The Lord's Prayer (Beach Boys Cover) [Mixing Critique Requested]

M

Matthew M.

Member
Hi guys,

Late last year for Christmas, as a challenge, I took a crack at this a cappella. Anyways, after recently finally having an opportunity to mix this, I wanted to post this for feedback. I'd really like to get this as close to sounding as professional as possible, and despite my best attempts, I still feel like something's lacking, but I can't quite place my finger on it. Because of this, I'd love to get your feedback and insight as to what the missing pieces could be to make this mix better.

The Lord's Prayer (Cover) by The Academic Thugs | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Thanks!
 
The main thing I hear is the reverb is not right for me, and right at the very beginning where there's a tiny slide, the pitch sounds off.

Then, bass is light, again to my ear, like it's not a real bass[o] singing.

Finally, the voices are so perfectly synchronized I'm asking myself if this is all done with a harmonizer or ITB FX? It lacks a live feel, possibly because of the verb used, as well.

I would be curious how this was recorded. Thanks.
 
I'll agree with Keith about the reverb. Its a little too spacious for me. The other thing that struck me was a phasing that I hear. It's pretty apparent at around 40-50 seconds, but it pops up thoughout. I don't know the source, but it made the image shift around which is unnerving.

BTW, I listened to your other posts on Soundcloud. You have an EXCELLENT voice. I love these types of vocals. It brings back memories of the best of the 60s, Beach Boys, Association, Mamas and Papas. Harmony is a lost art for most of today's artists. Keep up the good work.
 
The feature in most of the Beach Boys close harmony songs is that it's quite rare for any of them to sing every single word. Usually you would have a phrase where there are 4 or 5 lines running parallel, but then two of the voices would follow in aah, or ooh mode. Also, another of Brian Wilson's tricks was to run some parallel, then have them swap, perhaps one line running up, while another drops.

Other than that, I thought the reverb was pretty accurate in the tone - the Beach Boys reverbs were often a bit swampy in nature, and had artefacts as the sustain decayed. in all honesty, the real killer is simply the voices all sound the same. In Beach Boys tracks you can identify who is usually singing each line and often the Beach Boys can't remember who really did it sometimes. They'd be out touring when Brian wrote the new songs, so would pile into the studio, record the tracks then clear off again and memory fades. Sometimes it's easy, but some songs it's down to one or another member, and no absolute exists. You can tell they're different, but that's about as good as it gets. I get the impression that maybe some lines were recorded, then instead of another take, the first one was shifted slightly in time and panned a bit? it is very good, although as a song, the very strange chord progressions don't work for me. it's all too clever, and too unpredictable. I like to get some chord progressions right when listening - here I guess the next chord wrongly so many times. there would be a Major chord, and I guessed the third would drop a semitone into a minor, but the 5th would go up a tone into a 6th - but it didn't. The structure of the Lord's Prayer also is musically strange with no clear bar to bar format as the phrases don't fit musical templates, so it kind of continually evolves rather than becomes a song in the usual sense.


Technically very good,
vocal quality excellent
balance and blend very good,

You also have a very Beach Boy tone to your voice.
 
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