New Song - The Mirror

[Chili]

What's better than having a Guitar God jam on your song??? Having TWO Guitar Gods jam on your song. I was fortunate enough to enlist the help of White Strat and Ciro. Both bring a totally different perspective and complement each other beautifully. I thank them much for taking the time out of their busy schedules (and vacations!!!) to cut a take on this song. I think it came out great!!! Let me know what you think.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8993961

Thanks,


The Mirror

Where were you when I was wasted on the floor?
You said you'd never let this happen anymore
Where were you when I was one foot in the grave?
My life should be the only one you save.
From the Pain

Where did you go when I was feelin high, my friend?
You said you'd never let me get this way again
Where did you go when I fell back to the ground?
You left me there to rot like a child never found.

You were hiding in the mirror
With your bloodshot eyes and fear of
Facing the truth you've got to see
Every time I come to find you
You just turn and look behind you
To avoid the risk of ever being me.
From behind the pain.

Why couldn't you come and pull me from the dead?
You made a promise, at least that's what you said.
Why couldn't you take this evil from my arm?
You know the damage done from its captivating charm

When will you finally realize?
We need each other if we ever will survive
When will you look me in the eye?
Never run away to that place you like to hide.

 

[Strat1958]

WOW Chili, that was really intense. I love the feel of the song, musically it reminds me of "Still Loving You" by The Scorpions....

Great lyrics about taking responsibility for your own actions.

-Mike

 

[Greg_L]

Not bad. The timing gets pretty rough during the verses and choruses. A lot of the downbeats don't line up. Some nice playing, but the rhythm tones are awfully fizzy. The acoustic lead at the end is nice.

 

[XLR]

Enjoyed it a lot. The vocal's very expressive. Once the drumset comes in the balance of the instruments sounds just right to me. Before that the bass gtr is a little hot, and the acoustic backing guitar I'd like to hear more of throughout. Also, in spots prior to the gtr solos, the arrangement needs something IMO as it feels a little sparse, almost like the tempo's dragging in those spots even though it's metronomic.

The solos are excellent. Good guitar work, guys. Arrangement-wise it might make sense to have the acoustic solo as the first of the gtr solos, and build intensity as they progress, but it sounds good as is and nice to end with an intimate sound.

 

[Chili]

WOW Chili, that was really intense. I love the feel of the song, musically it reminds me of "Still Loving You" by The Scorpions....

Great lyrics about taking responsibility for your own actions.

-Mike

Thanks Mike. I got the notion for the lyrics from watching Celebrity Rehab!!!

Not bad. The timing gets pretty rough during the verses and choruses. A lot of the downbeats don't line up. Some nice playing, but the rhythm tones are awfully fizzy. The acoustic lead at the end is nice.

Hey Greg, yeah I knew there are some timing issues, but it kind of grew on me and I got used to hearing them. A "Not Bad" from you is great for me; means I'm getting better at this stuff. Thanks!!

Enjoyed it a lot. The vocal's very expressive. Once the drumset comes in the balance of the instruments sounds just right to me. Before that the bass gtr is a little hot, and the acoustic backing guitar I'd like to hear more of throughout. Also, in spots prior to the gtr solos, the arrangement needs something IMO as it feels a little sparse, almost like the tempo's dragging in those spots even though it's metronomic.

The solos are excellent. Good guitar work, guys. Arrangement-wise it might make sense to have the acoustic solo as the first of the gtr solos, and build intensity as they progress, but it sounds good as is and nice to end with an intimate sound.

Thanks XLR, I'm glad you liked it. I'll give your ideas some thought, check out the bass levels and such, but I'm not sure how much of the arrangement will change. Yeah, I love what White Strat and Ciro did with this song. I wish I could play like that. I like the acoustic solo at the end to relieve some of the tension.

Thanks guys!!

 

[TripleM]

Overall nice sound. I like your singing voice.

The bass might be a little loud. Listen on a home stereo system to be sure.

The mix goes heavy to the left when the chorus kicks in at 1:42. The sound on the right side through that section is cool though. It just doesn't balance the level coming from the guitar on the left.

