Old London Road

[Mr Clean]

About 10 years ago a friend and me decided to start a band and make some noise. We wrote about 5 songs in an evening and this one of them. We actually had a band for a couple of months, had a bit of fun in a rehearsal room but then that was that and nothing ever happened. I found an old demo of this on a cassette the other day and it stuck in my brain, so I decided I'd do a quick recording of it for nothing but fun, memory and to send the song my old band mates and make them laugh. It's a bit of a pathetic song!

Anyway, I knocked this together in around 2 hrs. I never took anything seriously as I banged out the chords. Everything is one take. 4 guitar tracks, 3 vocals, 1 bass. I spent longer programming the drums into the squares on the midi editor and mixing the audio, than I did actually playing instruments.

You can't polish a turd but I tried, briefly.

OLD MIX


NEW DRUMS MIX


Just a bit of fun.

LYRICS

Making my way down to your place
Filling my head with crap
I was stopped by a big man wearing a hood, like he should
He said “give me all of your money, your sovereign ring and coat
I’ll happy slap you into next week boy”
Oh man the pond life sucks, down the old.....

Old London Road
Have you seen the lads down the old London Road

I said I don’t carry that much money
I cashed my giro last week
I’m down to my last 10 pence man and I need to phone my Mum
He said “Mummy’s boys got no money, Mummy’s boys gonna get slapped”
So I gave him a taste of my fist first and scarpered off on down, down the old.....

Old London Road
Have you seen the lads down the old London Road

It used to be nice round ‘ere, you used to leave your doors unlocked
It used to be a lovely place to live
But then I moved in and disgraced ya neighbourhood
Been upto no good, spare any change love?

It’s not much fun when you’re on the run and I should know that
‘Cuz the yobs round ‘ere don’t give a f**k if they get an ASBO
Hanging around down the precinct, sharing cans of piss
15 Chavs and their BLING BLING BLING
Go tearing up on down, down the old.....

Old London Road
Have you seen the lads down the old London Road (x4)

Tearing up and down, tearing up and down
Tearing up and down the old London Road

Have you seen the lads down the old London Road (x3)

 

[Chili]

Well, it does sound like a fun song. I really like your guitar tones, both the clean and grit. At first, the vox don't sit very well, but you get into the groove by the 2nd verse.

For the mix, two things stand out; I don't hear the kick and I think you've got the crash too far out to the side. everything else sounds good to me.

The hook line is gonna stick in my head the rest of the day.

 

[CoverLovers]

Impressive! I haven't found a bad song yet in this place! This is sooo clean!! I think it could use some bass to glue it together. Very catchy, but with some more energy, this could be huge.

 

[DM60]

Cool Song, first part reminds me of 10CC Dreadlock Holiday (just the way the words stat out. What is an ASBO?

Well, if this is knocking around, sign me up. Good tune.

 

[Mr Clean]

Well, it does sound like a fun song. I really like your guitar tones, both the clean and grit. At first, the vox don't sit very well, but you get into the groove by the 2nd verse.

For the mix, two things stand out; I don't hear the kick and I think you've got the crash too far out to the side. everything else sounds good to me.

The hook line is gonna stick in my head the rest of the day.

Thanks Chili. I was struggling with the kick sound. It was either too prominent or to low. I thought I'd found a happy medium. I'll turn it up a touch. This is the first time I've used Superior Drummer and just used the internal mixer. I usually do my drum track in midi and then bounce the individual tracks to audio and mix them. I think I'll go back to that way. I'll straighten up those crashes.

Impressive! I haven't found a bad song yet in this place! This is sooo clean!! I think it could use some bass to glue it together. Very catchy, but with some more energy, this could be huge.

Thanks CoverLovers. It is a bit clean. I intend to "dirty" it up a bit.

Cool Song, first part reminds me of 10CC Dreadlock Holiday (just the way the words stat out. What is an ASBO?

Well, if this is knocking around, sign me up. Good tune.

Cheers Dave. An ASBO is a Anti Social Behaviour Order. Something the Government/Courts in the UK give out to people who are a pain in the ass in the streets, basically. It can include banning them fro certain areas or curfews to keep them off the streets.

Thanks for listening

 

[gecko zzed]

Instrumentally and structurally I found the track satisfying, at least through headphones.

Vocally it was a mixture. Where you sing about "it's not much fun when you're on the run" I get a sense of connection between vocal and music. The Steve Harley-ish cockney coming through works really well here, and I would like to see more of that. But, for most of the time, the vocal is sitting up on top without a great deal of emotional investment evident. The "Old London Road" is a great hooky chorus, and maybe you should consider extra harmonies on this.

 

[Mr Clean]

Instrumentally and structurally I found the track satisfying, at least through headphones.

Vocally it was a mixture. Where you sing about "it's not much fun when you're on the run" I get a sense of connection between vocal and music. The Steve Harley-ish cockney coming through works really well here, and I would like to see more of that. But, for most of the time, the vocal is sitting up on top without a great deal of emotional investment evident. The "Old London Road" is a great hooky chorus, and maybe you should consider extra harmonies on this.

