"Brass In Pocket" featuring 'Er indoors (Mrs Po) on vocals.

[Bubba po]

I've been promising for some time to record a track especially for my wife to sing on, and this is a karaoke favourite of hers.

We hope you enjoy it, as usual, all comments welcome.



REMIX:

Turned up the instruments, fiddled with the reverb and added a little "Aural Exciter" centred around 5kHz.

 

[BroKen_H]

Nice mix. Maybe +1.5dB on the vocal at the very beginning...? Classic Pretenders. Sound pretty close to the original. Good work.

 

[FoulPhil]

That was cool man. Like that song too

It does sound like the music over all could use some enhancement. It sort of sounds dull, although good performance.

 

[Bubba po]

That was cool man. Like that song too

It does sound like the music over all could use some enhancement. It sort of sounds dull, although good performance.

Thanks, Phil! I'm surprised at that, I thought it sounded quite sparkly before I uploaded it to the Cloud. I'll have another listen tomorrow with fresh ears. The overwhelming feel of the original is one of warmth, except for the guitars which seem artificially sparkly. I've noticed that one of the guitars on my recording has a little scratchy dirt in it, too. I didn't hear that before boosting the highs. I might have to re-track that one with an absolutely clean setting.

 

[Bubba po]

Nice mix. Maybe +1.5dB on the vocal at the very beginning...? Classic Pretenders. Sound pretty close to the original. Good work.

Yep - I'm doing my usual thing of underplaying the vox in the first instance. Cheers, Broken H.

 

[gecko zzed]

I was listening through headphones, and to me it sounded a bit dull as well. But I couldn't figure it out, so I went to youtube and had a listen to the original to see the difference. Firstly, you have a done a sterling job in recreating the instrumentation, and I don't think that's the problem.

What I did notice was the great dynamic variety and expression in Chrissy Hynde's singing, and while Mrs Po does a commendable job, the vocal doesn't quite have the same drama. Actually, to me it seems as if she is singing while reading. I did notice a bit of pitchiness here and there, and I have a feeling that the song is just on the limit of her range. But, I'm also hearing a bit of a cold in her voice, so maybe it was just not the best day, and maybe there is a much better version that has yet to be unleashed.

 

[Bubba po]

I was listening through headphones, and to me it sounded a bit dull as well. But I couldn't figure it out, so I went to youtube and had a listen to the original to see the difference. Firstly, you have a done a sterling job in recreating the instrumentation, and I don't think that's the problem.

What I did notice was the great dynamic variety and expression in Chrissy Hynde's singing, and while Mrs Po does a commendable job, the vocal doesn't quite have the same drama. Actually, to me it seems as if she is singing while reading. I did notice a bit of pitchiness here and there, and I have a feeling that the song is just on the limit of her range. But, I'm also hearing a bit of a cold in her voice, so maybe it was just not the best day, and maybe there is a much better version that has yet to be unleashed.

Hi Gecko, you have an excellent ear. Manda does indeed have a cold and she did complain that the whole vocal sounds a bit nasal. it's also true to say that Ms Hynde is an excellent vocalist and I didn't envy her job in covering this. To be fair, she hasn't sung regularly in years, but I think her singing voice still has something about it that sounds great, but not in any way flawless.

Regarding the "dullness" in the sound of the production, I played with an "aural exciter" plugin earlier tonight and to my ear it seemed to do the trick. I need to hear it without wine. I also found out tonight that the quitarist used the classic Roland "Jazz Chorus" solid-state amp on this track and I think that's where the sparkle came from in the guitar tracks. I always wanted one of those amps for my arsenal.

 

[ido1957]

Listening on crappy laptop speakers so just listening for balance in the high end spectrum. a) The vocals are great, cold or no, she's got all the attitude phrasing of the original. b) Vocals and drums were pretty much all I heard mainly. Can you up the guitar a bit?
The vocal really carries this well, so maybe my balance is off....

 

[Chili]

From what I remember of the song, this is really true to the original. Great job to the mrs. for covering a very signature voice in Crissy Hynde.

I'm thinking each element on their own sound good. You could probably solo each track and say, There's nothing wrong with that. Then you put it in the mix and they aren't quite gelling. you're like 85% there, but that's the problem with doing a cover that everyone knows; you've got to nail it or change it completely.

One thing I suggest is to dial the reverb on the vocal. Listening to the original, it is much drier.

Good job, man.
cheers!!

 

[Bubba po]

From what I remember of the song, this is really true to the original. Great job to the mrs. for covering a very signature voice in Crissy Hynde.

