Colours of the Day

[K-dub]

Robin Williams' suicide last week brought me back to a song I'd written years ago.

The particular piece has, from the start, been a bit of a frustrating puzzle to me. I originally crafted it as straight forward rock and roll, but ... it just didn't click right.

Eventually it wound up arranged as part rock, part reggae. The thing was ... I got so frustrated with it, I kind of said, "Screw it." ... when it came to mixing it. I was tired of working on it ... my ears got fried, and I lost creative interest in it. So four years ago, I said, "Enough. I'm done with you." Yet ... recent events led me back to give it another listen.

Yes. I mixed it horribly. So this morning I set about giving it its proper due. It's a song about hanging on ... similar message that R.E.M. sang in "Hold on." It is MUCH better mixed now.

Any/all comments warmly appreciated.

Colours of the Day

You get up early
And have a real good morning
Sipping your tea
And watching the dawn's sunrise

The break of day
Still brings the evening's warning
As the colours of the day
Begin to fade

When the colours of the day
Fade away
It's okay

'Cause another day
Will bring another sunrise
And temporary worries
End each day

Remember this
If you're ever down and lonely
And the colours of your day
Begin to fade

When the colours of your day
Fade away
It's okay

And another day
Will bring another sunrise
For temporary worries
End each day

Remember this
I you ever feel you're drowning
And the colours of your day
Begin to fade

When the colours of your day
Fade away

 

[FoulPhil]

Cool tune bro. The drums sound a little thin to me. The bass sounds huge compared and even the keys do as well.

 

[K-dub]

Cool tune bro. The drums sound a little thin to me. The bass sounds huge compared and even the keys do as well.

When the bass player listens and says, drums could come up and I could go back a little ... and it immediately gets echoed? That's the direction I need to go! I plead that I still hadn't finished my first cup of coffee ... and I'm sticking with that!

Thanks Phil!

 

[K-dub]

New mix up top ... drums up/bass down ... and other minor tweaks no one will notice (I added more cream to the organ tone also) ...

 

[FoulPhil]

Cool beans bro

 

[jimistone]

I think the bass is too hot and there's some distortion. Also the high end "sizzle" frequencies are to hot in the mix and giving the over all mix a harshness that's not pleasing to the ear....need to tame them a bit with eq. The keyboard sound is good but too dry when compared to the rest of the instruments and vocal. You need a bit of reverb on it.
It's a good song and all the performances are really good...just needs a little tweaking.

 

[DM60]

I think the bass is too hot and there's some distortion. Also the high end "sizzle" frequencies are to hot in the mix and giving the over all mix a harshness that's not pleasing to the ear....need to tame them a bit with eq. The keyboard sound is good but too dry when compared to the rest of the instruments and vocal. You need a bit of reverb on it.
It's a good song and all the performances are really good...just needs a little tweaking.

I would agree mostly with these comments. Bass was a tad too hot (I didn't think it was a lot), high end is hot.

Good stuff as usual.

 

[K-dub]

I think the bass is too hot and there's some distortion. Also the high end "sizzle" frequencies are to hot in the mix and giving the over all mix a harshness that's not pleasing to the ear....need to tame them a bit with eq. The keyboard sound is good but too dry when compared to the rest of the instruments and vocal. You need a bit of reverb on it.
It's a good song and all the performances are really good...just needs a little tweaking.

GREAT input! By "keyboard" are you referring to the organ or the piano part (there are both)? I wondered whether I'd yet properly dialed in the highs ... so your comment is well taken and appreciated. I'm w/in a db of getting the bass right. I mix primarily on Realistic Minimus 7s ... and I know that when the bass disappears on those speakers, I've got it too low. It's a fine line.

Thanks for the thoughts!

---------- Update ----------

I would agree mostly with these comments. Bass was a tad too hot (I didn't think it was a lot), high end is hot.

Good stuff as usual.

Thanks David! Yup ... his comments were spot on. I'm thinking no more than a db on the bass. I know I'm in the neighborhood, I just have to find the right level.

 

[TripleM]

I'd agree that the bass is a little loud. It's a bit sterile too - missing some low mids. Just a personal taste thing.

Love the lead guitar that comes in at 1:55 on the left. It sounded cool. Sounded like a Chicago lead guitar.

Little pop/crackle around :45 - right at the beginning of the line: "bring another sunrise.."

Didn't care for the rhythm guitar on the right. Too much processing. It's a good part. But it's swimming in reverb/chorus/etc.

Drums sounded real good. But I think the overheads are a couple of db's too loud.

I'd dry up the lead vocal a bit. Nice slap to the delay/verb. But just a bit too wet.

 

[K-dub]

I'd agree that the bass is a little loud. It's a bit sterile too - missing some low mids. Just a personal taste thing.

Love the lead guitar that comes in at 1:55 on the left. It sounded cool. Sounded like a Chicago lead guitar.

Little pop/crackle around :45 - right at the beginning of the line: "bring another sunrise.."

Didn't care for the rhythm guitar on the right. Too much processing. It's a good part. But it's swimming in reverb/chorus/etc.

Drums sounded real good. But I think the overheads are a couple of db's too loud.

I'd dry up the lead vocal a bit. Nice slap to the delay/verb. But just a bit too wet.

Excellent. Thanks Trip! Zlurgh is playing the lead. I'll check the pop ... and I did boost the overheads (which may be responsible also for the hyped high end -- LOTS of cymbal content). Point well taken on the vocal delay, too ... for it is slightly thick and could stand some thinning. Thanks again, bud!

 

[jimistone]

GREAT input! By "keyboard" are you referring to the organ or the piano part (there are both)? I wondered whether I'd yet properly dialed in the highs ... so your comment is well taken and appreciated. I'm w/in a db of getting the bass right. I mix primarily on Realistic Minimus 7s ... and I know that when the bass disappears on those speakers, I've got it too low. It's a fine line.