Some three part harmony vocals in the second verse going "ooooo" under the lead vocal might be nice.

 

[joeym]

Nice tune, Dave!
The recording sounds great to me and everyone's performance is excellent. Ciro and Whitestrat together...priceless! One nit from me would be that the song is a bit dragging. I would have done half the length in the second verse. Also, somehow the chorus doesn't give the song the lift it needs there, at least that's my impression, you know my philosophy....sun has to rise in the chorus so the hookline needs to be stronger. But on the whole, it sounds very professional and you put a lot of feeling in it, so kudos from me.

Joey

 

[rayc]

I love the up front bass - but I'm a bassist!
I'd add some extra delay or reverb on the distorted guitars in the chorus so that they have longer tails - the phrases they play seem to end too abruptly.
The solos are cool.
What diferentiates this from some one like the Scorpions is that your vocals don't take off into high note heaven - you sing within your range well but every so often my brain expected the next note to soar. I was quite pleased that you didn't however as that would have been meeting genre based expectations.
Good work -all previous comments etc are pretty spot on but the song hangs together as more than the sum of its parts.

 

[guitar zero]

... One nit from me would be that the song is a bit dragging.

Exactly what I was thinking. The guitars steal the show, but you have to wait way to long for the solos. As it was, the song was plodding along and I was about to lose interest. When those guitars kick in, all of a sudden it's like "OK Here WE Go". Any way to get some of that guitar solo work earlier in the song would make it much more interesting.

The echo on the last word of each phrase seems a little long. Sounds like 1/4 note. Did you try 1/8, or even 1/16th?

Song would sound pretty cool with about 3 female back-ups hitting some harmonized "Ooooohs" to back your vocal. Might make it a little less dark. and fill out the sound a little. Just a thought.

 

[Chili]

Ah great, all very good comments.

Overall nice sound. I like your singing voice.

The bass might be a little loud. Listen on a home stereo system to be sure.

The mix goes heavy to the left when the chorus kicks in at 1:42. The sound on the right side through that section is cool though. It just doesn't balance the level coming from the guitar on the left.

Some three part harmony vocals in the second verse going "ooooo" under the lead vocal might be nice.

Thanks for listening. Another vote for the bass too much. I'll check out the balance as well.

Nice tune, Dave!
The recording sounds great to me and everyone's performance is excellent. Ciro and Whitestrat together...priceless! One nit from me would be that the song is a bit dragging. I would have done half the length in the second verse. Also, somehow the chorus doesn't give the song the lift it needs there, at least that's my impression, you know my philosophy....sun has to rise in the chorus so the hookline needs to be stronger. But on the whole, it sounds very professional and you put a lot of feeling in it, so kudos from me.

Joey

Thanks Joey, I'm glad you like it. Early on, I played with cutting the 2nd verse in half and rewording, but couldn't get the complete story told. Yeah, I do put a little weight on the lyrics. I know it drags a bit, but I love album rock and the major epic songs that last 20+ minutes, ala Pink Floyd guitar solos.

I love the up front bass - but I'm a bassist!
I'd add some extra delay or reverb on the distorted guitars in the chorus so that they have longer tails - the phrases they play seem to end too abruptly.
The solos are cool.
What diferentiates this from some one like the Scorpions is that your vocals don't take off into high note heaven - you sing within your range well but every so often my brain expected the next note to soar. I was quite pleased that you didn't however as that would have been meeting genre based expectations.
Good work -all previous comments etc are pretty spot on but the song hangs together as more than the sum of its parts.

+1 for the Bass. Thanks for the great comments. I'm not so sure about reverb or echo on the guitars. I really wanted them to cut short to hear the reverb on the snare. But thanks for mentioning it.

The echo on the last word of each phrase seems a little long. Sounds like 1/4 note. Did you try 1/8, or even 1/16th?

Song would sound pretty cool with about 3 female back-ups hitting some harmonized "Ooooohs" to back your vocal. Might make it a little less dark. and fill out the sound a little. Just a thought.

