Pretending

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K-dub

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This one was a family effort. It's origin lies one morning in half sleep at about half speed as my brain composed theme music for the TV show "Mad Men". It originally was a bit like the theme from "The Summer of '42"

Well ... my son liked the general concept, but thought it was a little slow and sappy. He then contributed banjo and guitar on the piece. My wife didn't like my lyrics, so she rewrote them for me.

I wound up doing only the bass, organ and singing. T-Mix (drums) and Sloop (Native American flute) from RP finished up the roster, and hope you all like it.

Any/all comments warmly appreciated.

Best,

Kev-
 
I think I remember you. You used to post here a long time ago right? Help me out.
 
You hope we like it? What's not to like? Sounds really good, dude. I love it when such a far flung collaborative effort comes together and sounds like everyone was sitting in the same room at the same time. Nice job...
 
Once upon a time from a land far faraway.

I'm just putting the finishing touches on the next release ... this is one of the two left to go.
 
Generally things sound pretty good. I liked the melody.

I though it was a little on the narrow side.

Little timing issue at :05.

Little pops at 1:24 and 2:42. the one at 2:42 is really small.

That flute solo at 1:52 was a bit loud. A bit harsh. Kind of tough on the ears.

Not sure if I like the vocal tone or not. Mostly it's real cool. There is a note here and there that gets a little harsh.
 
TripleM said:
Generally things sound pretty good. I liked the melody.

I though it was a little on the narrow side.

Little timing issue at :05.

Little pops at 1:24 and 2:42. the one at 2:42 is really small.

That flute solo at 1:52 was a bit loud. A bit harsh. Kind of tough on the ears.

Not sure if I like the vocal tone or not. Mostly it's real cool. There is a note here and there that gets a little harsh.
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It's folks like you that remind me that I have to overcome my natural laziness, Trip. I've actually not listened to this on headphones yet ... and I'm sure those little clicks are edits to the lead vocal that I've got to deal with ... as they transition in and out of the track clips.

What range do you think I need to address in Sloop's flute. I originally held it back further in the mix, and at the last second, decided it needed to come up a little bit more.

I admit there are points in the lead vocal where, due to top of range issues, it can get slightly strident.
 
There are chord substitutions for the I VI II V chord sequence...
But...nice tune... do I know you? Seems from a far off galaxy... a loong time ago...
 
mixmkr said:
There are chord substitutions for the I VI II V chord sequence...
But...nice tune... do I know you? Seems from a far off galaxy... a loong time ago...
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I KNOW ... I've been quiet for a bit. Life happens. :)

New mix ... addressing Trip's concerns now on the link above.
 
Havent listened to the second mix. probably won't until Monday. But to answer your question - I'm guessing the flute's problem is somewhere around the 2700-2900 range. A 6db notch somewhere in there would likely help.
 
TripleM said:
Havent listened to the second mix. probably won't until Monday. But to answer your question - I'm guessing the flute's problem is somewhere around the 2700-2900 range. A 6db notch somewhere in there would likely help.
Click to expand...

Gave a listen back this morning ... and I think I tamed it pretty well. I'm interested to hear what you think.
 
Great mix. Nice vocal. The instrumentation and production suit this perfectly.

I didn't hear your original mix, but I think you may have tamed the flute a little too much....I could hardly hear it. :eek:

Fun happy tune!
 
I'd wondered about that, Rami -- thanks for that specific mention -- and the kind words!

Kev-

Later edit: I noticed that the flute was dropping under the bed at times ... so I applied light compression to it to lift the soft notes up and above ... and it made it more clear and consistent. New mix is on OP above.
 
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Great sounding tune, very enjoyable to listen to. I don't have any comments of a technical nature, just wanted to say good job.
 
K-dub said:
it made it more clear and consistent. New mix is on OP above.
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Definitely. It seems to be at a good level now, and I don't hear any piercing or annoying notes.

Now that I hear it well, it dawned on me that it sounded maybe too smooth, more like a recorder than a flute. I'd like to hear some spit. But, other than Jethro Tull, I know nothing about flute, and I don't think you'd want an Ian Anderson sounding flute on this. So take what I say with a ton of salt. :)

EDIT: Also, keep in mind that the solo sounds fine the way it is. If the word "flute" was never mentioned in this thread before I commented, I wouldn't have even made the comparison with a recorder. It would have just been a musical break to me.
 
RAMI said:
Definitely. It seems to be at a good level now, and I don't hear any piercing or annoying notes.

Now that I hear it well, it dawned on me that it sounded maybe too smooth, more like a recorder than a flute. I'd like to hear some spit. But, other than Jethro Tull, I know nothing about flute, and I don't think you'd want an Ian Anderson sounding flute on this. So take what I say with a ton of salt. :)

EDIT: Also, keep in mind that the solo sounds fine the way it is. If the word "flute" was never mentioned in this thread before I commented, I wouldn't have even made the comparison with a recorder. It would have just been a musical break to me.
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Part of compromise I had to make in taming the tone was rolling back some of the energy in exactly the "breath" region, Rami ... but it's not a flute in the classic sense. It's a Native American flute ... which IS closer to a recorder in construction (wooden, and played on the end like a recorder) than a metal flute.
 
K-dub said:
but it's not a flute in the classic sense. It's a Native American flute ... which IS closer to a recorder in construction (wooden, and played on the end like a recorder) than a metal flute.
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Ah! That makes sense. :cool:
 
I guess I listened to the latest mix. It all sounds good. I try to catch your tunes on here when I can. Always enjoy them.

Thanks again for sharing.
 
Chili said:
I guess I listened to the latest mix. It all sounds good. I try to catch your tunes on here when I can. Always enjoy them.

Thanks again for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thanks Chili! This was one of two final ones I'm wrapping up for the next 10 song release ... which I suspect will be done come mid to late March. I still don't have a name for the album yet ...
 
That was fantastic and in my opinion the best thing I've heard from you yet. The mix was balanced and organic and it all just sounded great to me. The song is fun and light and skips along wonderfully. Great job.
 
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