My ode to summer: "Summer Sun"

[Strat1958]

Today is the first warm day of the year here in Vancouver BC...so I thought I would post my tip o' the hat to summer.

The song is "Summer Sun", and yes, it's full of cliches, but so were the Beach Boys

Written and recorded in one 3 hour time frame!

SUMMER SUN by Mike Pilling

When the sun is out
And the day is bright
Feels so good
The world is right

The ground is warm
On your feet
The air hangs heavy
As you walk the street

[CHORUS]
Summer sun summer sun
It’s in love with everyone
Summer sun summer sun
It’s in love with everyone

The kids are all
Out of school
The weather’s hot
But they’re playin it cool

Mirages shimmer
On the sand
People are walking
Holding hands

[CH]

[BRIDGE]
Warm summer breeze
blows endlessly
Just like the rivers
Flow out to the sea

The seagulls cry
We stand on the pier
Doesn't summer seem
A little longer this year

[CH]
[Seagulls and surf to fade........]

 

[icystorm]

Today is the first warm day of the year here in Vancouver BC...so I thought I would post my tip o' the hat to summer.

The song is "Summer Sun", and yes, it's full of cliches, but so were the Beach Boys

Written and recorded in one 3 hour time frame!

I envy your prolificity, Mike!

I've always enjoyed this song a lot. I think it and Journey to Centre Bay are among your best performances.

I was happy for you to see Summer Sun go to number 1 on the Soundclick acoustic vocals chart. Good work, my friend!

Cheers,
Joseph

 

[Strat1958]

Thank you, Joseph...comments from someone as talented as you, are appreciated.

-Mike

 

[gecko zzed]

Strong vocals, and great backing harmonies . . . that's what I first noticed.

The song captures nicely a lazy summery feel. I like the chord changes in the chorus.

The recording has been executed well, and is nicely balanced,

If you've seen the comments I've made to other songs, you will have noticed that I crave variety, so my only real desire for this track is to have more variety throughout: in the vocal delivery and instrumentation. I think the unvarying steadiness of the music tends to push the vocals into being the same. However, this is a minor quibble with what is actually a pleasant and engaging song. Well done!

 

[up-fiddler]

Sweet sound...

...almost saccharine, but not quite. I like the vox and harmonies. You're right about the cliche's but in a pop song like this one you can get away with it. In fact, it almost demands cliche's. I also like the turn at the bridge. Dropping to minor chords lend a bit of the variety geckko is talking about. The instrumentation, while similar all the way through, is very tight and right on the mark tempo wise. That's a good thing for this type of song. I would like to see a chorus or two dropped to knock the length back into that 3:00-3:30 time span. Don't drop the seagull fade though. It is clever for the tune and gives the ear something different to listen for. Nice work. Dave aka up-fiddler

 

[Strat1958]

Thank you to both of you...excellent, specific feedback for me to continue to improve.

 

[Whatmysay]

Mike unlike GZ I actually like the evenness of this track. The riff really hooks you in and the fad to sea sound is a really effective touch.

My only crit is to bring up the counter-melody(riff) in the bridge a bit more as it needs a little more propulsion as you break the vocal melody up from the Vs/Ch structure.

Your production standards are excellent.

This is an effortless song that catches the vibe really well

Burt