I have a tune here in progress I was hoping to post soon and it's been waiting for a friend of a friend to put some saxophone down on it but the sax guy has just had dental surgery and I'm a little wary if the Delta Covid variant is going to rain on our studio parade and prevent us from getting together so since I'm feeling inspired and recharged from recently catching up with the great new tunes that y'all have been posting here I'm just going to post it as-is for now..
This is a change of pace for me and it will be on a future so-called solo project (as opposed to a band Rated Blue album)... Do we still say 'album'...? I can't say if I like it yet or not, the chorus tag line (inspired by my GF) and the chord progression fell in my lap pretty quickly which is usually a hopeful sign but stylistically and thematically this tune is a bit like an alien baby to me and we're still getting to know each other...lol. The recording was quite different as most of the beds were recorded in my living room on our little Tama Bop Kit and I tuned a baritone Telecaster up to C and restrung my Fender Precision Bass with a string set from a 5-string bass and tuned it to C as well.. Lastly a new dealio for me was playing slide guitar on this. Drums are by my son Connor, Piano and Hammond organ by Dave Williams and I did the rest.. Looking forward to getting a Coltrane/Maceo Parker style sax freakout in the the bridge at some point when I can hopefully arrange a session with the sax player.
Very nice, Glen! Song is really good and all the playing is great but I particularly like your vocals on this, both the performance and their sound in the track.
sunrat wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:35 am
Very nice, Glen! Song is really good and all the playing is great but I particularly like your vocals on this, both the performance and their sound in the track.
Hi sunrat!
Lol, Vocals are what I always absolutely dread so to get a comment on them specifically is nice, thanks!
I did change my workflow on the vocals for this tune.. I used u-he Presswerk with it's 'warm and airy' vocal preset and a touch of the Ardour a-Delay feeding into the TAL Reverb II (it's a very good vocal plate) and most notably I unchecked 'strict i/o' in the Ardour Mixer strip so the vocal tracks are in stereo. I also double tracked myself going into the pre-chorus to make that part more distinct..
Last edited by GMaq on Fri Jul 30, 2021 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lol, Vocals are what I always absolutely dread so to get a comment on them specifically is nice, thanks!
I did change my workflow on the vocals for this tune.. I used u-he Presswerk with it's 'light and airy' vocal preset and a touch of the Ardour a-Delay feeding into the TAL Reverb II (it's a very good vocal plate) and most notably I unchecked 'strict i/o' in the Ardour Mixer strip so the vocal tracks are in stereo. I also double tracked myself going into the pre-chorus to make that part more distinct..
Well the vocals definitely turned out well. I liked the lyrics for the verse at 1:24. The mix is very seamless as well IMO.
Tenaba wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:23 pm
Well the vocals definitely turned out well. I liked the lyrics for the verse at 1:24. The mix is very seamless as well IMO.
Thanks Tenaba!
The vocals and the lyrics are the biggest struggle (for me) and are often that last thing that have any attention paid so I really appreciate your comment!
This is a really good song, and the vocals are absolutely fine.
The only slight criticism I'd make would be that the first few seconds of the intro seemed a bit confused timing wise.
I second all the compliments on the vocals: I told you some time ago your voice reminds me of Robby Steinhardt's (who sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago, RIP...) from Kansas, a vocal tone I'm very partial to. So don't be shy and just let those pipes sing
Rainmak3r wrote: ↑Thu Aug 05, 2021 9:20 am
I second all the compliments on the vocals: I told you some time ago your voice reminds me of Robby Steinhardt's (who sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago, RIP...) from Kansas, a vocal tone I'm very partial to. So don't be shy and just let those pipes sing
Yeah I read that about Robby, between him and Dusty Hill (from ZZ Top) it's been a tough month on classic rock musicians..
If I was an envious person, I would be envious of your production skills and musicianship. It's such a transparent and open sound and still it packs power and punch.
It's a lovely song, though not a genre I'd gravitate to in particular. I'm looking forward to the full version with the sax in it though. The b section beginning at 2:26 ios a great surprise. I love the tension!
jeanette_c wrote: ↑Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:47 pm
If I was an envious person, I would be envious of your production skills and musicianship. It's such a transparent and open sound and still it packs power and punch.
It's a lovely song, though not a genre I'd gravitate to in particular. I'm looking forward to the full version with the sax in it though. The b section beginning at 2:26 ios a great surprise. I love the tension!
Hi Jeanette!
Thanks for the listen and the kind words!
Not much to be envious of here (even if you were that type), I've been playing live and recording for around 35 years.. If in that amount of time I hadn't acquired at least some skills in performance, composition and recording I would be a very sad case indeed! I will say the generosity of folks here to listen and comment is priceless to me, thanks so much to all!
I finally managed to get together with 'the sax guy' (Ken Foster) a brilliantly talented lifelong jazz musician who had no business slumming with an untutored savage like me.. . We did 2 songs which will both be on the upcoming 'Willie Mack' album and he played a great 'free jazz' kind of solo which was exactly the kind of thing I heard in my 'mind's ear' in this song..
I can't say if I like it yet or not, the chorus tag line (inspired by my GF) and the chord progression fell in my lap pretty quickly which is usually a hopeful sign but stylistically and thematically this tune is a bit like an alien baby to me and we're still getting to know each other...lol. The recording was quite different as most of the beds were recorded in my living room on our little Tama Bop Kit and I tuned a baritone Telecaster up to C and restrung my Fender Precision Bass with a string set from a 5-string bass and tuned it to C as well.. Lastly a new dealio for me was playing slide guitar on this. Drums are by my son Connor, Piano and Hammond organ by Dave Williams and I did the rest.. Looking forward to getting a Coltrane/Maceo Parker style sax freakout in the the bridge at some point when I can hopefully arrange a session with the sax player.
I'm happy for you.
. We did 2 songs which will both be on the upcoming 'Willie Mack' album and he played a great 'free jazz' kind of solo which was exactly the kind of thing I heard in my 'mind's ear' in this song..