Thanks GZ. I haven't tried a shorter delay yet. It was added as an after thought and I'm thinking of just removing it altogether.

I don't know about bg vox, I just don't see it with this tune. My neighbors gf is over this weekend and I might get her in to try some Oooo's. You know... for the song. Thanks for listening.

Thanks again, All.

 

[Rokket]

I am a bit tied up with chores, but I want to keep this on top so I can find it to listen later...

 

[Anfontan]

Nice tune Dave, the tempo could be bumped up a few bpm, it kind of drags along a bit. The first solo has a forced feeling to it though, a few too many notes in each measure to keep the feel of the song.
The acoustic solo however, has a very nice flow to it and makes me think of an acoustic David Gilmour-very tasteful!
Just my first reaction-and my 2 cents worth...

 

[ido1957]

Hey Chili, great collab.... Lots of talent shining through form all three of you's guys Definitely one I'll listen to again....

 

[Rokket]

It's a very good song...

I haven't read any of the other comments, so I hope I am not repeating what was said.


I am writing as I listen.


My first impression is that it's taking a bit long to take off. I would have put a solo in between the first chorus and second verse.

The lead playing is stellar of course. They mesh so well that I am having trouble picking out who is who. And I've collabed with Bob a couple times!

Very nicely mixed. I like the bass out front.

The cymbals are a bit harsh, but that's an eq thing I am sure you can fix.

Overall, it's a great tune, and your vocals have done it justice. Unlike some of my earlier work.

I hope to have a multitracker by the end of this weekend, so you can hear our collab finished...

 

[Chili]

Nice tune Dave, the tempo could be bumped up a few bpm, it kind of drags along a bit. The first solo has a forced feeling to it though, a few too many notes in each measure to keep the feel of the song.
The acoustic solo however, has a very nice flow to it and makes me think of an acoustic David Gilmour-very tasteful!
Just my first reaction-and my 2 cents worth...

Hey Tony, thanks for listening. Yeah, I hear what everyone is saying, when Strat's solo comes in it's like, "Finally". But the subject matter is really pretty depressing, it's kind of a slow song... and long. In actuality, the bpm is 115!! Not tooo slow.

Hey Chili, great collab.... Lots of talent shining through form all three of you's guys Definitely one I'll listen to again....

Thanks so much!!!

It's a very good song...

I haven't read any of the other comments, so I hope I am not repeating what was said.


I am writing as I listen.


My first impression is that it's taking a bit long to take off. I would have put a solo in between the first chorus and second verse.

The lead playing is stellar of course. They mesh so well that I am having trouble picking out who is who. And I've collabed with Bob a couple times!

Very nicely mixed. I like the bass out front.

The cymbals are a bit harsh, but that's an eq thing I am sure you can fix.

Overall, it's a great tune, and your vocals have done it justice. Unlike some of my earlier work.

I hope to have a multitracker by the end of this weekend, so you can hear our collab finished...

+2 for Bass, woo hoo.... from two bass players. Strat did the complete electric solo and Ciro did the acoustic. I'll look into the cymbals eq thing. They might be a little hot.

Thanks again, everyone.

 

[CIRO]

Chili:

Tks for the invitation to play in your song - great melody,lyrics... and amazing vocal performance.Nice playing from White Stat too.

In actuality, the bpm is 115!! Not tooo slow.

Hey, it´s slow . I see it as a "57,5" bpm.

Ciro

 

[chugheshc]

Kick ass man.
Allman Brothers sings Snowblind.
good stuff all the way around.
Cheers
C>

 

[Chili]

Chili:

Tks for the invitation to play in your song - great melody,lyrics... and amazing vocal performance.Nice playing from White Stat too.


Hey, it´s slow . I see it as a "57,5" bpm.

Ciro

Thanks for playing on my tune. I hope I can collab more often with you in the future.

Kick ass man.
Allman Brothers sings Snowblind.
good stuff all the way around.
Cheers
C>

Thanks man. Love the Allman bros.