Last Joke of Summer

[robgreen]

This is a tune that I recorded a fair old while ago, when I had fewer tools at my disposal and less experience recording. I've taken it out again recently and given the mix a bit of spit and polish - but when I originally recorded, I applied most of the mixing effects etc. directly onto the wave files themselves, so I'm now stuck with them.

Therefore, I appreciate the vocals aren't great, the drums are mechanical and boxy as hell (I did them on a pretty basic program, but can't remember what) and the guitar sounds like it's been ripped from an old blues field recording, but comments on the mix and song would be much appreciated. Maybe, I'll re-record the vocals one day, but I've come round to thinking the latter two strangely suit the tune anyway.

I still have the multitrack session, so can go some way to making improvements on the mix:
The Last Joke of Summer

 

[jeffmaher]

The intro was nice...a real nice sound for the guitar....vintage. The only prollum was the time. The second chord is a little late in striking, most of the time...beginning and outtro. A little unsettling. The pulse seemed to be OK, like you played to a click...but that hesitation on chord two [3 beat at a 150-ish tempo?] was a groove-killer.

After the intro. Yuck. It's a decent tune. I'd hope that you re-mix and re-master....and get rid of that awful torrent of verb and whateverelse. The intro set the mood. It was pleasant to hear. The in-between stuff was a downer cuz of all the frizz and echo. Less would definitely be more. The song is good. The sounds are good. Let 'em out from under the unnecessary digital mastering voodoo. MHO

and the guitar sounds like it's been ripped from an old blues field recording, but comments on the mix and song would be much appreciated. Maybe, I'll re-record the vocals one day, but I've come round to thinking the latter two strangely suit the tune anyway.

YES! Both good. In fact, you could dispense with most of the 'band' and the ambience, etc, in the middle, and have a really nice piece of art. Something I'd listen to, to calm me.

 

[robgreen]

The intro was nice...a real nice sound for the guitar....vintage. The only prollum was the time. The second chord is a little late in striking, most of the time...beginning and outtro. A little unsettling. The pulse seemed to be OK, like you played to a click...but that hesitation on chord two [3 beat at a 150-ish tempo?] was a groove-killer.

After the intro. Yuck. It's a decent tune. I'd hope that you re-mix and re-master....and get rid of that awful torrent of verb and whateverelse. The intro set the mood. It was pleasant to hear. The in-between stuff was a downer cuz of all the frizz and echo. Less would definitely be more. The song is good. The sounds are good. Let 'em out from under the unnecessary digital mastering voodoo. MHO

and the guitar sounds like it's been ripped from an old blues field recording, but comments on the mix and song would be much appreciated. Maybe, I'll re-record the vocals one day, but I've come round to thinking the latter two strangely suit the tune anyway.

YES! Both good. In fact, you could dispense with most of the 'band' and the ambience, etc, in the middle, and have a really nice piece of art. Something I'd listen to, to calm me.

Thanks a lot for listening and for the comments Jeff. As I say, it was recorded quite a while ago and I naively altered the waves themselves rather than sticking them on each bus because I didn’t know any better at the time.

Most of the work I’ve done in revisiting this time around has been to try and de-frizz the song, but the echo is all stuck on the waves. There’s gunk all over the vocals, so re-recording them is probably worthwhile and will hopefully go a way towards de-cluttering. Sadly don’t have access to the nice old organ any more, but will see what I can do about cleaning up and paring down - I wanted to it to give a bit of a British seaside feel to the song, but probably too much.

Cheers.

 

[RAMI]

I think jeff pretty much nailed it. It's almost a train-wreck....no offense. The timing in the intro is just plain weird.

But, when a song requires a 2 paragraph disclaimer, I have to wonder why you even bothered posting it. You pretty much confirm that you think it's a train-wreck yourself.

 

[robgreen]

I think jeff pretty much nailed it. It's almost a train-wreck....no offense. The timing in the intro is just plain weird.

But, when a song requires a 2 paragraph disclaimer, I have to wonder why you even bothered posting it. You pretty much confirm that you think it's a train-wreck yourself.

Hmm, I guess I just came across it for the first time in a few years and wondered whether it had any merit or was worth resurrecting in any way.

I remember being quite happy with the song itself when I wrote it, but re-visiting it, it's hard to get an objective view myself.

Thanks for taking the time to listen anyway.

 

[RAMI]

I remember being quite happy with the song itself when I wrote it

I'm happy with all my songs when I finish them. It's going back and listening months or years later that I usually say to myself "What the hell were you thinking?".

