New Tune - Rearview

Chili

Chili

Site Moderator
I haven't been too active in the clinic lately. I hope you can look past that and give this song a listen. Yes, the upper range is beyond my vocal capability. Ideally, I would find a person who can sing it better.

Any and all comment are welcomed and appreciated.

(and um, I'm off to go listen to other clinic tunes right now to pay it forward!!)
Thanks


New Mix See post attachment below.



Kind of a pop song.

Rearview

Out in the distance
Out from the clear blue skies
I see you there with your
Bright blue eyes.

Over my shoulder
And over my head
I fall in love with you all
Over again

Chorus
I’ve got the top down
I’m driving all around
I’ve got my life in the rearview.
Radio blasting and I’m
Riding the fast lane. It’s a
Great day to be with you.

End of the summer
It don’t get better
Can’t stop thinking about those
Days together

Just for a moment
I’ll play the fool
I’ll pretend you were
Looking for me too.

Chorus

Bridge
And when the night time comes
I must confess
A promise to be with you
I’ll hold my breath

Chorus x2
 

Attachments

  • Rearview.mp3
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  • Rearview.mp3
    8.8 MB · Views: 13
Last edited:
It's got an 80s vibe to it, with the chorus clean guitar and the ambiance on the drums and vocals.

I thought that the vocals are fine, especially when you start pushing in the more energetic parts. The softer parts in the first verse struggle a little with timbre but that's nothing that a couple more takes wouldn't solve. Actually, it's just one phrase in the first verse ("I see you there..."). Pitch sounds good overall.

I think that the reverb kind of stacks up a little too much on the instrument tracks, mainly towards the end when there's lots of energy. I'm not sure what to suggest...maybe experiment with automating the reverb sends on different tracks and see if there's anything that might benefit from sounding closer to the listener once things get louder and more energetic.

Good to see new material from you, Chili. I haven't been around the clinic much lately either. It became a chore, and then I'd just end up nitpicking, as if I'm some authority. I've had to take some time away to accept that everybody has a different style, different ears, different goals and their own sound. I don't want to look for faults just for the heck of it. I'm trying to ease back into it because there are some genuinely good songs that come through here.
 
This sounds pretty good. There's some harshness on the vocal and the lead guitar on the left during the break. The crash or splash cymbals get a bit over-enthusiastic, especially toward the end. I agree about the 80s vibe.
 
It sounds pretty good, but it's hard to understand the lyrics for some reason. They're placed well in the mix but just hard to understand (I'd guess due to the harshness).
 
Chilli,

It is very poppy (in a Friends theme kinda way - haha).

I think the drums are touch quiet but that's probably a genre thing.
When the guitar is playing muted picked noted it seems to clash with the bass but that's actually kinda cool.

I think its really good though - fuck of a lot better than I could manage - particularly with that much instrumentation.
 
Yeah the drums are a little quiet but I can hear them OK.They could be made more present. I really like the way the drums drive the song along. On headphones the mix seems a bit thin. but I can hear everything clearly. Sounds like everything has been hi passed, the kick is not really cutting through. Vocal is good, you just about make all those high notes heh. Good tune
 
I really like the tune, vocals suits the song and have a unique tone, listening with monitor headphones, apart from the harness on the vocals(I'm guilty of it too ) the mix sounds pretty good though, listened to it 3 times in a row and no ear fatigue and kept me interested, pretty good performance :)
 
Thanks everyone. Good comments. I'm flying out to LA today and will revisit this one over the weekend. I can use the break from it.

Robus said:
This sounds pretty good. There's some harshness on the vocal and the lead guitar on the left during the break. The crash or splash cymbals get a bit over-enthusiastic, especially toward the end. I agree about the 80s vibe.
Click to expand...

I thought the crashes were a little overdone, too. I played around with the OH levels, but in the end left them there because of everything else in the OH mics. I can go in and edit the hit velocities and bring them down individually.

Nola said:
It sounds pretty good, but it's hard to understand the lyrics for some reason.
Click to expand...
I kinda expected a comment like this. I think it's just the way I sing.

JDOD said:
I think the drums are touch quiet but that's probably a genre thing.
When the guitar is playing muted picked noted it seems to clash with the bass but that's actually kinda cool.
Click to expand...

I wasn't expecting to hear comments about the drums being too quiet. First time I've ever been accused of that!! :eek: :D but it's all good. I will look at that and adjust.

Bulls Hit said:
Yeah the drums are a little quiet but I can hear them OK.They could be made more present. I really like the way the drums drive the song along. On headphones the mix seems a bit thin. but I can hear everything clearly. Sounds like everything has been hi passed, the kick is not really cutting through. Vocal is good, you just about make all those high notes heh. Good tune
Click to expand...

Thanks for confirming the drums. In my studio, the kick is thumping, but I didn't listen to the song anywhere else. On those high notes, I'll confess I tuned them. They are F#'s and I struggled. Even after tuning, they sound weak. Need someone else to sing it. One of my neighbors is a fantastic singer, but she is an ADD-riddled ditzy blonde and she has yet to ever fulfill a promise to work on a project together.

Crycookie said:
listened to it 3 times in a row and no ear fatigue and kept me interested, pretty good performance :)
Click to expand...

That's actually really good to hear. Thanks. I have been listening all weekend and I'm burned out. lol.
 
Tadpui said:
It's got an 80s vibe to it, with the chorus clean guitar and the ambiance on the drums and vocals.

