"Shaman Song"

I like it Gonzo. It's a strange groove that never quite lets the listener settle in, but engaging all the same. The feeling I get is prog--but in the older, better sense (early Journey, Kansas, etc.)--before the influence of metal derailed the prog movement. Very eclectic style on drums, with the snare absent or playing fills for a good part of the song and the kick really carrying the beat. Guitars, vocals, production all stellar. Actually, what I dug the most was the bass. Are you using flats? If I were going to quibble, I'd want to hear the lead vocal just a bit more forward. The lyrics were interesting, cryptic, but worthy of the music.

You're way out ahead of most of us who post on this forum. You could teach us a lot. Looking forward to more.
 
This is quite a cool piece. I gave up trying to count pretty quickly. I have no idea what the timing is.

The production is top notch across the board. Excellent playing, excellent recording and excellent mix.

There's nothing in particular I can find to critique. It's all very refined and all the choices I am hearing here are quite purposefully and expertly executed.
 
I had the same reaction. There's a two-bar half time pattern in there, but the snare on the the second bar is delayed to the 3&...I think. Very accomplished playing, that's for sure.
 
I'm not getting the drums or the groove on this one. I enjoyed the vocals and the vocal treatments are great. Maybe with a few repeat listens I could latch onto something
 
The piano gets drowned out sometimes by the guitars that are competing for the same frequencies. Sometimes the vocals and guitars are doing the same thing, despite teh wide panning of the rhythm guitars.
I can hear why you don't like my snare sound, as you prefer to higher-EQ snare-wire sound wit a lot of room on it (each to his own :) )
Interesting song, though it leaves you wanting some type of hook to remember.
 
Robus said:
I like it Gonzo. It's a strange groove that never quite lets the listener settle in, but engaging all the same. The feeling I get is prog--but in the older, better sense (early Journey, Kansas, etc.)--before the influence of metal derailed the prog movement. Very eclectic style on drums, with the snare absent or playing fills for a good part of the song and the kick really carrying the beat. Guitars, vocals, production all stellar. Actually, what I dug the most was the bass. Are you using flats? If I were going to quibble, I'd want to hear the lead vocal just a bit more forward. The lyrics were interesting, cryptic, but worthy of the music.

You're way out ahead of most of us who post on this forum. You could teach us a lot. Looking forward to more.
Click to expand...
hey robus,
thanks for listening....
it is a deep tune,
it had a lot to say,
it's more of a narrative, than a song

and i'm trying to write unique style,
versus fit a standard 'song writing' style

i guess i'm a misfit!
heheh

not using flats on the bass,
just fingerstyle, and the choice of tone and drive.






kindafishy said:
This is quite a cool piece. I gave up trying to count pretty quickly. I have no idea what the timing is.

The production is top notch across the board. Excellent playing, excellent recording and excellent mix.

There's nothing in particular I can find to critique. It's all very refined and all the choices I am hearing here are quite purposefully and expertly executed.
Click to expand...
heheh, the count, the count...
the songs starts out in 7/8.....
and pretty much holds like that thru-out...
in my head, it's like a slightly tweaked waltz...

i turn the beat around a couple of times, in the middle of the count, just by way of 'arrangement'...
then during the 'the shaman came as a lizard' part, it goes to straight 4/4, or technically, 8/8...
then back to 7/8....
then back to 8/8, thru the end of the song.







Bulls Hit said:
I'm not getting the drums or the groove on this one. I enjoyed the vocals and the vocal treatments are great. Maybe with a few repeat listens I could latch onto something
Click to expand...

hehe, you ain't the only one not getting drums!
but hey, i know this aint pop tunes, it's a bit progressive.... i guess it’s not easily consumed, and you have to be in the right head space to invest some time and energy into trying to understand it, and if you don’t have that then it probably wont appeal....

---------- Update ----------

mjbphotos said:
The piano gets drowned out sometimes by the guitars that are competing for the same frequencies. Sometimes the vocals and guitars are doing the same thing, despite teh wide panning of the rhythm guitars.
I can hear why you don't like my snare sound, as you prefer to higher-EQ snare-wire sound wit a lot of room on it (each to his own :) )
Interesting song, though it leaves you wanting some type of hook to remember.
Click to expand...
hey mike,
yea, the piano is the way i mixed it... i tried it faders up thru the whole piece, but it was distracting to me.
i like it mixed in, and out. same as the acoustic guitar (yes, there is acoustic!) and some of the other rhythm tracks...
this one was tricky to mix.
a lot of tracks.

now, the snare, you know, i use a different snare, attack, mix treatment, for every single song on the album,
so none of them are the same..
i choose snares on a song by song basis,
and this was the snare sound i needed for this one tune. it sets a mood.

thanks for listening!
 