Thanks gecko. When we used to jam the song in rehearsals I used to sing it in a Cockney accent and it used to wind my mate up like nothing else. When I first started recording it I was going for a sloppy performance/live feel to it but the music turned out better than I imagined it would. I think I will redo the vocals and put a bit more effort into it.

Thanks again

 

[Mr Clean]

I did a new mix of this track today and tried to beef/dirty it up a bit. (See first post)

I brought the kick up a bit, centred the the crashes. (Don't know what was going on there, new drum program ) A touch more of the rhythm guitars added. Still haven't re-done the vocals yet but I will at some point in the future.

Anyhoo, thanks for listening.

 

[fritsthegirl]

This reminds me a bit of the Libertines. If you do go back to revisit the vocals, and decide to double up in places maybe check out 'Can't Stand me Now' I quite like the way they do the backing vocals on that. That is, if you don't hate them. They're not everyone's cup of tea, but I think some of their songs are great & I especially like Can't Stand Me Now.

I like it Mr C, great lyrics, it's a belting tune. I had an ASBO throw his fries at me from the bus stop as I cycled past him the other day. But the joke was on him. I really, really love fries, so for me being showered in them was amazing. I felt like real Princess.

What's the deal with London Road anyway, you see it pop up all over London. I used to live on a road that turned into London road. But then I was waaaay over the other side of London and saw a London road there too. I mean I could probably google it, but is London Road actually a road that goes all the way through London? Or is that not really the question you were hoping to answer with this song?

 

[TripleM]

I listened to the New Mix. I liked the song. It had great energy.

Love the guitar sound.

Didn't care for the spots where the doubled vocal goes to wide-pan. On headphones it didn't work for me. I'd keep the tracks down the center. Otherwise, I liked the vocal sound.

Drums sound good to me.

Little pop at 1:54.

I think you could turn up the bass.

 

[DM60]

Yea, tad more bass might give it some thump. But overall fun little tune. Really good song.

 

[Mr Clean]

This reminds me a bit of the Libertines. If you do go back to revisit the vocals, and decide to double up in places maybe check out 'Can't Stand me Now' I quite like the way they do the backing vocals on that. That is, if you don't hate them. They're not everyone's cup of tea, but I think some of their songs are great & I especially like Can't Stand Me Now.

Love The Libertines. This song is actually inspired by them My mate was a huge fan and he started writing the song, I just finished it and then I wrote/added the middle 8 the next day.

I like it Mr C, great lyrics, it's a belting tune. I had an ASBO throw his fries at me from the bus stop as I cycled past him the other day. But the joke was on him. I really, really love fries, so for me being showered in them was amazing. I felt like real Princess.

You'll have to ride by with your mouth open next time.

What's the deal with London Road anyway, you see it pop up all over London. I used to live on a road that turned into London road. But then I was waaaay over the other side of London and saw a London road there too. I mean I could probably google it, but is London Road actually a road that goes all the way through London? Or is that not really the question you were hoping to answer with this song?

I don't know, there's a London Road everywhere. There are 2 up here in Derby. Although the song never came from any road in particular, ironically. The title of the song came first and came from an old cast iron street sign we found in my friends garage when he moved house. He still has it, on the wall in his house.

Thanks for listening and the feedback.

I listened to the New Mix. I liked the song. It had great energy.

Love the guitar sound.

Didn't care for the spots where the doubled vocal goes to wide-pan. On headphones it didn't work for me. I'd keep the tracks down the center. Otherwise, I liked the vocal sound.

Drums sound good to me.

Little pop at 1:54.

I think you could turn up the bass.

Thanks Trip. I'll bang the vocals down the centre and see what it's like and I'll have a look at that pop. I've been battling with bass in this new room for a bit now, although I've not really spent enough time doing this to get my ear in. I'll get there though.

Thanks for listening and the feedback mate. Glad you enjoyed it.

Yea, tad more bass might give it some thump. But overall fun little tune. Really good song.

Thanks Dave. Will defo add more bass. I'm a bassist who turns himself down One of a kind!

Cheers

 

[heatmiser]

Always a good sign when the OP indicates that the track is pathetic in bold font !

Man, you motored through this. It sounds good. The guitar parts are really tight and I like the tone.

It seemed like the lead vocal level was too low at first maybe. For some reason it seemed better later on. I listened to both mixes and the drums seemed punchier in the 2nd mix.

Wait, did you say they're sharing cans of piss?? Yep, I just checked and the lyrics are right there...

It's a good mix and a fun tune.

 

[DavidK]

I'm in the "more bass" camp, it needs to come up quite a bit or be redone. Very catchy, the vocals are quirky and fit the song well.

 

[Greg_L]

Pretty cool song. I'm not digging this mix at all though. That drum track is pretty horrible. Sorry. The snare banging away non stop and the hats bashing with it are annoying as hell. No kick. Give it a real drum track. Something a drummer would play. If you want that reverse beat snare double time feel you need to fill in with some kind of kick pattern. Guitars and vocals are cool. Needs a little more bass to me. and the mix is too centered. Spread it out, and get some better drums going.

