sickly suite

  • Thread starter Thread starter macle
  • Start date Start date
Sounds pretty good. I like the mellow/happy feeling of it. Great swinging tune.

Onto the critique:

-It feels like there is no depth. Everything is up front and in your face. It seems like the whole tune is in chorus mode and no verses in between.

-Tighter/crisper drum hit's at the opening. Great sound but the in my opinion it needs a little more bite.

- back the instrumentals off around 2:20. I would focus on the duet in this section weaving the melody and harmony.

-Excellent songwriting here.

I really liked the duet. I haven't heard it in modern songs in so long that it's almost a treasure to hear it again. Take from this what you will. I liked it.
 
Excellent Macle.The harmonies you two catch are as one...Ive never been able to find a harmony partner that could pull off what you guys do.This is a great vocal tune with a 3 pronged hook man.....I love these harmonies...I agree with evildick about the flow of the song....it could use something small during the chorus to elevate it out of the verses.

The chorus doesnt seem to pay off in a giant way,it just seems to slip seamlessly from verse to pre/chorus to chorus.

Ok,Im listening again to the chorus right now and the electric guitar that comes in picking strings of a chord does elevate it a little bit out of the pre/chorus......am I making any damn sense in what Im trying to explain about this elevation of the chorus stuff?LOL.......This is a well structured song......upon listening to it for the third time I am still loving the melody and the harmonies.....Ok,it's 4 am and I need to shut the hell up.

Very good tune Macle.Im impressed as usual.

Is this song an autobiography?

"If ever we get more than a lot,I hope we dont ever forget what we got"...........thats cool man.......this song leaves me with a good feeling.

I believe you guys could sing the phone book and make it sound great......I love your g/f's voice....Ok,now im done....gushing like a girl ends NOW!:D
 
great tune as usual..

I didn't like all the noises around 2ish.. something about this recording sounds different than your other stuff.. It almost sounds like tape because it has a bit of dullness to it.. not much dynamics either..


great tune and vocals.. coool ending..
 
Really excellent. The harmonies are spot on, and I like the verse being "on a level" with the chorus. It's mainly because your verse is so good.

I love all the stuff going on around the edges - very sixties, very Beatles, but with a modern, almost Beck, feel.

Couple of comments:

I could live with the vocals being just a wee bit louder, and maybe a wee bit more "up front". I love the smooth, relaxed sound but I'd like to hear them just a touch more.

I think some of the hard-panned stuff (strings, organs, BVs, etc.) could do with being "brought in" a bit. Especially on headphones, it's like there's nothing in the middle at all, and it can be a bit fatiguing to listen to.

Are those real strings? Either way, the arrangement is top notch. And I love the Strawberry Fields Mellotron-like sound.

Great stuff.

Alastair
 
"...if ever we get more than a lot, I hope we don't forget what we've got..."
Nicely written, Macle. The piano sounds great, as do the harmonies. I agree with Alastair, vocals could have been a tad more up front.
Lots going on here, it keeps the listener's interest. The spacey waltz at the end is very cool.
Small lyric criticism: the line, "how can it be wrong when it feels so right" seems derivative, like you were so much into production that you settled for it in order to get the track done.
At this high level of quality, I can't let you off the hook, so to speak. :D
Outstanding recording...you've spoiled us, though, so we can't let anything slide.

Mark
 
Last edited:
Hey Macle,
You know, your stuff is so hard to critique. I mean, sure i could go through and nitpick about small things. But, I can do that on my favorite record too. ......Your songs are always very well written, and nicely arrranged. I love the instrumental choices, as well as the vocal sounds. Wether or not a person is into that style of music is really immaterial. Your stuff is beautifully done, expertly recorded, and a shining example of what we all strive to do. As usual, .........great job Macle.

..........always impressed, G




.........one bitch, and thats all. DUMP angelfire............ man, for some reason, I consistently have a problem downloading the full song........ does anyone else have this problem?
 
Guernica said:
DUMP angelfire............ man, for some reason, I consistently have a problem downloading the full song........ does anyone else have this problem?

I cant stream a song there...I just do the right-click/save-as and d-load it.
 
Evildick-I agree about the depth thing. Something I'm working on. Sort of a case of biting off more than I can chew/mix with these string arrangements and stuff. I keep thinking/hoping that a quality reverb will be an answer in some ways, though I know I still could have done a better job on listening to this back a few months later, space and level wise. The drums, I put towels on them for that thumpy sound, but I hear you on the crispiness. Thanks very much, very glad you liked the duet aspect!

Kramer-Hey there! Thanks a lot. Yes, I get what you're saying about the chorus elevating. I think a remix would help a lot. At this point, I was having a lot of trouble with the thing where you want everything to be the main focus: raise the strings, okay raise the guitar, okay raise the vocal...:rolleyes: Really appreciate the comments about the song and harmony, as we weren't confident about that aspect at all. Yeah, the song is autobiographical, the good and the bad...Thanks again, Kramer!! Oh, and my girlfriend says a big thanks for digging her voice!

samicide-Hey, turns out there's more :eek: :) The tape comment, well that's pretty cool, since I really was sort of going for that in all my choices (DAW, mics, preamps, sounds, songs, etc.) Of course, maybe I went too far...thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

Alastair-Thank you!! Your comment of Beatles meets Beck is very cool, as that sort of vintage/modern thing is exactly what I've been going for, so thank you very very much! Interesting that you like the verse on the level with the chorus, as that is something that I notice in alot of modern recordings, so I was aiming that way, but the fatiguing aspect is definitely not good. Mixing sure is a puzzle!! The strings aren't real, unfortunately, so thanks very much for that!!