Thanks for the thoughts!

---------- Update ----------



Thanks David! Yup ... his comments were spot on. I'm thinking no more than a db on the bass. I know I'm in the neighborhood, I just have to find the right level.

When I said "keyboards" I was specifically talking about the organ

 

[Greg_L]

Whoa, the highs are bright as hell and really thin. Pretty harsh. The drums are really thin and the cymbals are not pleasing to the old ears. This thing seems way overcooked to me. Everything sounds really processed, overprocessed, and harsh. I was just commenting on a another mix that it seemed "inorganic", and this one's the same. And that lead guitar.....no. Lol. Just no.

But on the plus side, it's nothing you can't fix. Go back to the drawing board. I've heard much better mixes from you so I know you can do it. Maybe the soundcloud player is hammering that mega hot mix into oblivion even further. Maybe put up a high quality MP3 link so we can hear it unaffected by the streaming player.

 

[K-dub]

Whoa, the highs are bright as hell and really thin. Pretty harsh. The drums are really thin and the cymbals are not pleasing to the old ears. This thing seems way overcooked to me. Everything sounds really processed, overprocessed, and harsh. I was just commenting on a another mix that it seemed "inorganic", and this one's the same. And that lead guitar.....no. Lol. Just no.

But on the plus side, it's nothing you can't fix. Go back to the drawing board. I've heard much better mixes from you so I know you can do it. Maybe the soundcloud player is hammering that mega hot mix into oblivion even further. Maybe put up a high quality MP3 link so we can hear it unaffected by the streaming player.

Yeah ... I'm getting the sense I'm going to have to go faders down and build from the foundation up again, bud. This got a little aggressive.

Thanks for your two. Always appreciated.

---------- Update ----------

When I said "keyboards" I was specifically talking about the organ

Thanks for the clarification JS!

 

[K-dub]

Based on the advice received here, this is what I did after pulling the faders down:

- "Biggened" the drums, and brought the bass git more in line/context via levels and EQ -- I also pulled the hat down, and faders back on the overheads (addressed the harsh highs)
- I significantly dried up the delay on the main vocal and added a separate aux to "thicken" it slightly
- Eliminated the reverb entirely from the rhythm guitar. There is still some reverb in the native patch. I cannot dry it any further.
- Added meat to the lead guitar and eq'd some of the boxiness out.
- Pulled some of the superfluous guitar riffs back ... they're nice, but sometimes less is more.
- Added room reverb to the organ part
- Reduced compression and high end on the mastering plug that I was using. I think it better defined things overall ... less glassy sheen.

The result is below and also now on the original post. Thanks to all ... I think I got a lot of the major concerns brought more in line.

 

[fat_fleet]

Huh... drums seem much bigger than I was led to believe from the comments. Some of the reverb on the toms seems a little over-the-top, but could be a personal preference thing. A lot of nice instrumental work- I'm looking at you, piano. Not wild about all the echo on the guitar solo..some of the notes get a little buried.

Pretty strong song though. Kind of what I imagine Squeeze sounding like, even though I'm not too familiar with their catalog...or Joe Jackson. "Pub rock"...isn't that what it's called?

 

[DM60]

Sounding really good. Still just a tad high to my ears, but I think I might be a little overly sensitive these days, so I wouldn't go rushing to change it just yet.

Sounding really good, you are pretty close.

 

[K-dub]

Huh... drums seem much bigger than I was led to believe from the comments. Some of the reverb on the toms seems a little over-the-top, but could be a personal preference thing. A lot of nice instrumental work- I'm looking at you, piano. Not wild about all the echo on the guitar solo..some of the notes get a little buried.

Pretty strong song though. Kind of what I imagine Squeeze sounding like, even though I'm not too familiar with their catalog...or Joe Jackson. "Pub rock"...isn't that what it's called?

I was thinking about pulling the delay on the guitar down a little bit. I'm an unabashed fan of delay on guitar, and I admit I can get a little over zealous. Thanks for the comment ... because I sort of felt like I'd over done it and the comment about the buried notes struck a tone of truth w/ me. Also thanks for the comment on the keyboard work. That's all me (the lead guitar is not).

 

[K-dub]

Sounding really good. Still just a tad high to my ears, but I think I might be a little overly sensitive these days, so I wouldn't go rushing to change it just yet.

Sounding really good, you are pretty close.

Thanks David ... I'm not catching the wince factor I did on the prior version ... but I'm at the "letting my ears rest" stage ... so that I'll go back after a short period with fresh ears.

---------- Update ----------

Sounding really good. Still just a tad high to my ears, but I think I might be a little overly sensitive these days, so I wouldn't go rushing to change it just yet.

Sounding really good, you are pretty close.

Thanks David ... I'm not catching the wince factor I did on the prior version ... but I'm at the "letting my ears rest" stage ... so that I'll go back after a short period with fresh ears.

 

[BroKen_H]

Nice tune! Reggae undertones, good lyrics, nice playing. My only pick on this fine song is hearing a bit too much snare, but again, that fits pretty well in the Reggae vibe...did notice the lead guitar was killing itself on occasion, but that's already been addressed...
Great work

 

[rayc]

It comes across just a little aggressive.
In terms of insturmentation/inflection it's more like the Rumour than Squeeze.
Pub Rock was my era & I saw Squeeze in a pub a just a couple of miles from home (which is amazing as I was a Westie in the burbs of Sydney). In those days ... well I shan't go on.
This is cool but still needs a little work. The delay is a little OTT, some of the reggae stabs were a bit harsh but the package is a good one.