Tempo Crisis

leavings

leavings

Member
Hi all,

I'm just getting underway with my third album, and am struggling with the tempo on this song. I've toyed around with the BPM, but I just can't make up my mind. Sometimes it sounds slow, sometimes it sounds fine. I need more opinions. So, I've posted three versions of the same song at different speeds here.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thepoemadept

The song is called Dixboro Road, and the three versions are titled 1, 2, and 3, with 1 being the slowest and 3 the fastest.

It would be really helpful if you could listen to a bit of all three tracks and tell me which groove feels right to you (or if none of them do). Note that bass/drums kick in around 0:50. This isn't a by the book MP3 mixing clinic post, since I'm not looking for feedback on the mix. This is just a scratch recording; it's missing instrumentation and the performance is bad. If you want to leave comments that don't pertain to the tempo, go ahead, but I'm just looking for feedback on the tempo.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks in advance for your time and help!
 
Thought I'd post the lyrics too, since I know some folks like to read along while they listen.

2:30 am out on Dixboro Road
Ernie and I are in his parent’s minivan
Driving around without anywhere to go
Listening to the late night shows on WCBN

Around a curve a truck is run off the road
His axle is tangled in the Michigan brush
High beams blaring through the gossamer snow
And no one to help him out, no one but us

So we pull to the side
The driver says his name is Mike and he thanks us for our time
We should all be so kind
Because you never know whose face hides one of god’s angels behind

Mike says an ice patch spun him out of control
And mumbles something about tires and treads
But I hear how his words come slurring and slow
And I can smell a night of alcohol on his breath

A county sheriff pulls up onto the scene
And asks for the driver to get more details
Something tells me if I don’t intervene
Mike’s gonna end up spending some time in jail

So I step in the way
And I blather at the cop whatever I can think to say
And when he seems mollified
He shuffles over to his cruiser, rubs his hands and climbs inside

Half an hour we spend untangling the thorns
Hacking away with dull Swiss Army knives
When we’re done Mike says he can’t make it home
Hands me his keys and asks if I’d be kind enough to drive

So at 3:30 am out on Dixboro Road
Ernie and I carry this stranger inside
And back in the van we swear a solemn oath
Whatever happens we will never be that guy

Why did we help him? He could have killed someone.
What dumb impulse compelled us to get involved?
When life puts you on some strange new trajectory
You cannot predict how the plot will resolve

Last week an old friend jumped a median rail
Speeding black-out drunk on 94 west
The sheriff said he probably didn’t feel
The steering column going into his chest

Ernie and I are at the funeral home
Sharing old stories and kicking the dust
I’m amazed at how we’ve changed as we’ve grown
But you don’t outlive your past, you only adjust

I still talk about that night
We may learn the same lessons, but we all pay a different price
What I try to convey
Is how you never know what angels god puts face down in your way…
 
Last edited:
The tempo on Doxboro Road is OK considering the lyrics stated that you were driving around without anywhere to go.

INO....no hurry to get somewhere.

Nice tune!
 
60's guy said:
The tempo on Doxboro Road is OK considering the lyrics stated that you were driving around without anywhere to go.

INO....no hurry to get somewhere.

Nice tune!
Click to expand...


I see what you're saying, but I don't think the lyrics alone can dictate where the groove is. Did you think the slowest track was best, or did you just think it was good enough?

I appreciate the feedback!
 
Thanks for the feedback!

After hearing from you and from various friends, I decided to go with a tempo just under the third option here. These recordings were at 76 bpm, 77.5 bpm, and 79.125 bpm, respectively. I went with 79 bpm.

Again, thanks for your help, and Duesenberg I'm glad you like the song. I look forward to sharing it here once I have a good recording!
 
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