Baby Britain

[JDOD]

I think this sounds good, mate. Sounds really authentic. I've listened to both mixes, the 2nd one is marginally better - try adding the vocals to it - I don't think you need to re-track them. There was only one little pitch mistake that stood out on "you've got a look in your eye... saying goodbye"

I'm actually quite an Elliott Smith fan so I'm really impressed with this. I think if anyone is critiquing this who hasn't listened to much Elliott Smith, they should probably do so, he does have fairly unusual production and its been carried over into Rob's version.

 

[robgreen]

I think this sounds good, mate. Sounds really authentic. I've listened to both mixes, the 2nd one is marginally better - try adding the vocals to it - I don't think you need to re-track them. There was only one little pitch mistake that stood out on "you've got a look in your eye... saying goodbye"

I'm actually quite an Elliott Smith fan so I'm really impressed with this. I think if anyone is critiquing this who hasn't listened to much Elliott Smith, they should probably do so, he does have fairly unusual production and its been carried over into Rob's version.

Cool, thanks a lot JDOD. I appreciate you taking the time and for the encouragement too! I tried to think about Elliott's production as I tracked and mixed it, so glad it came across well. His playing and singing style is pretty fascinating once you start trying to pick it apart - worth trying to play along with one of his songs if you haven't already. There's so much going on with both hands playing something like Waltz #2 that it's a real challenge.

Yeah, I hear you on that pitch mistake you mention - I just couldn't nail that passage. The melody climbs in semitones there and I'm not sure I have the accuracy! I'll play around with the existing vocal - maybe even melodyne a vocal track and use it as a guide to sing along to for a fresh take. The main issue is that with the better clarity on mix #2, it needs clearer vocals as well and as soon as I clear them up the viral cold-y sound and accompanying strain for the high notes becomes more pronounced.

Cheers man

 

[JDOD]

I'll play around with the existing vocal - maybe even melodyne a vocal track and use it as a guide to sing along to for a fresh take.

I do this too, I find it really helpful - I'm a crap singer.

I've never learned many Elliott Smith songs - I don't play much acoustic, but I did learn Independence Day and Condor Avenue once... a long time ago.

 

[Bubba po]

I don't know Elliot Smith at all, but I like the style of this. I would put it in a loose group with The Violent Femmes, Dead Milkmen, Jonathan Richman and possibly a less-polished Jeff Buckley. All great artists in their own way and unafraid to be themselves.

 

[JDOD]

I don't know Elliot Smith at all, but I like the style of this. I would put it in a loose group with The Violent Femmes, Dead Milkmen, Jonathan Richman and possibly a less-polished Jeff Buckley. All great artists in their own way and unafraid to be themselves.

Bubba, see if you can pick up a couple of earlier Elliott Smith albums like Roman Candle or XO (a bit later). A lot of it is home recorded. I think Condor Avenue is on one of them which is probably my favourite Elliott Smith song.

All great artists in their own way and unafraid to be themselves.

Unfortunately Elliott stabbed himself in the heart so I'm not sure he fits in that category!

 

[robgreen]

I do this too, I find it really helpful - I'm a crap singer.

I've never learned many Elliott Smith songs - I don't play much acoustic, but I did learn Independence Day and Condor Avenue once... a long time ago.

Cool, I'll see if it helps - I'm a crap singer too

I don't know Elliot Smith at all, but I like the style of this. I would put it in a loose group with The Violent Femmes, Dead Milkmen, Jonathan Richman and possibly a less-polished Jeff Buckley. All great artists in their own way and unafraid to be themselves.

Y'know funnily enough I made a playlist recently for the summer weather that I've been hammering to death with a few of those guys you mention on along with a bunch of other similar 90s alt rock stuff and goofy american bands - camper van beethoven, nada surf, cake, built to spill, ween, guided by voices, butthole surfers etc etc. I don't hear much with that kind of rough edged independent spirit coming through any more.

But yeah, I'd recommend tracking down a couple of his albums and seeing what you think - the arrangements get progressively bigger with each record from sparse 4-trackers early on to a full band setup towards the end.

 

[fat_fleet]

Big improvements with the second mix. Guitar and cymbals much more prominent.

Piano part under the "For someone half as smart" could be a little smoother, which is something I didn't notice with the vocals in place, and I might not notice again when the vocals are back.. What are your plans for the lead vox? Are you retracking them?

 

[robgreen]

Big improvements with the second mix. Guitar and cymbals much more prominent.

Piano part under the "For someone half as smart" could be a little smoother, which is something I didn't notice with the vocals in place, and I might not notice again when the vocals are back.. What are your plans for the lead vox? Are you retracking them?

Hey, thanks a lot for coming back in Fleet. Glad this is an improvement, i got some really useful suggestions from the clinic from the first mix.

Hmm, I'll take another look at the piano part you mention. The piano was the very first part I tracked and I realised after that there was more of a swing feel to the chorus than the verses. It might be that some of the other parts were then tracked like that and the piano got left behind. It's either that or hammy playing...

Re. the lead vocals, I'm going to hammer some decongestants and see if I can finally get clear enough to redo. I'm a bit burned out on the song for now, so maybe work on something else and then come back to it in a little while. If I still can't nail it then, I might see if my man Joe who sang on the Shipbuilding cover a couple of years back is interested. He can actually sing

 

[sparky123]

wow, when the song started , i said to myself...Beach Boys... layer them vocal tracks to create a lush sound and you have Pet Sounds(Beach Boys)

 

[robgreen]

wow, when the song started , i said to myself...Beach Boys... layer them vocal tracks to create a lush sound and you have Pet Sounds(Beach Boys)

Awesome, thanks sparky. I'd always thought of Elliott as being kind of Abbey Road era Beatles inspired, but when I come back to do the vocals, maybe I'll try my hand at layering up some vocals if I can. Cheers man

 

[Nola]

Hey Rob,

The vocal gets the job done. It's a little thin and breathy, but the tone is fine and does the job.

Is it me or is the piano out of time with the drum during the intro?

The mix sounds good. The vocal is sitting perfectly and the rest is balanced.
ps. Cool cover choice!

 

[robgreen]

Hey Rob,

The vocal gets the job done. It's a little thin and breathy, but the tone is fine and does the job.

Is it me or is the piano out of time with the drum during the intro?

The mix sounds good. The vocal is sitting perfectly and the rest is balanced.
ps. Cool cover choice!

Thanks a lot Nola and sorry for the slow response, busy week. Glad you liked the cover choice.

I'm not hearing huge issues with the drum/piano timing in the intro, but it may be over familiarity on my part by this point stopping me from hearing it. I'm guessing you listened to the old vocal version from your comments - I think the instrumental one is quite a bit better and I just tweaked a few levels that were bugging me now.

I'll be revisiting the vocals at some point - the breathiness was part of the experiment to recreate Elliott's style, the thinness is probably because the melody's pretty high!

Cheers man