One breath Away.

R

RAMI

Guest
In my on-going quest to re-mix many of my older songs, here's one more. I'm almost done and then I'll get back to writing and recording something new.

Unlike most of the others that I've posted lately, this one I haven't touched at all. I'm just posting it the way it was when I had done it about a year and a half ago. This is the first tune I did after getting out of the hospital at the time.

Fire away. I have a feeling this one has more "problems" than most stuff I post. I was going to work on it, but then I figured I might as well post it first, and see what the rabble says. :D

Thanx

ONE BREATH AWAY
 
I don't have any mixing advice here. The background vocals are really in perfect balance and really add weight to the song. The add-on guitars in the second verse really do a lot of work. I don't hear a lot of problems.

Interesting Tom Petty/Kinks thing going on. I like it very much.
 
Real nice song and I like the chorus kinda ELO without all those strings. Your voice sounded good with some gravel in it. At the first break I heard a 60 cycle amp hum that to me detracted from what could have been beautiful silence. Quieter anyway.
 
I really like the vocal a lot. You might want to turn it down. :laughings:

Oh, I'm so funny sometimes.

Mix sounds great to me first time right out of the box.
 
Good mix. The main vocal track is very clean, I might add some (more?) reverb and mix it a touch lower. The backing vocals are stacked right under the main vocals during the chorus, not sure I like that effect. I typically add some separation to those parts (panning the backing vocals).
 
I agree with Pinky regarding the BU vocals, maybe pan each one a little bit, they're too perfectly synched on top of the lead vocal now. OH are too wide for me, but that's how you like 'em. :)
 
Tom Petty's gonna sue you for lifting the chords to Last Dance With Mary Jane. :)

I thought things sounded pretty good. I think the vocals (lead and backing) could be a little lower or the guitars could be a little louder. I'd probably bring up the guitars. The lead guitar is fine - I'm just talking about the rhythms.

I was about ready to say that the bass was covering the kick a little bit. But after listening some more, I thought they weren't too bad. But nevertheless you might want to see if you could separate them with some EQ just a bit better.

A little too much reverb for me (isn't is always?). Personal preference.

But that's about it.
 
I really like the vocal a lot. You might want to turn it down.

I think the vocals (lead and backing) could be a little lower
Wow! That's a change for me. Believe me, I got no problem turning down my vocals, so no problem there.

Tom Petty's gonna sue you for lifting the chords to Last Dance With Mary Jane. :)
Hehe....Not even close. :D

Your voice sounded good with some gravel in it.
Unfortunately, my voice only sounded like that for about a month after surgery. I wish it stayed this way, I love it but can't get that same gravel without sounding like I'm trying too hard to get it now. Oh well, might have to start smoking or something. :D

At the first break I heard a 60 cycle amp hum that to me detracted from what could have been beautiful silence. Quieter anyway.
Yeah, that wasn't deliberate. But since it's there, I left it in. I actually love hearing that kind of thing on older albums. I wouldn't put it in there on purpose, but since it was there, I just went with it.


Thanx for all the advice, guys. I'll definitely take care of all those things (more separation between the lead and bax in the chorus, too much reverb, bass and kik separation, etc....).
 
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Guitar licks are a lot like Tom Petty like mentioned above but damn this is a good song. Your vocals really set this apart from anything he has done.

-Love the amp hum too

-Background vocals are stacked like mentioned but don't sound bad at all. I know panning may make them sound a little more spacious, but the harmonies you are singing sound really good stacked like that.

great song RAMI
 
I looked into my "downloads" folder and there were about 7 RAMI songs neatly lined up in there from previous threads. I got a free RAMI album! :listeningmusic:

Great lead tone.
 
Guitar licks are a lot like Tom Petty like mentioned above but damn this is a good song. Your vocals really set this apart from anything he has done.

-Love the amp hum too

-Background vocals are stacked like mentioned but don't sound bad at all. I know panning may make them sound a little more spacious, but the harmonies you are singing sound really good stacked like that.

great song RAMI
Thanx a lot, Bro......-thish. :cool:

Yeah, I read 3M's post wrong when I said "Not even close". I thought he said the melody's the same. Probably right about the chords, but I didn't check . I don't really care about chords being the same or not.

I looked into my "downloads" folder and there were about 7 RAMI songs neatly lined up in there from previous threads. I got a free RAMI album! :listeningmusic:

Great lead tone.
Well then you can save me some time and effort by designing a cover and releasing the frickin' thing. :D
 
-Love the amp hum too

If it's an artistic effect great but I've never heard it on any nationally released record on a break. That said rules are made to be broken especially in art. After a closer look at this tune I think the thing that's most off setting to me if only a little bit is that in the chorus part the lead vocal is too blended with the background vocal. Perhaps try to automate a dryer lead and a wetter background vox. My 2 cents for the pennies it's worth.
 
