What the heck - here's another one...

J

JeffreyC

New member
I wrote/recorded this one solo - all feedback and contructive criticism welcome...



Lyrics:

REINCARNATE © Jeffrey Henderson 2007
We’ve been down this road before
Or so it seems
Seen my reflection on the shore
So I believe

There’s no one can tell me
what I feel
There’s no one can sell
me the unreal

You say we’re going
To find something new
I can’t help knowing
The truth

There’s someone can see
Where I’ve been
There’s someone can be
Free in the end
 
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- Excellent - love the writing on this. The guitar is big and bold and expressive. The vocals "float" well along to the accompaniment. This is like an album cut, a longer piece with lot's "in between" the verses. Very Nice! :cool:
 
- Excellent - love the writing on this. The guitar is big and bold and expressive. The vocals "float" well along to the accompaniment. This is like an album cut, a longer piece with lot's "in between" the verses. Very Nice!
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Wow, thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I tried to space things out on this one and try to keep it interesting with little intricacies since there is no real "chorus" or "hook". I think I sort of got a bit lucky as I had just written the song and sat down and recorded the vocals and guitar in one take. I didn't have much planned, but sometimes that works. LOL.
 
It has a Neil Young quality to it that I like very much. I would prefer a but less sibilance and verb on the vox but that is a matter of personal taste. I love the way the bass keys come in on the downbeat to start each vox line. It adds tension in a good way without detracting from the song. One problem I have with the tune was a sound similar to the movement/creaking of a chair or something through most of the song. It sits right behind the vox in the mix and I would guess that is when it entered. It is very distracting and nonmusical. It isn't loud.......just loud enough to be annoying to me. Overall, it is a nice effort though.
 
It has a Neil Young quality to it that I like very much. I would prefer a but less sibilance and verb on the vox but that is a matter of personal taste. I love the way the bass keys come in on the downbeat to start each vox line. It adds tension in a good way without detracting from the song. One problem I have with the tune was a sound similar to the movement/creaking of a chair or something through most of the song. It sits right behind the vox in the mix and I would guess that is when it entered. It is very distracting and nonmusical. It isn't loud.......just loud enough to be annoying to me. Overall, it is a nice effort though.
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Thanks. Yeah, I think that is my plectrum hitting the pickguard and or possibly something I was wearing that was hitting the guitar as I was strumming. Good point - I need to be more aware of those things - I try to just concentrate on getting into the song as much as possible and sometimes I don't catch stuff like that. :o
 
A great moody piece, with considerable space and sonic interest. The guitar is crisp, well recorded, and played very expressively.

The background instruments are just right, adding considerable colour without detracting from the song itself.

I agree with up-fiddlers comments about the reverb. The sibilance is most likely emphasised by the reverb, and a drier vocal would probably be fine.

Maybe the idea was specifically to get that floaty vocal thing happening (which works). The consequence is that the guitar sits up front, and the vocals float around towards the back of the stage. If that's what you want, that's okay. My preference, though, is to develop a closer relationship between the guitar and the vocal soncially, making them both either dry or wet (and I would tend towards dry).

up-fiddler noticed the pick-clicks, and I did too. But I didn't mind them. I tend to have a highly tolerant attitude to noises that occur in the course of playing (string squeaks, snare rattles, squeaky kick beaters, sax valve noises etc.). I think they are all good.

Lyrically the song is strong. The lyrics are simple, and there are not many of them, but they convey a sense of melancholy very well.

Excellent work!
 
I enjoyed that. There's not enough people making music like that these days. Guitar sounds almost Jimmy Pagesque. Very relaxing, lucid. I would like to see music move in a more melodic direction in a new form. I don't want to upset anybody, but somewhere between the raunch of metal and the thump of rap/hip-hop we've lost the value of the melody. Keep up the good work.:)
 
I agree with up-fiddlers comments about the reverb. The sibilance is most likely emphasised by the reverb, and a drier vocal would probably be fine.