Mark-Thanks very much! Wow, glad you (and Kramer) like that lyric, cuz the fact is, even though I came up with it, I was thinking it was too, I don't know, not cool, or too cutesy, or something, but my girlfriend has been insisting it's good, so what do I know. I hear what you're saying about that other line though, hadn't even thought about that, cuz I was so paranoid about some of the others! :rolleyes: Thanks again, Mark.

Guernica-Thank you very much! Funny, the comment of "that style of music", cuz sometimes I wonder what our stuff seems like, you know, what category? Lately , too, I've been thinking, geez, gotta get more raw and rocking!! Really appreciate your comments, and sorry about Angelfire, I know it sucks!!

Macle
 
Hi Macle

I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression. I don't think the *sound* of the mix is fatiguing. It's just that some of the hard-panned sounds might be better brought a wee bit towards the centre.

At the moment it feels like (apart from the voices) most of the action is happening at 100% left or 100% right. In the gaps between the singing, the mix sounds empty in the middle.

Maybe it's just me, but I find these bits quite tiring to listen to, probably because each ear is getting a totally different picture. Spread the instruments a bit more evenly across the stereo field, and let my poor ears relax! ;)

But keep doing what you're doing - you and your girlfriend have got a really excellent sound going there.

Cheers

Alastair
 
Macle, I hadn't read any of the other posts when I posted, so it's very interesting that Kramer and I singled out the same line as meaningful...proves you're a hookmeister (as if any proof were needed).
Like Guernica said, it's difficult to find anything to fault in your stuff, which makes us more discerning critics...cool circle of happenstance. :cool:
And yes, your girlfriend has a beautiful voice!

Mark

p.s. Forgot to mention, I dig the hell out of your thread title pun.
 
Last edited:
Alastair-hello again! :) Ah, okay, I see. I shall give that a go. Thanks very much.

Mark-That is interesting that you guys picked out that line, and my girlfriend is going, "See....!!!" :) Like I said, what do I know! :D Oh, and she says, "wow, thanks!" for the vocal comment.

Thanks a lot,
Macle
 
Last edited:
Great harmonies!

Everything sounds really full and warm.
I love the production.

What did you use for strings,they sound great!

Another fine tune!

Best to you,
Pete
 
Hi Pete,
Thanks very much. The strings are a mix of the DanDean strings for Gigasampler, plus mellotron samples, and a few others. I try to avoid "synthy" sounding samples. Thanks very much for that, cuz doing the string stuff is a lot of work! :)

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

Macle
 
the comment of "that style of music", cuz sometimes I wonder what our stuff seems like, you know, what category?

.......funny, you seem to have a very firm grasp on what it is you do. Punch me if im way off, but IM very HO , You are a pop musician. You take influences from classic early pop, not the hip-hop influence or the "punk" or other rock hybrid pop influence. It would be tough to categorize you in terms of todays pop bands........ ......maybe "6 pence none the richer".......mmmmmmmm, something like that. That's a tough one, but thats a good thing. ......Like I said, I dont think self identity is a problem with you. You know exactly what youre writing.... and you should stick with the plan. :) g
 
I could only get a 5 sec clip. I'll try later. I've loved you're past stuff and am eager to hear this!!


Theron
 
Guernica-True, I think I have a grasp (pretty much) on what I like, and what I'm trying to do (and you're right, mainly a pop musician with a heavy influence from classic early pop), but I was just wondering how it seems to everyone else. Like, does it seem like middle of the road commercial, or alternative, or really old school, or...Sixpence does seem similar in a way, though they seem much more commercial and polished to me, though I've only heard that one song. I guess sometimes, when bands like The Hives or The Vines come along, I get sort of jealous of that kind of rock band thing. But you're right, we should stick with the plan! Thanks Guernica.

Theron-Sorry about that, hope you can get it, look forward to your review.

Macle
 
If I ever get a sampler,mellotron is all I want!
If I could get within ten miles of King Crimsons mellotron,I could die a happy man!:D

Yours sounds really great,is that on gigasampler too?

Best to you,
Pete
 
Macle,

I got it this time.

Loved the vibe and flow of the song. Sweet sentiments brought to a soft and warm light via the music.

The vocals sounded a tad lost. I was tempted at first to ask for more volume but, that isn't it. I think there might be a mild competition with one of the synths or keys that enrich the rhythm.

I heard that rhythm git and wished it was more of a player in the texture of the rhythm section (this is just opinion of course:) ). If you did trade some room with the git and synth, it might make the vox sit better. Granted, they could sit fine as it is and I'm just spewing ignorance.:D

Props for the outro, creative twists are always nice in this world,,,no? That bass git "whoop, whoop" on the outro was especialy tasty!

I knew I wanted to listen to this, now I know why! You've got "it" and I'm rewarded by the fact that you share it.

Peace,

Theron.
 
personally, I think all the above comments boil down to personal opinion...just like this opinion:eek:

you've got a style...that's for sure, and it seems like all is under control. Kudos to you both.
 
Back
Top