The chorus here is some seriously hooky and infectious stuff. I can imagine this all over the radio (if radio still played good music, that is).

Though I agree with other opinions that the BG vocals could maybe come down a touch, please be careful of where they land when you are done tweaking them in the chorus. The full harmony right now is money. I'm kind of projecting what I do here though. I tend to go overboard in the opposite direction at times.

The first few times I heard the chorus, it was jarring because I kept expecting the first 3 bars to continue on with the same progression, but then it switches melody and rhythm. I'm telling you what you already know obviously, but here's the thing. You could have gone either way with that and just followed one of those two progressions because both are just awesome. Two killer chorus lines stuck together. In the right place and the right time, this is a hit song. Not blowing smoke, man. This song could easily have mass appeal in my opinion.

I was actually listening to this before I noticed that you posted it here. I have been wearing your tunes out. Listening to them in my car and at the gym. My favourites right now are this one, Woke Up Dead, Darker Days (first RAMI song I heard) and No Air Nowhere, although honestly, I am enjoying everything a lot. I dig your covers (and you absolutely nailed some of the tones), but I've got your 12 latest originals on repeat.

Okay, subjectively constructive time, aside from the BG vocs stuff above. I am kind of feeling that the main guitars could benefit from having more 'bite' to them, both in the verses and in the chorus. Not so much in terms of brightness (maybe a little), but rather in terms of attack. They are just a little bit polite and smooth right now. Just a humble opinion here, and what is here is clearly working as it is. Just a thought to contemplate.

Oh, I am also not looking to disagree just to disagree, and I very much respect mjbphotos's opinion, but I must disagree about the OH's being too wide. I like where they are. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder. I *think* that I might be hearing some phasing, but I am not entirely sure about that. I am just getting that 'swirly' sensation at times.

On a side note, and a bit of a tangent, something that I have really been noticing a lot lately is that I can listen to hundreds of classic songs from all of my favourite albums and I will constantly hear things on those timeless recordings that I would approach differently. I used to try to please everyone and fold everyone's suggestions into my mixes and it had me chasing a never ending and unattainable goal of pleasing everyone. Now I please myself (*snicker*). I'm just pointing that out because I can hear in your mixes that you know what you like and there is a character to all of it. You do a really excellent job. Something to aspire to.
 
RAMI,
Cool.
My only thought it that the bass might be a tiny bit lacking in bottom end.
 
-Love the amp hum too

If it's an artistic effect great but I've never heard it on any nationally released record on a break. That said rules are made to be broken especially in art. After a closer look at this tune I think the thing that's most off setting to me if only a little bit is that in the chorus part the lead vocal is too blended with the background vocal. Perhaps try to automate a dryer lead and a wetter background vox. My 2 cents for the pennies it's worth.
Thanx Paul. I remember distinctly trying to decide whether to make that chorus an "ensemble", or bring the lead vocal up and away to separate it from the back vocals a bit. I ended up going with the whole "choir" thing, but I hear what a few of you are saying about separating the lead vox from the bax a bit. I'll think about that and probably try it both ways.

The chorus here is some seriously hooky and infectious stuff. I can imagine this all over the radio (if radio still played good music, that is).

Though I agree with other opinions that the BG vocals could maybe come down a touch, please be careful of where they land when you are done tweaking them in the chorus. The full harmony right now is money. I'm kind of projecting what I do here though. I tend to go overboard in the opposite direction at times.

The first few times I heard the chorus, it was jarring because I kept expecting the first 3 bars to continue on with the same progression, but then it switches melody and rhythm. I'm telling you what you already know obviously, but here's the thing. You could have gone either way with that and just followed one of those two progressions because both are just awesome. Two killer chorus lines stuck together. In the right place and the right time, this is a hit song. Not blowing smoke, man. This song could easily have mass appeal in my opinion.

I was actually listening to this before I noticed that you posted it here. I have been wearing your tunes out. Listening to them in my car and at the gym. My favourites right now are this one, Woke Up Dead, Darker Days (first RAMI song I heard) and No Air Nowhere, although honestly, I am enjoying everything a lot. I dig your covers (and you absolutely nailed some of the tones), but I've got your 12 latest originals on repeat.

Okay, subjectively constructive time, aside from the BG vocs stuff above. I am kind of feeling that the main guitars could benefit from having more 'bite' to them, both in the verses and in the chorus. Not so much in terms of brightness (maybe a little), but rather in terms of attack. They are just a little bit polite and smooth right now. Just a humble opinion here, and what is here is clearly working as it is. Just a thought to contemplate.

