Fleetwood Mac - "Dreams" - WTF is this, magic?!

S

Serendipity Records

Well-known member
Hi all!

I posted a clip of the vocals on this project in the Microphones sub-forum, so sorry if you saw this one coming :)



Featuring...

Me actually performing the following:
- Vocals (on my newly acquainted AKG D125)
- Fender Rhodes MkII (suitcase) emulator on lead keys
- Fender Rhodes MkI emulator on "rhythm" keys

MIDI programming on the following:
- A custom PJ bass (MODO Bass)
- Drums (Groove Agent SE)

Of course, all and any critical feedback is wanted! Thanks for listening!

P.S. There's an "Easter egg" in the keys part, listen closely and feel free to spoil the timecode if you recognize it!
 
Well, for all the 57 views here, y'all are really talkative!

Anyway, slight tweaks to reverb, sidechain comp, and master bus processing:


Thanks again for constructive criticism! Oh, and for the record -- never, ever, EVER try mixing on a laptop while half-asleep:spank:
 
My jazz affinity is limited. That said you did a good job with the song. How did you come up with those chords? Very inventive. Oh and I didn't find the Easter egg.
 
Hmmm ... Some nice playing on there. The vocals still need quite a bit of work, IMHO. Was there a reason you didn't transpose it to a lower key?

Also, just out of curiosity, where you from? You don't sound American - just wondering.
 
Eric V said:
My jazz affinity is limited. That said you did a good job with the song. How did you come up with those chords? Very inventive. Oh and I didn't find the Easter egg.
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Ah that must be it :) I love reharmonizing... kinda specialty of mine. If no-one else picks up on the Easter egg soon I'll let it out I promise!
famous beagle said:
Hmmm ... Some nice playing on there. The vocals still need quite a bit of work, IMHO. Was there a reason you didn't transpose it to a lower key?

Also, just out of curiosity, where you from? You don't sound American - just wondering.
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Could have transposed it but I'd prefer not to. [EDIT: I'm naturally a baritone BTW.] At first I thought a lady friend of mine might do the vocals, but I don't think that will come through. Work on the vox -- I'm guessing you mean like, the actual performance, not the processing etc.?
famous beagle said:
Also, just out of curiosity, where you from? You don't sound American - just wondering.
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Northern Kentucky drawl + French Canadian accent makes for quite the combo don't you think ;)
 
Serendipity Records said:
Ah that must be it :) I love reharmonizing... kinda specialty of mine. If no-one else picks up on the Easter egg soon I'll let it out I promise!

Could have transposed it but I'd prefer not to. [EDIT: I'm naturally a baritone BTW.] At first I thought a lady friend of mine might do the vocals, but I don't think that will come through. Work on the vox -- I'm guessing you mean like, the actual performance, not the processing etc.?

Northern Kentucky drawl + French Canadian accent makes for quite the combo don't you think ;)
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Ahh, I see.

Regarding the vocals, yes, I was talking about the performance. I know this is the "mixing clinic," but it's hard for me to concentrate on a mix when the performance is not up to snuff (IMHO).
 
famous beagle said:
Ahh, I see.

Regarding the vocals, yes, I was talking about the performance. I know this is the "mixing clinic," but it's hard for me to concentrate on a mix when the performance is not up to snuff (IMHO).
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Yup ok. I am well aware of my shortcomings as a solo vocalist :D but are there any specific things you would recommend to be done better? Like, voice cracks, pitch, other things? I'm certainly not going for a specifically Stevie sound here, so if it just sounds like a falsetto instead of a female vocalist, that's quite fine with me. I'm very much going for a re-imagination of the song.
Eric V said:
How did you come up with those chords?
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A bit more information on that end -- the intro and solo were built through improvisation; the actual take is learned. Apart from those two sections, the lead keyboard was entirely improvised on the spot.

All the rhythm keyboard is chord chart with some gradually assimilated riffs (last refrain). I originally had in mind to do it all with one keyboard but thought that might be a bit too sparse...
 
I will be completely honest.
your vocal delivery needs to be honed.
You can sing.
By honed, I mean sharpened - by the only way it can be.
Get up in front of people and sing your God-given heart out
You have the heart - no double about that.
You have the brains - hell your production proves that.
This offering is sincere, keep that.
Love!
 
Cool. Good job on the music.

Vocals not so much.
I don’t think the falsetto works for you. It’s pitchy, timing is off, and generally doesn’t flow. It sounds like you’re forcing something that isn’t natural to you.

maybe changing the key, transposing could help you with doing it with a more natural to you voice.
 
Manslick said:
I will be completely honest.
your vocal delivery needs to be honed.
You can sing.
By honed, I mean sharpened - by the only way it can be.
Get up in front of people and sing your God-given heart out
You have the heart - no double about that.
You have the brains - hell your production proves that.
This offering is sincere, keep that.
Love!
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RFR said:
Cool. Good job on the music.

