el paso

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heatmiser

heatmiser

mr. green christmas
Hey - so this is really rough, but I saw a bunch of country tunes in here recently and decided to cover this marty robbins tune that I always liked - as cheesy as it is. It's a cool story.

Other than simple, boxy drums, strained, pitchy vocals, sloppy lead guitar and a completely botched ending, I think there's some promise here maybe.

Soundclick link to final 04/22 version:

SoundClick artist: kingseesar - el paso

Dropbox link to new mix with new vocals 04/21:



Dropbox link to final 04/22 mix with new electric guitar:



Any ideas on what could be done to improve...?

Thanks,
Pete
 
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Never heard the original, but of course heard the Dead's version in several forms. I can't imagine this was an easy song to sing, I think you did pretty good. Some parts are pretty high.

What could be done to improve it??? Hmm, it ain't perfect, but it really works the way it is. I wouldn't change anything. Seriously. And you know I would say something if I thought there should be changes.

Ummm, I'll be needing a higher res version, so let me know where I can download it. :)
 
Thanks Chili. I'm definitely suffering poster's remorse on this one. I swore I wouldn't do anymore cover tunes, but I got caught up in the country-fever that was sweeping through this place a little bit ago. This tune does not play to my strengths whatever they may be.

Different elements here sound cool by themsleves (like, just drums, bass and vocals, or just drums bass and guitars - you'll have to trust me on that as I played around with the mute button), but the whole thing together is kind of a mess. Not sure what I was thinking. It is a fun tune to try to play though...3/4 time and all that. I thought the vocals would be easy, but not the case at all for me.

Can I upload a 320 mps to dropbox? That would be pretty hi res, right?
 
I put 320 MP3's in my dropbox all the time.

I think this is good. Sounds fun. The vocals are a little strained in spots, but it don't matter. I think the mix sounds pretty balanced.

My only negative critique would be the shakers. They sound small and thin. Almost like static. Somehow get more body of the shaker in there. Maybe put some reverb on em. Good sounds overall. Don't beat yourself up, this is very listenable.
 
I understand Poster's Remorse all too well, but please don't feel that way. It's a good song done right. I really enjoyed listening and I want a better copy for rotation. So, yeah 320 on DB would be coooool.
 
I paused 'Tammy Wynette and George Jones - Wedding Ring' to listen to this. :)
Seems like there's a proper country revival going on here, huh?

I agree with Greg, don't beat yourself up.
I like this; It's got plenty of character, in a good way.

I can see how the vocals would be harder than you'd think. There verses are pretty much all arpeggiated which sounds simple, but sometimes isn't.

The hi-hat stands out a bit, and I'd maybe put a bit more emphasis on the vocals to really get the story across but that's just me.
I enjoyed it.
 
I'd say the same thing as Greg.

Things sounded good. But the shakers sound like they lost half of whatever stuff is inside shakers that make them shake.

everything else works very well. IMO Always like your stuff.
 
heatmiser said:
Thanks Chili. I'm definitely suffering poster's remorse on this one. I swore I wouldn't do anymore cover tunes, but I got caught up in the country-fever that was sweeping through this place a little bit ago. This tune does not play to my strengths whatever they may be.
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Man - I'm stuck at work, can't wait to check it out when I get home. For some reason the country-fever sweepthrough seems like an eternity ago to me, and it was just last Friday! Does that ever happen to you?
 
Greg_L said:
I put 320 MP3's in my dropbox all the time.

I think this is good. Sounds fun. The vocals are a little strained in spots, but it don't matter. I think the mix sounds pretty balanced.

My only negative critique would be the shakers. They sound small and thin. Almost like static. Somehow get more body of the shaker in there. Maybe put some reverb on em. Good sounds overall. Don't beat yourself up, this is very listenable.
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Thank you Greg. Yeah, those were maracas I bought in some shitty little store in Cozumel. The dude plied me with shots of tequila hoping I'd abandon all judgement and buy some overpriced jewelry, but all I bought were two maracas...and I talked him down from $2 a piece to $1. He was pissed.

I got lazy here and just played them, panned them and turned 'em up. I'm not happy with this one at all, but maybe I'll try to fix some things. Thanks again!

Chili said:
I understand Poster's Remorse all too well, but please don't feel that way. It's a good song done right. I really enjoyed listening and I want a better copy for rotation. So, yeah 320 on DB would be coooool.
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That is very kind. Thank you. I'm going to see if I can fix some things first, but either way, I'll put up a better dropbox link at some point here. You're not missing much with the 128kps...I think that's actually pretty much how it sounds..:)

TripleM said:
I'd say the same thing as Greg.

Things sounded good. But the shakers sound like they lost half of whatever stuff is inside shakers that make them shake.

everything else works very well. IMO Always like your stuff.
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Thank you Trip. I don't mind saying I'm actually kind of proud of the last 4-5 originals, but this one needed more work or an overhaul or something. I didn't even trim out the dead parts like I usually do. You can still hear me swearing in frustration at the end! Agreed on the shakers/maracas...they sounded fine in person, but got all lame sounding somewhere along the way.

chuckduffy said:
Man - I'm stuck at work, can't wait to check it out when I get home. For some reason the country-fever sweepthrough seems like an eternity ago to me, and it was just last Friday! Does that ever happen to you?
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I'm supposedly working from home today, but that is sort of an oxymoron for me. Yes, that happens to me. Doing the vocals for this song felt like an eternity to me, but it was only a short time.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I paused 'Tammy Wynette and George Jones - Wedding Ring' to listen to this. :)
Seems like there's a proper country revival going on here, huh?

