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Another *new* song

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:28 pm
by GuitarMikeB
I actually completed recording 'The Beast Within' last year, but I've been tweaking the mix ever since. I'd love to get someone to remix the tracks for me, as it seems I can't get the overall balance just where I want it.
Bass is the 'lead instrument' on it, for a change.
It's on my BM player now in low MP3 quality to make it fit in the space.

Inspired by a book I read about werewolves, but that's not what the song is about at all! :wink:

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:35 pm
by jimmydanger
I liked the intro, the lyrics/vocals not so much. It sounds like you're jamming too many words into the phrase. The song is too long, four minutes should be a nice length to shoot for. In general I liked it, it just needs more work.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:28 pm
by PaperDog
Guitarmike... Pretty good... I like it much better than Smart Angel. A couple of things :

Intro: I thought it dragged on a bit...maybe could have been shorter...

Meter/Body: Rally Like the rythym and overall meter of the song. Nice bass lines to support the structure... Nice balance of instruments .

Vocals: On your backing vocals, maybe could have brought them forward , more pronounced. This song has a Bowie-esque quality to it... The "dialogue" in your story is reminiscent of 'artful' conversation...much like Bowie would have presented had he sung it... ... Hence the need to bring the backing vocal up to add timber to the melody. (Pragmatics, not effects)

On main vocal, needs a touch of strength , easily remedied by playing with some reverb and EQ

Anyhoot IMHO I like the song. ;)

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:40 pm
by GuitarMikeB
Thanks for the comments.

Vocals are always my weakest point (that's why I'm singing backup vocals in the new band and still looking for an acoustic partner with good vocal chops!)

The bass intro was actually close to 2 minutes long when I first wrote it, but I ended up cutting it down to a little over a minute, then down to the 45 seconds or so that it is now. Live, it would be a great showcase for the band's bassist to solo 8)
Curious comments about the vocals, PD, last mix the b.u. vocals were a little louder, and I wasn't really happy with them. I'll continue to play with the mix - at least up until I've got the rest of the tunes ready for CD #2!

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:15 pm
by DainNobody
it almost sounds like Eric Johnson was producing this.. something like something you might hear on Led Zeppelin "PRESENCE" album

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:22 pm
by PaperDog
GuitarMikeB wrote:Curious comments about the vocals, PD, last mix the b.u. vocals were a little louder, and I wasn't really happy with them. I'll continue to play with the mix - at least up until I've got the rest of the tunes ready for CD #2!



yeah its a weird sort of thing... I go through this a lot , lately... with my own stuff... I am discovering some interesting facets about lyrical expression in a song... I've concluded that good vocals accomplish a couple of things...They present the listener with the melodic theme of the song, texture and resonance of the theme...... They also present the listener with an underlying narrative. In your song, I sensed the narrative in your main vocal... The polish on the melodic theme came with the backing vocals (It could work the other way around too, depending on the song and theme subject.

I'm prolly rambling at this stage.. I cant really prove what I just said...but I go with an instinct about it... ny instinct tells me there should be more emphasis in the backing vocals for this song... Kind of would add dimension to the narrative. ... IMHO 8)

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:56 pm
by jw123
Hum, I really dont know what the point of the intro is, in relation to the song, they just dont go together for me.

Like others I hear some Bowie in this. Vocally its not very exciting, sounds like a scratch track to me, I would just want to hear more emotion from the vocals.

Musically, its got a great structure, sounds good to me.

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:20 pm
by GuitarMikeB
You can't hear the agony of the internal beast in that intro?! :roll: :lol: