Hi guys!
I am close to completing this production of this iconic song.
The idea of doing it came because all of my musicians friends have basically been out of work now for those couple of years because of Covid.
It’s a way to tell the world that they still exist.
I am aware of some issues to be resolved but I wanted your opinion as well in case I’m missing something because I’ve burned my ears by constantly listening to it for a couple of months.
2 Likes
You’ve made a great background, for the performance, so the production is well done. The only thing that sticks out to me is the varied performances; since I don’t know the artists, I’m kind of stuck comparing them to the original singers. There’s a little incongruity going on in the various energy levels and forcefulness that throws me off, since I’m not familiar with who is singing. They are all very good, but it sounds like a series of punch ins instead of a coherent performance. Kind of the nature of the beast when you take something like this.
Again, the engineering and production are very well done. The only thing I would add is to fatten up the choir sections. They had a whole bunch of people on the record to make it sound that big.
Great job overall.
1 Like
Thanks @StylesBitchley
You are right about everything and I am aware of those issues.
Most came to my studio to record but for some that wasn’t an option.
So I got, differrent mics, different rooms and no saying in the performance.
I am trying to even that out as much as I can.
You’re right about the choir as well. Needs some more body! I got about 15 people singing but one by one due to covid.
1 Like
Just wanted to say this is awesome. So much talent there. Congrats on taking on this monster of a task.
1 Like
You are very kind Paul! Thank you!
1 Like
Hey, I’m sure you had fun doing it, and you did a great job. Everyone was bombarded with the song to the point that it’s hard to hear it differently, and I’m sure if you had more opportunity to direct the performances you would have made it even better.
On the choir sections, I wonder if it would help to duplicate the tracks and adjust a little offset into them to get them sounding bigger and wider? Sliding one group of 15 voices a few ms backwards to the others might give you the effect of the voices banging into each other like a big choir, and you could also have slightly different delay tails on some of the voices as well. Your recording is pristine, but a little more of a gospel feel might be fun for the choir parts.
1 Like
Will try that on the choir!
Hey George, I think you did a really great job on this. It’s really difficult to take on something so widely known, but you’ve pulled it off nicely.
I have a suggestion for a tactic to get a more realistic “choir” sound with individual overdubs:
Get your individual singers to do a number of takes in a fairly reverberant space, but tell them to keep their mic in the one spot, but sing each different take from a different spot in the room. This helps to create a real sense of depth that it is almost impossible to imitate using artificial reverb. Works great for hand claps too.
Nice work!
2 Likes
Wish I had thought of that earlier.
Now what’s done is done regarding the recordings.
The only different thing I did between lead vocals and choir vocals is that for the latter I was positioning the singers further away from the mic.
Then I just panned the singing groups.
From left to right, Soprano, Tenors, Alto, Baritones.
However I could try your suggestion with the handclaps 
1 Like
On Monday we’re starting the video!
So I would highly appreciate any last minute feedback on this “final” take before it goes out!
The main thing I’d like you to focus on are the lead vocals. Is something bothering you on any of them?
Are they loud or quiet compared to the music?
Does any of them sound more buried or more highlighted than the rest?
The first vocalist is right on the edge of having a bit too much mud in the low mids for me - just a touch too much.
When some of the vocalists start “belting” about 2:10 in on the second chorus, they do get a bit too loud for the music at some points IMO. I feel like if you controlled the dynamics a bit better there, as well as added a bit more space around the vocals with some verb and delay, it would give the sense of getting louder without sounding out of place.
Overall, it it sounding really good. Nicely done!
1 Like
Aaaahhh that first vocalist…
Next time I see him in the mirror I’ll 
1 Like
ManAbyss,
Thank you for the reviews! Now your song: intro sounds very nice. All of the singing is quite good. Recently I started using (sometimes) a free plugin called Fresh Air, from Steve Digital: it adds some nice high end that EQ doesn’t do, as far as I know. A few of the vocals might benefit from that. Oh course I eventually recognized the song. You must know a lot of good singers. Anyway, other than some of the vocals sounding a little muddy, it sounds really good!
1 Like
I think you’ve done a very good job of evening out the vocals, especially considering the differing intensities of the performances.
My only suggestion might be to bring up the orchestration in the parts where the throaty male vocals follow a clean female phrase. I don’t hear it as a volume issue as much as an abrupt change in style that could be smoothed a little. The performances are all very good, but getting them all to mesh must have been very challenging.
This version is a big improvement overall, you can certainly roll with it as is.
1 Like
I’ve done this before and it works really well. Even get them to stand several meters away from the mic and face “away” from the mic to have it get more of the room than the direct voice.
You’ve done a really good job on this. It’s actually really nice hearing all these different voices and not knowing who they are. Really feels like a community. I love it!
1 Like
Thanks a lot @danmanisa!
I fixed some more things after that version like sibiliance at some vocals and I also brought all lead vocals a couple of dbs down. They are more in the mix now I think.
Anyway, the video is coming up in a week or two and i’ll post it here so you can put a face on all those voices! 
1 Like
Final product!
2 Likes
Awesome job, George - looks and sounds magnificent! Monumental!
1 Like
Great job on this one!
Beautiful music, and very timely as we have so much trouble in our world.
Really good vocals on this recording.
Thanks for sharing.
Rene
1 Like
Very impressive work here @ManAbyss , you have an amazing group of talents here and you have done an incredible job of showing them at their best. I hope this gets the attention it deserves.
1 Like