot & heavy, apparently the first time he was getting some on a regular basis, and that really influenced his material (this inside scoop from Treadwell the guitarist). But by the time the album came out, I guess he got concerned that the sound was too far from his usual and that maybe his fans wouldn’t be receptive or something, hence the changes from the earlier versions.

Yay for Nile Rodgers! That guy is amazing, so subtle but so rock-solid. The very few forays I’ve made into that style really made me appreciate how easy he made the funk guitar style seem, when it ain’t easy at all!

Indeed, sex is biology, but billions of years is geologic time, so there’s something for everyone there. :grin: Darwin, as it turns out, got his start as a geologist, and a pretty darned good one at that. One of my geo professors used to joke that if he’d stuck with the geology instead of going into that bio stuff, he might have made something of himself… :nerd_face:

Looking forward to the revs on this-- good luck!

#8

Wow, this is fun. What a great vibe. Bass reminds be to a tom cruise movie…highway to the danger zone?

Love that rhythm guitar. Your vocal is coming thru like excellent. And the attitude is perfect. ha ha

Done very well. big congrats

Paul

#9

Thanks Paul! Maybe I should start a funk band. The band I play in (as a drummer actually) split up a few weeks ago. Some of the guys are getting together tomorrow to see if we can start up something new. Who knows…
Anyway, as you say, this is fun music. Great to play.

1 Like
#10

Listened to mix two. Damn! I like this tons! Nicely done!

#11

This is great! I totally agree with ^^Anthony ^^ - nicely done!

#12

Thanks guys,

I am about to upload mix 3 which finally does have some horns. I’m not quite sure about them. I used some free plugins (DSK and one I can’t remember) which are pretty basic. The alt sax sounds OK, but the trumpet… That’s why I haven’t put them prominently in the mix. Let me know what you think. Maybe the melodies I used suck. Maybe the sound quality is not good enough for an IRD mix competition. Or maybe, just maybe you actually like the horns???

I’m also curious if I’m getting my bass/ kick right now that I finally have a subwoofer installed and found out what was missing all those years.
I haven’t got round to tuning the whole thing to my room, but the improvement is already there. The mix sounded right first time when I played it on my hifi stereo set. Until now it rarely sounded right first time.

#13

That was a great idea Dave. I did the telephone trick, but now I think I need to add some dirt and crackles as you suggest. It’s way too clean still.

#14

Totally loving it Evert… firing on all thrusters here! Agreed that the telephone voice needs to be cracklier and dirtier for sure. I would also suggest using the same telephone treatment on that single “Uhhh!” right after “daddy he just wants to mate”, I think that would be a nice piece of ear candy to tie back to the spoken bit.

Great stuff!

#15

Thank you for the reviews! Now your music: Mix1: Most everything sounds pretty darn cool to me! Never heard this song before. Maybe too much delay on the lead guitar; or the double-tracking (?) could be tighter? One other small gripe: the vocals at the very end: it seemed you were struggling a bit to hit such a low note. Mix2: Not bad, but I like the synth/piano bass better in Mix1. Overall I like Mix1 better anyhow. Mix3: I like this better than Mix2. The tinny vocals around 2:20 was a nice change of pace. I guess “Fahrenheit” would not work well? Now listening to Mix1 again: I like it best overall. The vocals remind me of World Party/Warren Zevon (good). Nice job.

#16

Listening to version 3. Pretty snazzy! Wish it was a more natural sounding piano though.

#17

Hi Aaron, thanks for the review. Just to clarify: I was anticipating the pleasantly nerdy nature of this forum :joy: . Science nerds will usually tend to think of Fahrenheit, pounds and miles as something that belonged in the previous century (or earlier). But being a science nerd myself (I have a degree in biology from long ago and far away) I of course had to include Kelvin (the temperature scale that actually starts at absolute zero).

And yes, I did struggle a bit with that low note. Bit I hit it any way!