Maybe the idea was specifically to get that floaty vocal thing happening (which works). The consequence is that the guitar sits up front, and the vocals float around towards the back of the stage. If that's what you want, that's okay. My preference, though, is to develop a closer relationship between the guitar and the vocal soncially, making them both either dry or wet (and I would tend towards dry).

up-fiddler noticed the pick-clicks, and I did too. But I didn't mind them. I tend to have a highly tolerant attitude to noises that occur in the course of playing (string squeaks, snare rattles, squeaky kick beaters, sax valve noises etc.). I think they are all good.
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Wow, thank you all for the compliments. :o I appreciate it. Gecko, I agree with you 100%. I wasn't really going for the floaty vocal thing, but it does work - with this piece anyway. My mixing skills and ear have gotten a bit better since then, and I've been using less reverb and shooting for more of a dry but warm sound with vocal/acoustic guitar. I've also upgraded some of my recording gear since then, which should help too.

I really appreciate all of the honest/constructive criticism. You guys have some great ears! Thanks.
 
Cool acoustic guitar work and vocals. Nice song all around!

Do you have any more tracks we can listen to?

Joseph
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Thanks. Here's another one in that same style/vein.



Lyrics:
RAIN - © Jeffrey Henderson 2006
Alone on a mountain, lost to be found
I see the clouds building their mercy for all
Heavy and holding in a charcoal sky
Churns my dream for you knowing why yeah

Wet it has moved me this waiting makes me insane
Island unknown in fear no one will feel the rain

Stealing the sunset it brings me time
From the desert surrounding of emptiness lying
My hope life is given to souls laid wasted
A view blue and green, this sweetness I’ve tasted

Wet it has moved me ever in my mind
I’ve cried oceans of courage just waiting for the time
(Co-written with Scott Sheaffer)
 
Rain

This tracks shares the same production values as your other, and therefore comments I made on the other apply here as well. Again, I would like to see a drier vocal. This would help give the vocal more definition and expression. I would also like to see what happens if you experiment with your vocal delivery. At the moment, it is kind of sitting pretty much all at one level, and variations in intensity (for example, singing more strongly in the chorus) might add extra life to the song.

Instrumentally the track is interesting, and I like the way you use sound to colour in the background. Well I recongise what you've done with this track and applaud it, for some reason it wasn't as clean as the earlier one. In particular, it seemed to be a bit sludgy on the bottom end (mainly on that bottom D note). I expect this due to the combination of the dropped bottom string, the pads yo've used and the amount of reverb floating around.

Lyrically you seem to manage to extract a lot out of a few words, so I've no complaints there. It is a lot easier to ramble onthanto be concise and say no more than you have to, so well done here.
 
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This tracks shares the same production values as your other, and therefore comments I made on the other apply here as well. Again, I would like to see a drier vocal. This would help give the vocal more definition and expression. I would also like to see what happens if you experiment with your vocal delivery. At the moment, it is kind of sitting pretty much all at one level, and variations in intensity (for example, singing more strongly in the chorus) might add extra life to the song.

Instrumentally the track is interesting, and I like the way you use sound to colour in the background. Well I recongise what you've done with this track and applaud it, for some reason it wasn't as clean as the earlier one. In particular, it seemed to be a bit sludgy on the bottom end (mainly on that bottom D note). I expect this due to the combination of the dropped bottom string, the pads yo've used and the amount of reverb floating around.

Lyrically you seem to manage to extract a lot out of a few words, so I've no complaints there. It is a lot easier to ramble onthanto be concise and say no more than you have to, so well done here
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Thanks so much for all the excellent feedback Gecko! You've obviously done a lot of listening in your time and you're great at picking out things that can quite possibly improve a song/recording. I will take your comments to heart and keep them in mind when recording my songs in the future.

Cheers to you sir!
 
up-fiddler said:
It has a Neil Young quality to it that I like very much. I would prefer a but less sibilance and verb on the vox but that is a matter of personal taste. I love the way the bass keys come in on the downbeat to start each vox line. It adds tension in a good way without detracting from the song. One problem I have with the tune was a sound similar to the movement/creaking of a chair or something through most of the song. It sits right behind the vox in the mix and I would guess that is when it entered. It is very distracting and nonmusical. It isn't loud.......just loud enough to be annoying to me. Overall, it is a nice effort though.
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I was going to say the same thing. It's that second chord he plays, same as in Old Man, I believe.

Nice song, nice guitar work, a minimalist approach worked well here.
 
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