I agree with Greg, don't beat yourself up.
I like this; It's got plenty of character, in a good way.

I can see how the vocals would be harder than you'd think. There verses are pretty much all arpeggiated which sounds simple, but sometimes isn't.

The hi-hat stands out a bit, and I'd maybe put a bit more emphasis on the vocals to really get the story across but that's just me.
I enjoyed it.
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Oops - missed this one!

Thanks man. I really enjoyed your recent cover.

Yeah, the HHs were annoying this time around. I EQd a lot of highs out of the overheads to try to tame them rather than just turn them down as I liked what they brought to the kick/snare sounds. I tried playing the hats soft compared to the kick/snare, but I couldn't help it for some reason. I never tried playing 3/4 time before and I think I needed to smash that constant HH beat to keep me from getting lost.

The timing and the intervals of the verses was hard. I kept tracking in phones thinking to myself..."nailed it!", then I'd play back through speakers and heard all kinds of pitch problems. Blah!
 
Cheers dude!
Here, I've got a cold but I couldn't resist record something else today.
Posting now. :)
 
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chuckduffy said:
Man - I'm stuck at work, can't wait to check it out when I get home. For some reason the country-fever sweepthrough seems like an eternity ago to me, and it was just last Friday! Does that ever happen to you?
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So I was driving home from work thinking el paso, hmm not ringing a bell, then it hit me in a flash and I realized wtf you were tackling. Jeez heat - that song is a vocal matterhorn of country. I can't even imagine trying to hit those notes. Vocal seemed a bit dry. If you do take another pass at it think about a nylon string acoustic for the solos if you got one.

You could mess with it some more, or you could leave it the heck alone - I think it's cool either way. I think we are closing in on a homerecording country ep in less than a week - kinda funny when you think about it.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Cheers dude!
Here, I've got a cold but I couldn't resist record something else today.
Posting now. :)
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Cool. Checking it out now...

chuckduffy said:
So I was driving home from work thinking el paso, hmm not ringing a bell, then it hit me in a flash and I realized wtf you were tackling. Jeez heat - that song is a vocal matterhorn of country. I can't even imagine trying to hit those notes. Vocal seemed a bit dry. If you do take another pass at it think about a nylon string acoustic for the solos if you got one.

You could mess with it some more, or you could leave it the heck alone - I think it's cool either way. I think we are closing in on a homerecording country ep in less than a week - kinda funny when you think about it.
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LOL @ the matterhorn. I wish I'd asked you first then you could've warned me. I was too far into it before I realized I'd bit off more than I could chew.

I have a nylon stringed guitar and while it would be more appropriate, I can't really solo with it. I redid the vocals last night and made them wetter. Also just turned down the electric guitar and tried to address the whole maraca/tambourine/hi-hat mess that was going on. I'll try to post a 320kps via dropbox shortly...
 
New mix - new vocals - 4/21

Hey,

Here is a dropbox link to a 320kps mp3.

New vocal tracks done last night - I think they're better, but the difference isn't drastic I guess. I did a few other things based on the comments (thank you for that). Generally an improvement, although now I think it sounds kinda too bassy overall maybe?

I didn't exactly nail the falsetto parts (:o) but at least I tried a little harder this time. Let me know what you think if you get a chance:

 
Classic song. I like the verb on the vocals it suits the song better.
 
heatmiser said:
Hey,

Here is a dropbox link to a 320kps mp3.

New vocal tracks done last night - I think they're better, but the difference isn't drastic I guess. I did a few other things based on the comments (thank you for that). Generally an improvement, although now I think it sounds kinda too bassy overall maybe?

I didn't exactly nail the falsetto parts (:o) but at least I tried a little harder this time. Let me know what you think if you get a chance:

Click to expand...

Great changes for the better across the board. Like the new vocal level and verb. You are probably pushing the bass (outside of the verses which I think are fine) - I'm not the best guy for opinion on bass cause I lean towards overdoing it every time. Seems like you tamed the solo and got the percussion into line. The acoustics might be too loud now. Anyway - I like it alot, especially cause it's an irony free :-) I know I said I'm the furthest thing from a country guy, but so many of the these tunes from back then had such great writing, singing and playing. It seems like most of us associate at least one old country tune with being a kid singing along at some point.
 
Loving it dude. Really enjoyable.

One of us needs to do Rocky Raccoon.

BTW, I didn't realise it was you who did paper cup.
Man, that song stuck with me for ages, so much so that i looked it up recently to hear it again.
Then i was like, ooh that was yer man Heatmiser! lol
 
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Steenamaroo said:
One of us needs to do Rocky Racoon
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Man - funny that you mentioned that. I played that one and dont pass me by on piano and sang it in a grade school talent show of all places - I guess that would be 38 years ago. I've always wondered in the back of my mind if Rocky Racoon wasn't originally intended as a Ringo vehicle. Anyway - I don't think I would do Rocky any justice, but I think I will give don't pass me by a shot when I get a chance.

Paper Cup was my introduction to the heat, and I love that tune too.
 
Funny, I was listening to Rocky Raccoon thinking that as a Brit, I'd never get away with putting on that accent........


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Then remembered where the beatles are from. :facepalm:
 
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