Last Joke of Summer - Take 2

  • Thread starter Thread starter robgreen
  • Start date Start date
robgreen

robgreen

no face
I posted an old version of this song I did a few years ago on here a while back. The general consensus if anyone remembers was that the mix was beyond repair, so I've done some work and retracked most of it. Hopefully sounds better this time around.

Still not sure if I'm there yet, but I think I'm in too close to get much of an objective view. Let me know what you think - what's good, what needs work, would it benefit from some backing vocals etc etc.

Here's the new version. For some reason the uploaded wave file uploaded doesn't look much like the one I have on my computer - I'm guessing soundcloud must have added some compression during the uploading process:



...and for purposes of comparison, here's the old version if anyone's interested in hearing. Doesn't sound too good looking back:



Thanks
 
I remember this. Nice tune.

To me, the bottom of the old one should be in the new one.

Well, put the new vox in the old tune.

I like the old guitar better.

They are very different so it's hard to say exactly what parts of which one work best.

Not much help I know.
 
Thanks for the comments manslick. I started the retracking with the acoustic and really liked the natural tone from just the micing that I didn't really want to mess with it much apart from a bit of tidying round the edges. The mood for the rest of it came from there, as I tried to ease off the digital recording grot and effects a little more than usual.
 
very different from the first mix, very badly drawn boy..whom I love

It still has a lo fi (ish) charm about it...which suits it well but I dont think its intentional

I think if you went to a studio they'd iron out out a couple of tiny pitch issues which are very small but when your vocals are so important, then crucial

sound a bit nit picky?

well thats because Id find a local proper "studio" and id consider paying to record this professionally because I think its that good...i could hear a song like this under a number of different scenarios from TV to adverts..think about it
 
I think the flu meds kicked in again lol


what I meant to say is that this is a better mix than the first one, I prefer everything on the second mix..it just all sounds like a step up from the first mix...Im still a bit cloth eared but like just about everything on in...has a northern England feel if you know what I mean, I can see the houses, the weather etc...oh shit the meds are kicking in again lol
 
Thanks very much kc. It doesn't sound nit picky at all - I'm reakky flattered that you think the song's that good!

I hear you on the occasional pitching issues in the vocals. They're an area that I'm working on and are slowly improving - albeit with the emphasis on 'slowly'.

Agreed on the lo fi feel too - it's certainly something I like, but I'd prefer it if it was there through choice rather than because it's all I know how to do! It would be great to give it a go recording in a proper studio - would need to get a band together first though (I can see some Commitments-esque auditioning ahead ;) )

The Badly Drawn Boy comparison is an interesting one. He lives nearby and I see him knocking round nearby every so often. Must have seen him live about 7 or 8 times over the years too, though the quality of his albums tailed of in recent years sadly - so he's definitely been an influence.

Really glad the sense of northern england came through too. It's inescapably there on my accent in the vocals, but I wanted to get a sense of it in the lyrics too for this one. A hefty proportion of my record collection is american alt country stuff, which I think has imbued me with a desire to get a feeling of place into the music.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to comment mate :D
 
if you want you should give someone else a chance of mixing it just to see their take? Id love to hear Greg get his hands on some songs, Im sure theyre outwith his normal stuff but I bet if someone asked he'd be happy to oblige??

Thats the thing, when I was at your stage of mixing, the tunes I was producing werent that good so it was fine, but Id love to hear this on a bigger "pro" mix if you know what I mean
 
Good idea kc - if greg or anyone else with good mixing skills is up for a go at mixing this, then let me know and I'll send over the files. Would be great to hear how the song sounds with someone more experienced at the controls and also for me to start identifying areas where I can improve on the mixing front.
 
I really like this one.

I don't know that I consider one version necessarily superior to the other. They are both kind of dark. It is nice that the vocals and guitar are a little brighter and clearer on the new one, but like manslick above, I miss the low end present in your 1st version.

There are some seriously cool sounds here, but they still sort of come together into something too small sounding for this material if you know what I mean. The song deserves to be heard more clearly I guess. I would love to try mixing it, but I don't use a computer for tracking or mixing, so wouldn't be of any help there, sorry. Maybe I'll cover it for that challenge :eek::D?

Probably wouldn't have the same charm minus the accent.

Towards the end, I keep expecting this one line to go, "the morning came between us, uninvited like a fetus" :D...I guess it's really "thief"? Probably a better choice there :p.
 
Thanks a lot for listening and for the comments Heatmiser.

I'm going to look back at the mix and see if I can get it sounding a bit bigger - thinking maybe looking at the levels generally, seeing whether there's anything else salvagable from the first version to bring back in to bridge the two, doing another take on the vocals to put underneath the current one at a low volume and retracking the bass. I didn't have a bass available when I did this second take, so I had to use the original one, which wasn't recorded too well.

You'd be taking the lyrics down some dark avenues if you start singing about uninvited fetuses, but if you seriously fancy covering it for the challenge, you're more than welcome. Your stuff is some of my favourite that gets posted on here, so I'd love to hear what you made of it. Thanks again heat :D
 
Good song. I'd bring the band in at 1:17 though so we have a sense of development. Just an idea
Enjoyable :cool:
Cheers
Phil
 
robgreen said:
You'd be taking the lyrics down some dark avenues if you start singing about uninvited fetuses, but if you seriously fancy covering it for the challenge, you're more than welcome.
Click to expand...

Ha! Well, I don't really have any sense of lyrical continuity, so I'll just have to trust you on that. :)

Kind of presumptuous just sayin' "maybe I'll cover it...". Of course I would've asked first, but since you've given your blessing I will assume that I have carte blanche.

I really like oddest sea though....
 
philter1 said:
Good song. I'd bring the band in at 1:17 though so we have a sense of development. Just an idea
Enjoyable :cool:
Cheers
Phil
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the listen and taking the time to comment Phil. I'll have a think about your suggestion when I'm next working on it. Cheers mate

heatmiser said:
Ha! Well, I don't really have any sense of lyrical continuity, so I'll just have to trust you on that. :)

Kind of presumptuous just sayin' "maybe I'll cover it...". Of course I would've asked first, but since you've given your blessing I will assume that I have carte blanche.

I really like oddest sea though....
Click to expand...

I'm not too precious about things like that - it would be cool to hear a cover regardless of whether someone had asked first or not, so you're very welcome to cover either one if your fancy takes you.

Need to look for one to do myself, but firstly I'm so slow getting anything finished that the whole challenge will probably be long forgotten and secondly, a lot of these tunes look so damn hard to play...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top