Vocals not so much.
I don’t think the falsetto works for you. It’s pitchy, timing is off, and generally doesn’t flow. It sounds like you’re forcing something that isn’t natural to you.

maybe changing the key, transposing could help you with doing it with a more natural to you voice.
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Honesty is what's wanted! OK I'll try and rethink the vocals on this one... not sure as of now what I'll do. Thanks for the feedback!
 
Serendipity Records said:
Honesty is what's wanted! OK I'll try and rethink the vocals on this one... not sure as of now what I'll do. Thanks for the feedback!
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It sounds like you were falsetto all or most of the performance. Stevie Nicks did a combination of chest voice and falsetto, switching between the two. Maybe you could come a little closer to that if you give it another try? Like someone said, you can sing, but the falsetto all the way through just didn't sound right 100%. Other than that, it sounded great, I loved the jazz chords.
 
Eric V said:
It sounds like you were falsetto all or most of the performance. Stevie Nicks did a combination of chest voice and falsetto, switching between the two. Maybe you could come a little closer to that if you give it another try? Like someone said, you can sing, but the falsetto all the way through just didn't sound right 100%. Other than that, it sounded great, I loved the jazz chords.
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Aight... I'll give it another go. My falsetto/chest voice breaks right in the middle of the range for this song so it will take some experimenting. Will keep you all up to date!
 
Serendipity, for me, the biggest issue was the off pitch vocals. I always cringe when I hear them. It just seems well out of your range, and you're struggling to get there. I sort of agree that transposing to a more natural key might help. What if you moved it to Bb/C rather than F/G

Plus, where are the harmony vocals? They add a LOT to that song.
 
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TalismanRich said:
Serendipity, for me, the biggest issue was the off pitch vocals. I always cringe when I hear them. It just seems well out of your range, and you're struggling to get there. I sort of agree that transposing to a more natural key might help. What if you moved it to Bb/C rather than F/G
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I'd really, really rather not transpose this one. Off pitch -- some of it was intentional "coloring" of the melody (I have perfect pitch). You're right though, not my natural range. Still, I'll give it another whirl.
TalismanRich said:
Plus, where are the harmony vocals? They add a LOT to that song.
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Might add them in, will have to check for conflicts with the harmonies in the keys on this one.
Eric V said:
It sounds like you were falsetto all or most of the performance.
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So I experimented a bit today; "head" voice starts around "central C", falsetto starts around the "A" above that. Once I'm locked into those ranges, I can push the breaking point down a bit. In the recording the first phrase is entirely "head" voice, and for the second phrase I had to do falsetto because it goes over the A.
 
Pretty much have to agree with what's already been posted. Vocals are pitchy and out of your range. That said, your voice isn't unpleasant, so it's really a matter of mastering the pitch and maybe try something that's in a better range for you. You seem to think you can fix it with effects/processing, but you really need to master the instrument first. I hope that doesn't come across as harsh, it's not meant to be. But buying a distortion pedal doesn't make you a guitar player.

Musically I don't care for the snare sound, although the cross stick is ok. And the kick can come up a notch. And mix-wise it seems a bit narrow. However, I guess with just the keys, bass and drums it's hard to get very much width to the mix, so I don't have any suggestions.
 
dachay2tnr said:
Pretty much have to agree with what's already been posted. Vocals are pitchy and out of your range. That said, your voice isn't unpleasant, so it's really a matter of mastering the pitch and maybe try something that's in a better range for you. You seem to think you can fix it with effects/processing, but you really need to master the instrument first. I hope that doesn't come across as harsh, it's not meant to be. But buying a distortion pedal doesn't make you a guitar player.
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Oh, I get that processing does not make a dud recording great. Somehow though I have trouble hearing just how bad it's purported to be? And I'm far from an apologist for my voice... Still, appreciate the feedback and no critique is too harsh!
dachay2tnr said:
Musically I don't care for the snare sound, although the cross stick is ok. And the kick can come up a notch. And mix-wise it seems a bit narrow. However, I guess with just the keys, bass and drums it's hard to get very much width to the mix, so I don't have any suggestions.
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So -- and this is a general update for all and any who have commented -- I was going to retrack the vox, experiment with backing vox, and perhaps even add some light percussion (shaker probably) to the chorus parts. This would help with the width issue (the drum sound is easily changed though I thought it was quite successfully Mick Fleetwood?). Unfortunately, the quiet time I have around house is very limited, and the weekly 2-3 hrs of absolute silence that was previously relied upon is coming to an end. Add that to the fact that I promised someone that I'd have this surprise finished as soon as possible...
Right now I'm thinking to tease the intro and wait for the rest to be completed before sharing a version I can call finished.
 
Instrumental is smooth, soothing.

Mixing notes:
- Drums and vocals are too dry for my taste, they don't blend in well
- Vocal notes are out of your range and they kill the vibe but I respect the effort
 
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