Oh, I am also not looking to disagree just to disagree, and I very much respect mjbphotos's opinion, but I must disagree about the OH's being too wide. I like where they are. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder. I *think* that I might be hearing some phasing, but I am not entirely sure about that. I am just getting that 'swirly' sensation at times.

On a side note, and a bit of a tangent, something that I have really been noticing a lot lately is that I can listen to hundreds of classic songs from all of my favourite albums and I will constantly hear things on those timeless recordings that I would approach differently. I used to try to please everyone and fold everyone's suggestions into my mixes and it had me chasing a never ending and unattainable goal of pleasing everyone. Now I please myself (*snicker*). I'm just pointing that out because I can hear in your mixes that you know what you like and there is a character to all of it. You do a really excellent job. Something to aspire to.
I love your in-depth, insightful comments. I'll try to address everything, but I'll probably forget a few things.

I already mentioned the chorus above. There's not much that I can do about the guitars at this point, short of re-tracking them. I also(now) find them a little tame compared to what I was going for at the time. But I don't think it warrants re-tracking. In general, I like what I captured here, hum and all. :)

As far as the drums go, yeah, I respect MJB's opinion on them, but I think my drums sound awesome and are mixed awesomely. That's the only thing you'll ever hear me blow my own horn about. I doubt myself when it comes to pretty much every other aspect of playing, singing, recording, and mixing. But my drums are great, so I don't budge there. :D

I'm surprised "No Air Nowhere" is one of your favorites of mine. I was actually going to take that down, thinking it was my weakest tune. Funny how that works sometimes. :)

Just so you know, I put up a couple of tunes a few days ago that you might not have heard. I have 3 or 4 others that I took down until I re-do the drums, so they'll be going up in the next week or so.

RAMI,
Cool.
My only thought it that the bass might be a tiny bit lacking in bottom end.

Thanx Ray. You usually like my bass tone, so for you to say that, it hold some weight for me. I'll go back and see what I did or didn't do. Like I said, I haven't touched this one since first finishing it almost 2 years ago. So, there might be a few things I'll change and hopefully improve.

Thanx a lot guys. Can't tell you how much I appreciate all the help.
 
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I love your in-depth, insightful comments. I'll try to address everything, but I'll probably forget a few things.

I already mentioned the chorus above. There's not much that I can do about the guitars at this point, short of re-tracking them. I also(now) find them a little tame compared to what I was going for at the time. But I don't think it warrants re-tracking. In general, I like what I captured here, hum and all. :)

As far as the drums go, yeah, I respect MJB's opinion on them, but I think my drums sound awesome and are mixed awesomely. That's the only thing you'll ever hear me blow my own horn about. I doubt myself when it comes to pretty much every other aspect of playing, singing, recording, and mixing. But my drums are great, so I don't budge there. :D

I'm surprised "No Air Nowhere" is one of your favorites of mine. I was actually going to take that down, thinking it was my weakest tune. Funny how that works sometimes. :)

Just so you know, I put up a couple of tunes a few days ago that you might not have heard. I have 3 or 4 others that I took down until I re-do the drums, so they'll be going up in the next week or so.

Awesome, I'll take a look for your other post and I'll watch for new ones to go up.

I agree that the guitars don't need re-tracking. I was thinking more along the lines of something just to tease out a little more upfront attack and maybe a tiny bit more prickly sizzle. A combination of a transient shaper and some saturation would accomplish what I hear in my head (at least as I hear it in my head, but that doesn't always map to what comes out in the end). Maybe a little EQ boost instead of saturation. I dunno, depends what sounds best and plays with the rest of the track well.

Self doubt is natural, especially when it comes to mixing. I am terrible for that. I second guess everything. From an outside perspective, you sound very accomplished and experienced. I have these mixes blasting in my car and they sound great.

Yeah, I think No Air is awesome. I love all the pop-n-stop playing amongst all the instruments and the resulting interactions, especially the spaces created in between all the notes. Great riffs, great structure, great arrangement. The pre chorus lift is fantastic. Killer. I wonder why you feel like Gretta, but I am glad that you do regardless. Love the tasteful snare work too. I think it's a great song. I also think you are right in the zone in terms of vocal range and delivery. The song really lends itself to your voice. The vocal melodies themselves are fantastic, in my opinion. It just all comes together for me in this tune.
 
I wonder why you feel like Gretta, but I am glad that you do regardless.
Hehe...You know her famous phrase is "I just want o be alone" or something like that. So, the song is about that, there's no air when "everybody wants a piece of me, etc....". :)

Thanx Fishy. :cool:
 
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