 

[antichef]

I think the song is a riot - it would kill in some bars close to where I am.

I'm struggling with sampled drums myself, and so I feel your pain (and I've got a full miced up kit downstairs - just can't play it!). I can't hear the kick on my system, and I'd also like to hear more bass. Love the guitars. I would like to hear more stereo width, but that may be because I just spent the afternoon mixing something and wacked my head out. I was also playing with harmonic distortion plugins, and I wanted to hear one on the vocal track, but again, don't mind me at the moment.

 

[robgreen]

Finally got chance to give this a listen through after a few aborted attempts over the last few days. Cool song, very Libertines-y.

The drums stuck out for me a bit as well, though I could never have been anywhere as specific as Greg can be. I thought the pattern itself sounded fine, but the snare comes through a bit muffled and drowned by the overheads.

Maybe it's just me, but overheads are a killer to get right every time with programmed drums. You can kind of get the kick/snare pattern ok (for what they are) quite easily, but hats etc are a complete fucker to do without sounding washy or killing the groove...

Good fun song though and I liked the lyrics. Heat - I'm guessing it mustn't be the case in the US, but over here "piss" is a byword for cheap, crappy lager.

 

[Mr Clean]

It seemed like the lead vocal level was too low at first maybe. For some reason it seemed better later on. I listened to both mixes and the drums seemed punchier in the 2nd mix.

Wait, did you say they're sharing cans of piss?? Yep, I just checked and the lyrics are right there...

Thanks HM. Appreciate the feedback and yeah, I can hear that the first verse vocal is lower than the rest. To be rectified.

I'm in the "more bass" camp, it needs to come up quite a bit or be redone. Very catchy, the vocals are quirky and fit the song well.

Cheers mate. It'll be sorted

Pretty cool song. I'm not digging this mix at all though. That drum track is pretty horrible. Sorry. The snare banging away non stop and the hats bashing with it are annoying as hell. No kick. Give it a real drum track. Something a drummer would play. If you want that reverse beat snare double time feel you need to fill in with some kind of kick pattern. Guitars and vocals are cool. Needs a little more bass to me. and the mix is too centered. Spread it out, and get some better drums going.

Thanks Greg. This is pretty much what I've wanted to hear with regards to feedback. I'm going to start again with the mix, starting with the drums. This is the first time I've used the internal mixer EZDrummer. I usually record the output to their own individual tracks and mix from there. I'll be going back to that way. Sadly, recording "REAL" drums isn't an option for me, but I'll work on them.

Listening back to this, it doesn't sound anything like the mix I intended on uploading.

I think the song is a riot - it would kill in some bars close to where I am.

I'm struggling with sampled drums myself, and so I feel your pain (and I've got a full miced up kit downstairs - just can't play it!). I can't hear the kick on my system, and I'd also like to hear more bass. Love the guitars. I would like to hear more stereo width, but that may be because I just spent the afternoon mixing something and wacked my head out. I was also playing with harmonic distortion plugins, and I wanted to hear one on the vocal track, but again, don't mind me at the moment.

Thanks antichef. Yeah, drum programs are bitches but I know I can get these sounding better than this. I'll keep in mind your suggestions. Cheers

The drums stuck out for me a bit as well, though I could never have been anywhere as specific as Greg can be. I thought the pattern itself sounded fine, but the snare comes through a bit muffled and drowned by the overheads.

Greg tells it like it should be said. I dig the honesty 100%

Maybe it's just me, but overheads are a killer to get right every time with programmed drums. You can kind of get the kick/snare pattern ok (for what they are) quite easily, but hats etc are a complete fucker to do without sounding washy or killing the groove...

Yeah the overheads are bastards and no mistake. Unless you get them right they can kill a mix in a beat.

Good fun song though and I liked the lyrics. Heat - I'm guessing it mustn't be the case in the US, but over here "piss" is a byword for cheap, crappy lager.

Thanks man and yes, "cans of piss" refers to cheap alcohol that teenagers tend to drink on the streets of Britain.

 

[heatmiser]

...over here "piss" is a byword for cheap, crappy lager.

..."cans of piss" refers to cheap alcohol that teenagers tend to drink on the streets of Britain.

Ok, that makes sense. In the states, we might compare the two, as in, "This Bud lite lime draft dry ice tastes like piss!", but we wouldn't normally use it in place of the other.

I mistakenly thought the people in the song were actually consuming urine. Thanks for clearing that up .

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks Greg. This is pretty much what I've wanted to hear with regards to feedback. I'm going to start again with the mix, starting with the drums. This is the first time I've used the internal mixer EZDrummer. I usually record the output to their own individual tracks and mix from there. I'll be going back to that way. Sadly, recording "REAL" drums isn't an option for me, but I'll work on them.

When I said "give it a real drum track" I didn't mean real drums. That would be great, but I meant give it an actual beat. Some variety. Not just the snare banging on every downbeat. Throw a fill in there heading in or out of a chorus. Just some variety.