"Paranoid Android" Radiohead cover - looking for a singer.

Great job! I'd be more than happy to try it, but I am so busy right now that it would definitely be over a month (maybe two or three) before I could get to it. If you're still looking by then though, I'll certainly give it a shot! :)
 
famous beagle said:
Great job! I'd be more than happy to try it, but I am so busy right now that it would definitely be over a month (maybe two or three) before I could get to it. If you're still looking by then though, I'll certainly give it a shot! :)
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Thanks, FB - I'm willing to give several people a shot if I end up with a finished track that I'm happy with. :D The worst that can happen is that the singer has a nice little thing to add to their portfolio. :)
 
It's tough to completely critique without a vocal. But I thought it sounded pretty good. Tone on most things was good.

I couldn't hear much of a kick. There was a little "thwap" sound - but not strong enough. The bass tone was a little sterile - like there wasn't enough low midrange. The whole low end needs a little more woof.

Guitars and the rest of the drums sound really good.

Didn't read any of the other reviews - sorry if this is duplicitive.
 
TripleM said:
It's tough to completely critique without a vocal. But I thought it sounded pretty good. Tone on most things was good.

I couldn't hear much of a kick. There was a little "thwap" sound - but not strong enough. The bass tone was a little sterile - like there wasn't enough low midrange. The whole low end needs a little more woof.

Guitars and the rest of the drums sound really good.

Didn't read any of the other reviews - sorry if this is duplicitive.
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Thanks very much for your listen and your comments, Triple M. The song's not been mixed on speakers properly yet, but a quick listen on mine confirms some of what you say about the kick drum. On headphones my tendency is to pull back a little on the kick, but on the speakers it definitely needed to be louder. Having said that, it's only the two loud sections that take full-on rock kick drum, the rest of the time it is that little jazzy "thwap" that you mentioned. :D I'm especially happy that you think the drums sound good, because I basically rebuilt my recording room two weeks ago purely to sort out my shit drum recordings. The guitars are untouched as per Greg L, i.e. a Marshall turned up loud with a dynamic mic pointed at it. Very happy with the tone, there. I may get this one properly mastered, because it's easily my best so far.
 
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Yeah, I think this sounds really quite good Mr. po. I have this record somewhere, but couldn't quite place the tune without the vocal melody until the "ahhh"'s come in around 4 mins.

Drums sound nice. Guitars too.

It's hard to pull off a mix with mellower bits surrounding a louder, rocking section, but I think overall it held together well. Maybe it got a little boxy sounding when the full drums and heavy guitars came in, but not bad. It's just such a contrast there, but overall I think it sounds great so far.
 
Bubba po said:
Hi, I can certainly send you an MP3 of the track and you could send me the wave file back of your vocal?
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Yeah send it over, I will give it a try. You can upload to dropbox or something and just PM me with a link. I will send back a completely dry vocal.
 
polarity said:
Yeah send it over, I will give it a try. You can upload to dropbox or something and just PM me with a link. I will send back a completely dry vocal.
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Ok, I'll try and get that done tonight. I have a dropbox account. Thanks. :)
 
Wow, brave choice of cover Bubba. It represents pretty much everything difficult that a faithful cover can do - complex arrangement, polished original mix etc etc.

I think it's coming along nicely too - impressively close for the most part. Only thing that jutted out for me was the left panned claves (?) which were maybe a little off time here and there and could possibly come down a touch. Hope you manage to get some good vocals from somewhere for it - tough song to sing.
 
robgreen said:
Only thing that jutted out for me was the left panned claves (?) which were maybe a little off time here and there and could possibly come down a touch.
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Good spot, Rob - that's exactly the kind of feedback I need. I 've been umming and ahh-ing over that clave part for ages, now, whether it's too loud, too reverby, etc.

I struggled far less working this one out and recording it than I would have had trying to do a Country song or a straight rock song. It's bang on the genre that I like and those guitar sounds and atonal motifs tend to be what I go for anyway in a guitar part. I have to commend my lad, though. That drum part was recorded in one go, second take, and I've had to do nothing to it dynamically, beyond a little compression.
 
I love the original - but then again I'm a fan of Iron Lung etc.
You've done a cool cover and the tweaks asked for have been minor so you've done a cool prog track you punk thing.
 
Overall, I think you got the job done.

But, to my ears rhythm section is the problem. a) bass guitar is too upfront in the mix to my ears ( I realize it's not exactly buried on the record but if it's going to be that upfront then it needs work) b) bass sounds, to me, slightly out of tune at parts (the e string). I wonder are the strings old? c) kick and bass could be mixed better so that they work better to thump together. d) the clav needs to come down e) the clav has way too much reverb compared to the rest of the mix.

Cool though. Sounds like you had fun with it!

Slow part at end sounds great to me.
 
nave said:
Overall, I think you got the job done.

But, to my ears rhythm section is the problem. a) bass guitar is too upfront in the mix to my ears ( I realize it's not exactly buried on the record but if it's going to be that upfront then it needs work) b) bass sounds, to me, slightly out of tune at parts (the e string). I wonder are the strings old? c) kick and bass could be mixed better so that they work better to thump together. d) the clav needs to come down e) the clav has way too much reverb compared to the rest of the mix.

Cool though. Sounds like you had fun with it!

Slow part at end sounds great to me.
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I'll have a good listen to that bass part, Nave. if it needs re-tracking then it will be. For now I've compressed it a bit more, taken a little of the boom out of the bottom end and taken some top end off. The whole thing sounds smoother and more controlled, now. Thanks for your other compliments, they're much appreciated. Just wish I could get the perfect singer involved.
 
rayc said:
I love the original - but then again I'm a fan of Iron Lung etc.
You've done a cool cover and the tweaks asked for have been minor so you've done a cool prog track you punk thing.
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Many thanks, Ray. :D I always preferred new wave/ post punk to the punk that came after the Pistols and the Clash. I've always seen Radiohead as the natural modern inheritors of the creativity of that movement.
 
Pinky said:
Any progress with the vocals?
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Hi, Pinky. I have three people interested, two of whom are recording themselves and sending me the sound file, plus one who lives near me that I will be recording as soon as he recovers from a cold, lol. :D Whether they have the right kind of voice remains to be seen (or heard) :D
 
I'm still working on mine. This is no easy song to sing (for me at least).. Honestly I'm not sure that I will be able to.. I haven't given up yet though. I'm just practicing it now and we'll see if I can pull it off.

**Edit to add: The track is very well done though, I am enjoying it
 
polarity said:
I'm still working on mine. This is no easy song to sing (for me at least).. Honestly I'm not sure that I will be able to.. I haven't given up yet though. I'm just practicing it now and we'll see if I can pull it off.

**Edit to add: The track is very well done though, I am enjoying it
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Yes, it's a very difficult song for anybody, I certainly can't do it. :D I appreciate your efforts, though. :)

And thanks for the compliment! I've been adding more percussion today - there's so much on that song that you don't hear until it's missing!
 
I'm not giving up just yet haha. However if you ever want to work on more covers and it's anything in my wheel house singing wise, I'd love to do more with you. Your playing and mixing is fantastic. I'm usually more of a folk/pop/singer songwriter type style (I can link my stuff if you want to see what types of things)
 
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