You've heard the computer game songs... now listen to a regular pop song please! :)

Eurythmic

majordomo plasticomo
Okay, I'm finally posting a normal song for critique. I wanted to wait until I had something that I really believed represented the best I could do, because you guys are all so talented!

If you can't stand cover songs or '80s music, run away now.
The tune? "Here Comes The Rain Again", originally by the Eurythmics - no relation to my handle. :)

It's not actually me performing the song. I put together the backing track, and engineered/produced the recording.
The singer is quite self-conscious about her singing, and has asked to remain anonymous in this post ("What if they think I suck?"). She also wanted me to add some disclaimers - this was her first time "in the studio", and it was also her first time singing in front of me, so she was nervous. Also, we had to keep the number of takes to a bare minimum since we were working with probably 2 1/2 hours or less of time with which to record all of her vocals.

All that said, I think she turned in a terrific performance, and the final product sounds great IMO.

But I also wanted to add a couple things of my own: I know that there's a little bit of hiss evident, especially at the beginning of the song where the arrangement is so sparse. I have and will continue to try to get the hiss out, but so far I've been unsatisfied with the results. I'd rather have a teeny bit of his than a compromised recording, you know?

I also know that there are a couple of spots where adding a guitar would really spice things up, just like Dave Stewart's guitar in the original song. I do plan to punch in some tracks at some point, but I'm so happy with what I've got now, that I really want you all to hear it.

So, give lots of feedback please!! I recorded the song in Cakewalk and I still have the bare original tracks, so pretty much any change I want can still be made, and I can try out all of your suggestions. Comment on whatever aspect of the song you want.

I've got a stereo 160 kb/sec mp3, and a 80 kb/sec mono one for those of you with slower connections who still want to hear the song, or those of you who want to hear what you're getting into before you "take the plunge" with the bigger file. :)
If anybody wants a higher quality version, just let me know.
 
Almost forgot. The 160kb/sec version is 5.94 megs, and took a shade over a half hour to upload on my janky old 28.8 baud modem. The 80 kb/sec is 2.97 megs.
 
Ah, that brings back memories...

Think you did great on the playing, sequencing, programming and what not. The vocals are good as well, but a bit of compression would help smooth it out in parts. The first backup that comes in could come down a touch, and maybe a different reverb, a heavier one with more decay.

I remember some kinda downward sliding synth thing at the pause break after each chorus...

Overall, nice job.
 
I can't seem to go to bed, so I might as well try to keep up in here.

I would say that the drum machine sounds pretty thin in the backing track, but if I think back to the original, that's probably true of it too. Oh well, it was the 80's, wasn't it. Sounds like you've got a handle on the "hole" that needs sprucing up. The overall mix was pretty good.

The thing about that particular song is that Annie carries it. The vocals are most of the focus pretty much all the way through. Any weakness in the vocals becomes more obvious on a song like that. It's bold material to choose. Any of Chrissy Hinde's stuff would be too. The vocalist sang okay, but it does FEEL like she was self-conscious. I thought she was going to emote a little more at times, but she almost always held back. I can't criticize too much... there's a reason no one around here has heard any of my vocals ;).

Sometimes I try to turn away from the performer and fiddle with knobs and faders while someone self-conscious is cutting a track. The truth is that I usually have all the levels set fairly quickly, and I'm just a monkey pushing buttons and avoiding the occasional stray peak. I don't really do a whole lot at the tracking stage. But I usually have plenty of unused channels on the mixer to fiddle with as a placebo. It helps some people feel more at ease. You start to blend-in to the woodwork "doing your recording thing", and they forget about you and let go a little. From what I heard, I have every reason to believe she has the ability to do a better job with the nuances if she's more confident. Since she gave the disclaimer, she probably thinks so too.
 
This was cool and the vocalist is excellent BUT she's holding back and it came across that way...Emeric nailed it with the compression comment, but I feel I have to add that her phrasing was sorta...timid...Annie BELTS and this is a necessity on this song...belt it, compress it, dig it....some more bottom in the otherwise really good mix would be welcome to these old ears....gibs
 
Back
Top