I thought that the vocals are fine, especially when you start pushing in the more energetic parts. The softer parts in the first verse struggle a little with timbre but that's nothing that a couple more takes wouldn't solve. Actually, it's just one phrase in the first verse ("I see you there..."). Pitch sounds good overall.

I think that the reverb kind of stacks up a little too much on the instrument tracks, mainly towards the end when there's lots of energy. I'm not sure what to suggest...maybe experiment with automating the reverb sends on different tracks and see if there's anything that might benefit from sounding closer to the listener once things get louder and more energetic.

Good to see new material from you, Chili. I haven't been around the clinic much lately either. It became a chore, and then I'd just end up nitpicking, as if I'm some authority. I've had to take some time away to accept that everybody has a different style, different ears, different goals and their own sound. I don't want to look for faults just for the heck of it. I'm trying to ease back into it because there are some genuinely good songs that come through here.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tad. In that one phrase you mentioned, I changed the lyrics and it doesn't meet the prosody, but I'm just going to leave it as is. Call it "My Style".

I see what you're talking about with the reverb and I can fix that. Now that you mention it, some reverb was printed with the guitar takes, then I added more during mixdown, so it is easy enough to change.

Yeah, I just haven't been up to participating in the clinic lately, and I really should be being a mod and all. Life is busy these days and I only get a little time at night to myself anymore. I do listen and enjoy, but I am not putting energy into critical listening.
 
Chilli, I'd take what Bulls Hit and I said with a pinch of salt - we're both into heavy rock.
 
Hey chili. I'm listening on my tracking phones which are normally somewhat dark, and the vocal track, and to some extent the mix as a whole, is sounding kind of harsh to me? I seem to be saying that a lot lately though, so...

I do think it could be warmer overall with a little more low end energy if you can manage that without muddying it up.

When the instruments all kick in at first, I totally got a Fast Times at Ridgemont High vibe from it. lol Then, later on when the toms dominated, it reminded me of something from the Breakfast Club.

Sounds like you're really straining to hit those higher notes, but I think you just made it? Damn, I'm not great at pitch perception though.

The guitar solo was crazy man. A little sloppy, but I really liked it. I've never heard that combo of playing and effects before I don't think. I didn't know you could play that fast!

Too many songs about living in the fast lane. Just once, I want to hear about living in the slow lane. That would be more accessible I think. lol

Good to hear a new one from you.
 
Great song, love the vocals actually, I don't think I'd touch them. They sit so well in the mix. I think the mix might be a little bright though maybe, everything seems a little bit thin. Maybe because I'm comparing to darker pop from the 80s, which is immediately what came to mind.
 
Hi, Chili :)

In some ways, this mix is almost there. I think the bass guitar and chopping guitar are a little loud. They ought to reinforce the drum beat, but to a degree they're overwhelming it, a bit. Added to that, the chops on the guitar and the bass riffs are not quite as tight as they need to be, both with each other and the drums. Dropped back a little, that fault will largely disappear, I think. Once those levels are attended to, I reckon the drums will be about right, the kick and snare will come through better, but the vocal might be left a little too loud and proud. Do you have much compression on it? I think it needs a fair bit, maybe more than one hit.

All that said, this is decent, energetic tune and you've got pretty close, I think. :)
 
Nice! I'd say it's in your range enough. You're stretching in a few spots, but it doesn't sound like you're really straining.

Seems a solid song. I agree that the drums are kinda quiet. The cymbals and toms are pretty good for my taste, but the kick and snare could come up a touch.

A few of the bass notes sounded a little flubby, and maybe just a hair ahead of the beat. Maybe double check those?

Overall tho, it's solid. Clear and catchy.
 
Listening thru JBL E100 and pretty loud.
The only thing I probably tweak is the drums. Cymbals are ok but the shells are kind of buried.
Otherwise I really like it as is.
The bass especially has a nice tone, but it could be more present too.
 
First, vocals sound fine to me. I think they hit that 2k-3K (somewhere around that area) that I usually reduce on my vocals.

My only negative, lot of stuff going on. it all sounds like good performances, but the amount and speed that it is going on, feels a bit overwhelming and really doing more harm than good. Not really complimenting the vocals. Once again, the vocals are pretty good. You might think about removing some of the fast background and let your vocals stand on their own. I think they can.

Good tune, good mix, good performance. Too bad you don't post more.
 
Great energy. I like the vocal processing. Sounds kinda 80s, but in an Australian sort of way.

Bass might be a bit loud. It drives the bus nicely though, so maybe that's a choice. Eh I think it's taking away from the drums and vocals a little.

Like the ending.
 
Thanks for all the comments!!

I'm still in LA and won't be able to look at it until Sat night, maybe. I get what a lot of you are saying, and I'm thinking some minor tweaking will yield some nice changes. Look for mix #2 later this weekend. Looking forward to see what you all say.
 
Chili, I like the song very much!!! Good mix all the way around. vocals are very good too, and Yes, I understand about singing above or below my range. I've work hard on instrument tracks only to find after the fact that I just could not sing what I thought I could and end up having to change the key to accommodate my limited vocal range. In your case with this vocal it is not as noticeable as you think.
Excellent stuff!

Take care, Dominick
 
I've got no issues with the vocals. Kick sounds ok to me, but the rest of the drums need to come up a bit. The right side cymbal is hissy, possibly it just needs a little less volume.
Overall the mix seemed bright at first, not so much towards the end (maybe I was getting used to it by then).
 
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