RayC's Missus sings!

[rayc]

Hello Folks,
I didn't get too far recording new material during the summer hols. I do have three songs waiting in the wings but no progress during the free part of summer. I thought I'd best post something to justify owning bits & pieces of gear sd I recorded the ever so reluctant wife singing.
The link will take you to the streaming verion of Gimli's lament V3. It has Kim, my missus, singing the original 1976 lyric as a lament under Terry's narrative vocal.
I've added Melloton Combine Choir under 1 verse just to see how it sounds.
Sadly I had to remove the superb 'Cello solo by Miriam as the combination of three melodies in that section was too much to cope with. Her excellent playing can be heard on the outro. The fret saw 'cello is me.
I had to do a lot of re EQing with the removal of that solo. The full, aggressive sound masked a lot of "goings on" in the track that I'd not had to pay attention to.
Let me know if the new arrangement/mix works please.
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=8675100&q=hi

 

[joeym]

Sounds pretty good, Ray....at the part I managed to listen to. I get about 30 seconds and then it stops. Kim's voice is pretty low in the mix but I guess she should only provide background. Guitars sound good, bass could have a more flowing pattern. Nice tune.

Joey

 

[gecko zzed]

I liked the concept, structure and general flavour of the song.

I'm not sure what you were aiming for in the production, but my preference would be to have the acoustic guitars not so dominant, and to give the vocal more presence.

Is this, by chance, a really old recording from somewhere that you've salvaged by adding some stuff over the top? It's kinda got that feel abut it.

Cello at the end is cool . . . its presence throughout would have been nice.

 

[valacirca]

The intro was great, but when everything else started to come in at around 0:36, something just felt really awkward. The music in general is good for me though.

I kindda expected the female vocal already since it seemed perfect for the atmosphere that the song created (aside from the fact that you already said your wife sings in it ), but the male vocal was off-putting. Sorry. Oh, and the female vocal is too soft, imho.

Also... just nitpicking here, but I'm hearing a faint high-pitched something (buzz?) throughout the song.

 

[Greg_L]

More wife, less Terry. The rest sounds okay to me. There is a high pitched whine throughout.

 

[Anfontan]

Good song Ray, but I have to agree that you wife needs to be mixed more into the foreground-she is mostly buried in the mix. The song has a Irish theme and tempo running though it to me.

 

[ido1957]

I can't hear the whine - guess I've finally gone deaf in certain frequencies. I've heard that happens to old people...lol....

Nice backups Kim - both melodically and tone wise. "Good on ya" for putting this track down. Hope to hear more in the future. A female voice is super for harmonies - especially if the lead singer has a high range (like Terry). It's hard for guys to hit those harmonies without going falsetto.

Mix wise I'd probably rope Kim into a second matching vocal (or more) and pan them L/R to get some definition in the mix. Right now they're both occupying the center and Terry should have that solely....

 

[rayc]

Thanks for the responses folks...
joeym,
Sorry it stops mate - could be scluck is playing up - often does. The bass line is pretty simple I know - there was a cello & a guitar solo in the pervious mix so I kept is simple because the cello was busy.
gecko zzed,
Ta. The only new stuff are Kim's vocals & the mellotron section. As mentioned there was more cello but with 2 vocal melodies the cello & guitar melodies were too much to cope with.
valacirca,
You're right - there's a odd sudden startto one of the guitars - I'll have to bring it in more slowly. I'm surprise you find the male voice off putting. I'm very used to it. The fem vox were only intended as a gentle counter melody - I'll experiment with raising the level a little.
Greg_L,
I'll raise you 1 Kim to your Terry. Is the high pitch at approx 11Khz? I can't hear it at all but there's a peak on a freq analysis (I think it dates back to a prob Terry had with his preamp - a lot of our phase 2 work had that prob. If it is I can fix it. If not I'll have to find the source.
Anfontan,
Ta mate - more Kimbo in the repost in a few days. Yeah, it's a bit celtic and a lot Tolkien.
ido1957,
Generous as always! Thanks. I'll try to get Kim to do another take & do as requested. We're of similar age - let's put the freq loss down to our long RnR lives (though you certainly played more & better gigs than me).

Thanx Folx - I'll address most issue this coming weekend ( not tonight though as I went back to work after the summer hols today).

Almost forgot - no comment on the mellotron line!
I didn't use a 'tron but downloaded wav. files of each note (7 secs of each a across 36 note board - incl #s) which I pasted & cut into the song.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Gimli as in the dwarf? "a lot Tolkien" I guess it is!

Yup, definitely needs more wife, and the high pitched noise is distracting.

The reverb gets a little overwhelming around 2:50.

Cool instrumentation though. I like it. And everybody loves songs about Gimli; (way cooler than Legolas).

 

[heatmiser]

I wish there was more of the missus in the mix. I think the lead vocal is far too loud in relation to both your wife and the instruments. Guitars sound really nice as does the cello.

I like the idea of two background vocal takes panned L&R that someone already offered. Right now, they seem too centered. It has to be difficult to manage everything going on in this mix, especially given the fact that various parts come from different eras done on different kinds of equipment, yes?

I like the large doses of reverb especially for a slow, almost mournful piece like this, but it does affect the ability to make everything out clearly at times.

 

[Bulls Hit]

I remember this one and the intro still reminds me of a Floyd tune. The melodies are still cool and I agree that your missus should be brought more up front. Sounds like you recorded her out in the kitchen doing the dishes.

Not that there's anything wrong with that of course

 

[rayc]

VomitHatSteve,
Yep the son of Gloin indeed. More wife done. The male vocal & solo tracks came wet - I didn't have an option with them - it does get a little wild. thanks for the feedback - much appreciated.
heatmiser,
Two vocal takes by the missus panned L & R as requested. there are about 24 tracks happening so it can be a handful. I broke it down into rhythm etc sections to rework it today. thanks for the kind words.
Bulls Hit,
Thanks for the Floyd ref. to my ears it sounds more Bo Hannson (from his TLOTRings record from early 70's). Distant was a result of pulling it back & slapping reverb on it - you picked that. Doing the washing up - she's enarmoured of the currently non functioning electric dish washer (replaced by me often enough).

 

[jcayer2]

This is my first comment (critic ? ) on a mix/song, so I might be 'very wrong' I'm not very familiar with the terms (plus my native langage is french so...)

I'm listening with headphones. I really like the song, somekind of old Strawbs feel

I hear some high frequency pitch, like GregL, thru all the song but it becomes louder at around 2:45. At the end, I would like to hear the flute a little bit more but this is just me I agree that it would be cool to hear more of the missus voice

Very nice song !!!