I'm thinking each element on their own sound good. You could probably solo each track and say, There's nothing wrong with that. Then you put it in the mix and they aren't quite gelling. you're like 85% there, but that's the problem with doing a cover that everyone knows; you've got to nail it or change it completely.

One thing I suggest is to dial the reverb on the vocal. Listening to the original, it is much drier.

Good job, man.
cheers!!

Thanks Chili and Ido. You know, the guitars DID need to come up a bit! I turned up all the instruments except the drums a couple of dB, fiddled with the reverb and added a little "Aural Exciter" centred around 5kHz. It sounds better to my ears.

 

[Bubba po]

From what I remember of the song, this is really true to the original. Great job to the mrs. for covering a very signature voice in Crissy Hynde.

I'm thinking each element on their own sound good. You could probably solo each track and say, There's nothing wrong with that. Then you put it in the mix and they aren't quite gelling. you're like 85% there, but that's the problem with doing a cover that everyone knows; you've got to nail it or change it completely.

One thing I suggest is to dial the reverb on the vocal. Listening to the original, it is much drier.

Good job, man.
cheers!!

Thanks Chili and Ido. You know, the guitars DID need to come up a bit! I turned up all the instruments except the drums a couple of dB, fiddled with the reverb and added a little "Aural Exciter" centred around 5kHz. It sounds better to my ears.

 

[mjbphotos]

Sounds pretty good, I think the bass might be a little loud, or it might be because the guitars are a little jangly (not much down in the 'meat' = but no mud either).

 

[Bubba po]

Sounds pretty good, I think the bass might be a little loud, or it might be because the guitars are a little jangly (not much down in the 'meat' = but no mud either).

Thanks, MJB.

 

[rayc]

Lovely jangle pop repro of lovely jangle pop.
I'm listening to V2.
Mrs Po does a good job - 'tis a little nasal & if retracked when she's feeling better we could compare & contrast.
My missus loves this song so I'll play her your version at some stage soon.
A band of bright jangle pop that succumbed to the dull numbness of horse.
Cool cover bruvvah!

 

[Bubba po]

Lovely jangle pop repro of lovely jangle pop.
I'm listening to V2.
Mrs Po does a good job - 'tis a little nasal & if retracked when she's feeling better we could compare & contrast.
My missus loves this song so I'll play her your version at some stage soon.
A band of bright jangle pop that succumbed to the dull numbness of horse.
Cool cover bruvvah!

Hey, Ray, you always comment on the stuff I put up and it's always appreciated by me. Thanks for the love you give out, cobber. Two members died of overdoses of H, and I find that horrendous. Such a waste.

 

[jonny deep]

Hey Bubba - sounds great as ever on your recordings and mixes! I noticed a little pause before the snare around 1:26, right after the lyric 'miss the beats' I think it says. Is that deliberate? Is it in the original? Is it a soundcloud issue?

Anyway, your ole lady does a good job - agree that she might have a better performance in her, but it's a nice job all the same.

 

[Bubba po]

Hey Bubba - sounds great as ever on your recordings and mixes! I noticed a little pause before the snare around 1:26, right after the lyric 'miss the beats' I think it says. Is that deliberate? Is it in the original? Is it a soundcloud issue?

Anyway, your ole lady does a good job - agree that she might have a better performance in her, but it's a nice job all the same.

Ha ha! I can't put anything past you guys! There WAS a late beat there! You bastard. I fixed it yesterday because it irritated me but didn't bother to put up a remixed remix! It seemed totally ironic, just as you point out.

Otherwise, thanks so much.

 

[robgreen]

The update sounds pretty terrific Bubba, and really close to the original. I thought the bass was a little loud in mix one, but you fixed that I think?

Anyway, she's done a great Chrissie Hyne, the whole cover sounds really well done and good choice of song

 

[sebert]

Sounds pretty good. I don't do a lot of these posts, but you've changed the original guitar part which is the signature. There is no 3rd(Ab) on top of the E chord as played originally. Play the lick leaving the E string open or mute it completely and it will sound closer. Unless you wanted to change the signature, of course. That's totally up to you. Nice work though. You might try getting Mrs. Po really mad at you, ready to take a swing and try the voc again. lol

 

[heatmiser]

Yeah, this sounds good bubba - well done by both of you!

I didn't recognize the song by the title, but listening now I certainly recognize it. Might have been one of their biggest hits, right?

I like the bass guitar tone a lot, but felt it could come down slightly in level for this tune. Guitars sound good.

I liked the vocal performance a lot. I think maybe something could be done to warm up that track and make it fit in the mix better, but I'm not sure...her voice seems almost too clean sounding to the point that it sticks out against the grittier backdrop of guitars and bass.

Subtle things though and of course I could be way off base. I enjoyed the listen - thanks!