I didn't mean to be harsh, the tune itself is good. I think I was just confirming what you said in your disclaimer. I think, to make this good, you would have to start from scratch as far as tracking is concerned.

 

[kcearl]

I will say one thing..when you sus this stuff out, which almost comes like a eureka moment, you are going to have some great tunes as I really like the tune and vibe of your stuff..

But I do think this is a bit of a mess..and not as well done as the oddest sea

Id scrap the guitar altogether...it sounds lo fi and the timing is odd...just retrack it


I didnt mind the drums, I quite like simple stuff and complicated drum can ruin a song. The main body, well lacked body...its needs some for the higher frequencies tamed. If you printed the verb on the vocals then retrack them..it'll be worth it, I think its has to have some of it but the tails are too long...maybe even try a delay and some phaser??

but dont be afraid to scrap things..I spend days on parts sometimes and dump them...youve just got to retrack..and Im not sure if your using ableton or not but freeze those tracks rather than bounce with the effects on them..if your DAW cant, get ableton

good rule of thumb, if something sounds odd or bad to you as the performer its multiplied to the listener

you've got something psychedelic you want to get out and I dig it man (lol fucking hippy)...keep at it Rob

 

[ido1957]

The vocal performance and melody alone are reason enough to redo the instrumental backing on this tune. In other words this is a gem that deserves you attention. (Vocals too if you don't like the lo-fi treatment now). At a minimum the drums need to be redone. The ending guitar is very very nice - can you do more of that today?

 

[robgreen]

I'm happy with all my songs when I finish them. It's going back and listening months or years later that I usually say to myself "What the hell were you thinking?".

I didn't mean to be harsh, the tune itself is good. I think I was just confirming what you said in your disclaimer. I think, to make this good, you would have to start from scratch as far as tracking is concerned.

No offence taken RAMI, tough love is good as long as it's constructive

I think what I meant to ask at the outset was,

1. Is there a kernal of something worth resurrecting in the song itself?
2. Is the current mix beyond repair?

...and I think the responses confirmed my suspicions that it's a yes to both, so thanks for your feedback.

I will say one thing..when you sus this stuff out, which almost comes like a eureka moment, you are going to have some great tunes as I really like the tune and vibe of your stuff..

But I do think this is a bit of a mess..and not as well done as the oddest sea

Id scrap the guitar altogether...it sounds lo fi and the timing is odd...just retrack it


I didnt mind the drums, I quite like simple stuff and complicated drum can ruin a song. The main body, well lacked body...its needs some for the higher frequencies tamed. If you printed the verb on the vocals then retrack them..it'll be worth it, I think its has to have some of it but the tails are too long...maybe even try a delay and some phaser??

but dont be afraid to scrap things..I spend days on parts sometimes and dump them...youve just got to retrack..and Im not sure if your using ableton or not but freeze those tracks rather than bounce with the effects on them..if your DAW cant, get ableton

good rule of thumb, if something sounds odd or bad to you as the performer its multiplied to the listener

you've got something psychedelic you want to get out and I dig it man (lol fucking hippy)...keep at it Rob

Thanks too kcearl – flattered by what you’ve said about my music in general, and it’s encouraging to know that the recordings seems to have come along a lot since I did this. I’ll keep working towards that eureka moment! As for the hippy thing, blame it on the indulgences of my youth...

Ableton is what I use now, and it’s what the Oddest Sea was done on (definitely needed the freeze track option to handle that mix!). This one however was done on Cool Edit, and as I was just blundering through at the time, and applying effects all over everything at the time. Just checked on the drums and they were done on this old freeware programme called Jeskola Buzz with me having to guess how long each passage lasted and where the beats needed to fall – it’s a miracle they got anywhere near matching in the first place.

I’ve imported all the tracks into Ableton and will re-track them one by one. Fortunately, I made a click track at the time, which I still have, so I can use this as a guide.

I’ll play around with some of your suggestions on what the redux version needs, cheers kc!

The vocal performance and melody alone are reason enough to redo the instrumental backing on this tune. In other words this is a gem that deserves you attention. (Vocals too if you don't like the lo-fi treatment now). At a minimum the drums need to be redone. The ending guitar is very very nice - can you do more of that today?

Thanks for the listen too ido1957, and good to hear you think it’s worth revisiting. I’ve got all the individual session tracks, so I’m going to use them as a guide, but re-track pretty much everything and see what I can get. I’ve made a start on vocals today, so improvements already - just got to learn how to play the bloody thing again! It’s like doing a cover version…

I’ll post it up here if I get something worth hearing hammered into shape. Excellent feedback as always folks, cheers.

