Christmassy A Capella...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bubba po
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Barber shop quartet style numbers are not really something I normally reach for, but man, that is some NICE harmonizing. Is that all takes and talent, or was there any correction going on there? Impressive.
 
kindafishy said:
Barber shop quartet style numbers are not really something I normally reach for, but man, that is some NICE harmonizing. Is that all takes and talent, or was there any correction going on there? Impressive.
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Hi, I was drunk on Christmas cheer when I posted this - it's not actually something I did at home, but something I did with my band in the late '90s. It was not much more than a home studio though. It had a digital recorder but there was no such thing as pitch correction then - there wasn't even a varispeed-type function! So thanks for the thumbs-up. :D There was five of us that sang. As I recall, we needed two takes to do the bass, but only one was used. The lead vocal and the other three-part harmony was done at the same time, i.e. we sang together but in separate areas, then the three-part harmony was done again. Finally the five of us together did the "better get ready" part around an X/Y mic setup. :) I make that a total of thirteen voices. :D
 
Some very pleasant Beach Boys-esque/Bracket-esque vocals in that one. I'm not going to ask you what the "caravan of love" is, as I'm not sure I want to know. I don't know what "bass" means with regard to vocals, other than I assume it's low. Are you the guy going "dum dum dum" or are you on the low end of the harmony? Is bass the lowest, or is there something beneath it?
 
Very nice! I assume, due to when it was done, there was no cheater backing track used in the phones, which just makes it that much better.
 
mjbphotos said:
Very nice! I assume, due to when it was done, there was no cheater backing track used in the phones, which just makes it that much better.
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Thanks, MJB! Yes, it was a staple of our live set and used to go down a storm. Furthermore, we played mostly new-wave pop and punk, so when we fired this one out it was fairly jaw-dropping in most venues. It's rare to have five people in a band where everybody can sing. Two of them were good enough to be lead vocalists. I don't count myself in there! In some ways it's a shame that pitch-correction exists nowadays. It takes away from real performances like this, where everybody is always asking the question "has there been an intervention?". :D We used to go to pubs together and just start singing it around the table. I've had more free beers bought on the strength of that than I care to mention. :D
 
NotThatBright said:
Some very pleasant Beach Boys-esque/Bracket-esque vocals in that one. I'm not going to ask you what the "caravan of love" is, as I'm not sure I want to know. I don't know what "bass" means with regard to vocals, other than I assume it's low. Are you the guy going "dum dum dum" or are you on the low end of the harmony? Is bass the lowest, or is there something beneath it?
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The "Caravan of Love" is where porno fluffers bed down for the night, when working on location. It's packed to the gills with cherry chapsticks and jaw-ache tablets.

I'm the guy doing the "dum-dum" bit. Quite apposite, don't you think? I can't sing that low nowadays, unless it's the morning after a particularly raucous gig.
 
Accapella was pop tastic in the late 80's - Flying' Pickets etc.
The Housemartins were pretty cool too and you did a grand job with their song - they did it well live.

I enjoyed the recording mate. Get a beer in ya from me!
 
Enjoyed listening to that Bubba. Good harmonies and whoever took the lead has a real Paul Heaton inflection to their voice. Maybe down to similar accent in part? I used to see him out and about in nearby pubs round Manchester a few years ago - he runs one of the best pubs in Salford now.

The Flying Pickets video for this always makes me laugh too - four surly looking fuckers singing twee acapella runs in the grottiest and saddest looking pub you could possibly imagine spending an afternoon in...
 
robgreen said:
Enjoyed listening to that Bubba. Good harmonies and whoever took the lead has a real Paul Heaton inflection to their voice. Maybe down to similar accent in part? I used to see him out and about in nearby pubs round Manchester a few years ago - he runs one of the best pubs in Salford now.

The Flying Pickets video for this always makes me laugh too - four surly looking fuckers singing twee acapella runs in the grottiest and saddest looking pub you could possibly imagine spending an afternoon in...
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Thanks, Rob. Yes, Jep (the lead vocalist) seemed to channel the original vocalists of songs quite a lot. His Glenn Tilbrook was pretty good, too!
 
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