This is a very interesting song and mix, I like the sense of space and the whole arrangement and balanced. As mjbphotos said the piano gets a bit lost sometimes but that can be an effect too as it keeps the listener on their toe, well it did for me ;) I did enjoy the song though very much
 
I personally like the level on the piano..
It's a solid mix as usual, most everything well performed. I found some of the muted rhythm guitar stutters later on (3.31, 3.38 etc) to be a little stiff timing-wise, and I'm not crazy about the snare myself. I think you have some off-kilter accents being emphasized which, while it wouldn't ordinarily be a deal-breaker, the snare sound is very dry and in your face.. so the combination of the sonics and the weird accents make for sort of an off-kilter feel which is a little incongruous with the rest of the instrumentation. And I also did have kind of a tough time finding a memorable hook to latch onto, though most of the performances are technically solid and the mix is, as usual, impeccable. Thanks for sharing.
 
Crycookie said:
This is a very interesting song and mix, I like the sense of space and the whole arrangement and balanced. As mjbphotos said the piano gets a bit lost sometimes but that can be an effect too as it keeps the listener on their toe, well it did for me ;) I did enjoy the song though very much
Click to expand...

hey crycookie,
thanks for listening.....
yes, the piano was intentionally mixed that way,
i felt it did not need to be in the mix at all times...
glad you dig this one!
 
I still say an Eastern, or more particularly an American Indian chant would sound good in the 3:07-3:30 solo. Great work!
 
fat_fleet said:
I personally like the level on the piano..
It's a solid mix as usual, most everything well performed. I found some of the muted rhythm guitar stutters later on (3.31, 3.38 etc) to be a little stiff timing-wise, and I'm not crazy about the snare myself. I think you have some off-kilter accents being emphasized which, while it wouldn't ordinarily be a deal-breaker, the snare sound is very dry and in your face.. so the combination of the sonics and the weird accents make for sort of an off-kilter feel which is a little incongruous with the rest of the instrumentation. And I also did have kind of a tough time finding a memorable hook to latch onto, though most of the performances are technically solid and the mix is, as usual, impeccable. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

thanks for listening fat fleet.....
yea, some really want the piano to be upfront, i guess,
and some folks dig it just like it is...

i kinda imagined it in there to add color, and become the main rhythm instrument just here and there,
that was the intent of the piano mix.

the snare riffs are really just standard snare paradiddles,
most drummers listen to it and go 'yea, i practice those sometimes.....' !
heheh,
just like the piano, some people just love that snare the way it is,
and others imagine it as something else...
i'm ok with that.... i knew when i created it, and went thru about 5 snares before i settled on that one,
that it was subjective call that probably would only work for about half the listeners...

i guess i'm saying, i'd rather play it honest, than play it safe.

and again, this melody, was never written to have a 'hook', like a radio-friendly pop rock tune would,
it's more about telling a story.....
there's not one repeating line in the entire lyric.
 
GONZO-X said:
thanks for listening fat fleet.....
yea, some really want the piano to be upfront, i guess,
and some folks dig it just like it is...

i kinda imagined it in there to add color, and become the main rhythm instrument just here and there,
that was the intent of the piano mix.

the snare riffs are really just standard snare paradiddles,
most drummers listen to it and go 'yea, i practice those sometimes.....' !
heheh,
just like the piano, some people just love that snare the way it is,
and others imagine it as something else...
i'm ok with that.... i knew when i created it, and went thru about 5 snares before i settled on that one,
that it was subjective call that probably would only work for about half the listeners...

i guess i'm saying, i'd rather play it honest, than play it safe.

and again, this melody, was never written to have a 'hook', like a radio-friendly pop rock tune would,
it's more about telling a story.....
there's not one repeating line in the entire lyric.
Click to expand...

Right, yeah, I don't do anything exactly the same way twice in my stuff. Sometimes I'll have a main melodic or lyrical theme that comes in to the song at different times but changes each time it comes up.

The snare thing I mentioned doesn't kill the song for me.. I like stuff that's all over the map mixwise, but I try to base comments on what I think the OP seems to like, as evidenced by other stuff of theirs that I've heard.
 
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