 

[Manslick]

I like this one too. But like The Oddest Sea, the vox are so buried.
I got the word dust, and something about a thief. I think the beginning was - cohorts roam the streets below, awaken whites along the road, ??? towers. Please post the lyrics?

Have you ever heard My Morning Jacket? They have a similar sound. A local group here in Louisville KY.

I also get Pete Yorn too.

I think you're doing your music a disservice by not putting more into the production.

 

[kcearl]

yeah some My Morning Jacket stuff is pretty good...I dont know if you know Deerhunter Rob? I think theyre worth a listen too

 

[Manslick]

yeah some My Morning Jacket stuff is pretty good...I dont know if you know Deerhunter Rob? I think theyre worth a listen too

If you're directing this to me then no, don't know Deerhunter Rob, but it's Saturday, so off I go to search.

 

[Mr Blastcap]

I like it.
yes I like it. Looking forward to hearing a revised version of course- but this is good as is.
Was the acoustic guitar recorded on a laptop onboard mic?- I use that sometimes, it sounds nice and grotty- good for setting off big contrasts in a tune.

 

[kcearl]

If you're directing this to me then no, don't know Deerhunter Rob, but it's Saturday, so off I go to search.

I meant Deerhunter, Rob

 

[rayc]

Def. worth reworking.

 

[Manslick]

I meant Deerhunter, Rob

Thanks.

 

[robgreen]

Thanks very much for listening and for the comments folks. Good to see some more votes for The Last Joke of Summer redux.

Mr Blastcap – I can’t really remember how the guitar was recorded, but I used to have a really cheap crappy microphone that I would put inside the body of the guitar and a better one that I would position near the neck – so it’s possible that this is what made the grotty sound (along with some severe rolling off of the bass and high frequencies on the EQ). Glad you liked it.

Manslick – thanks to you too for the feedback, I’ll see what I can do with the retracking to try and get the production better and un-burying the vocals. All the words sound clear to me, but then I wrote them and sang them, so I have the advantage of knowing what they are – so useful feedback to know they’re not clear to others. I grew up on bands like Pavement, Sparklehorse and the Fall where production was generally a secondary concern behind the overall feel of the song, so I guess this goes some way to explaining why things ended up how they did! I'm learning all the time though, especially with the help from this place, so hopefully it's improving slowly.

Re. the bands mentioned by you and kcearl, I do know and love My Morning Jacket and own Microcastle by Deerhunter – so they’re definitely within my sphere of taste. I don’t know Pete Yorn though, so I’ll hunt down some of his music. The holy trinity for me as far as music is concerned is Calexico, Elbow and Four Tet – these three just get me every time.

As requested Manslick, here are the lyrics, though I think your interpretation of my opening line is better than the actual opening line:

Car horns from the streets below
Awaken lights along the row
As voices call and shadows all
Pour out from terraced houses
Into red brick blocks and towers
I was thinking of the time when we
Were standing on the harbour
Looking out to sea where trawlers
Cast their nets into the water
Sailed into the distance
Out between the sea and sky
Turn on cobblestones, past granite homes
You stop and go, and stop and go

When starlight shines and darkness falls
On market stalls and city hall
A broken politician dreams
Of distant love and packaged schemes
A north wind rolls and blows you cold
In autumn bright it’s freezing
When you’re looking for a reason
Or a band for every season

Words come thick and fast
The ink dries far too slow
I was running, hard to catch the post
Along the road
With mud stains streaked across my legs
And on my coat
This summer’s last remaining joke
Has turned to dust since we last spoke
And then the morning came between us
Uninvited like a thief who never pays

 

[ido1957]

So the consensus is - get started on that retracking Rob!

 

[Manslick]

Thanks for posting the lyrics. I get it now, you have an accent. I do too, I'm just saying.

On this listen I noticed some conflict between the instruments at times that mask the words a bit. "Sailed into the distance" is one spot.

Nice imagery in the words. This is a poem set to music.

Do what you think is best. We all here have our expectations and preferences. Only yours matter.

 

[robgreen]

So the consensus is - get started on that retracking Rob!

I'm on it ido, let's see if I can get a butterfly out of this grub

Thanks for posting the lyrics. I get it now, you have an accent. I do too, I'm just saying.

On this listen I noticed some conflict between the instruments at times that mask the words a bit. "Sailed into the distance" is one spot.

Nice imagery in the words. This is a poem set to music.

Do what you think is best. We all here have our expectations and preferences. Only yours matter.

Thanks again for the interest and glad you like the lyrics. I value your feedback Manslick