freddy j

This is up to your usual high standards! It is a complex song and yet for mortals such as me, it was completely listenable (is that a word?). A lot of lyrics with a message which are carried by a great melody. The horns are icing on the cake (walk). Cool!!

Excellent! The images work and the music is perfectly matched. You not only captured the sounds of India but you also brought back a wee bit of the sound of the "60's (for those of us that are old enough to remember.

Veeerrryyy nice guitar playing indeed! Love the sound. It has a bit of a jazz-blues feel to it with a touch of B B King thrown in. Good solid mix with good separation! Nice Work!

Hi John. Thanks very much for the kind comments! Hi Treesha. Thank you very much for your very kind comments and your chuckle for my genre non-descriptor. All the suggestions above, including yours, were great and I have done a remix using these suggestions. Hopefully, the new mix sounds better. Thanks again!

Thank you KSband! Sorry for the delay in responding but life started interfering with what I would prefer to be doing. As others on this forum have stated about their own particular song , this is a song that I have loved, hated, ignored and given up on several times. I wanted the story to be told -- hence the lyrics and vocals -- but I wanted the music to relay more of a happy resolution to the story rather than a sad statement. I very much appreciate your comments as it will help me determine what the next (hopefully the final) iteration will be. Thanks again. Hey Allan. Thanks very much for the input! As I stated above this song has been a bit of a "bug-a-boo " (an understatement) for me. I agree with your comments and I will be addressing the need for better separation (or elimination) of instruments in my next attempt at this song. Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and for your suggestions!! Hi Nigel! Thanks for your comments. I do very much appreciate the help and encouragement! I definitely agree that this song does need some mixing help and your advice will be valuable and used as soon as I get the courage to face this song again 🥴, BTW, love your recent post! Hi RikF. Thanks for listening and commenting. You are absolutely right. There is some competition between the instrumentation and vocals in certain parts. Good call! I will be addressing that in the next few days (hopefully - as time permits). Thanks again. Hey Bjorn. I always appreciate your input! Not only is the first guitar break too long but the second break is a bit long also. I'm a guitar guy so I do tend to get bit carried away. I was having so much fun on the lead on this song that -- ya, I got a wee bit carried away. I realize that current popular consumption of music appreciates vocals more than instrumentation. However, fortunately, I am not trying to sell my music and I allowed myself this little indiscretion. I do agree with you, however, the lead would probably be considered too long by most normal people. Thanks again for listening and I truly always appreciate your comments and suggestions. Hi tom. As always I thank you for listening and for your valued input. I have struggled with this song for a long time. Hopefully, I will get time in the next few days (if life does not again interfere) to apply your suggestions and the other ones above. I particularly appreciate the "applied" suggestions that you have made. Thanks again! Hey Lynn. Thank you for your encouragement and very kind comments my friend. I will be taking all of the suggestions that I have received and applying them to this song (as best as I am able). Thanks again!!

Absoflilipinlutely great pop-rocking song. Love the lyrics and the arrangement/instrumentation sells the message. Great vocals and love the harmonies and BGV's. Great stuff!!!

A most pleasant song indeed. I think that the lyrics and vocals certainly justify them being out in front of the vocals. This is kind of a genre defying song. I suffer from that conflict with some of my songs. As stated above, perhaps alternative might be appropriate. Very nice work indeed and I enjoyed the listen!

Great composing, arrangement, and performance. Lyrics and music create a very well done song to create a very reflective mood for this song. Nice trumpet lead!

Hi Jack! You and Jesse put out some of the most of the most creative and interesting song posts on the forum. Ya --- they are not conventional, they may not follow the rules of conventional music, and the pop world may not appreciate them. However, they remind me of when our local university used to have a late night radio show featuring alternative/experimental music. I always enjoyed listening to that show , as i do listening to your posts!

Good work and sounds good as it is. Love the guitar work -- especially those "growling" rhythm guitars!

Hi Steve, I just tried the link and it seems to work. BTW, my wife is usually right -- sooo, you probably will agree with her. ☺️

Here is a fictitious little story about a young man who notices an old man sitting alone on a bench. After pondering this for a while, he goes over to the old man and engages in conversation. The result (since I'm writing the story) is that both come out of the conversation feeling better than before the conversation. My most thorough critic (my wife) said that she thought the song was sad. However, that was not my intent. The intent is that both subjects of the story are happy. That is particularly true for the young gentleman, as he got some insight as to where he might be headed in his life. Yes, it is not really the Blues but I couldn't think of how to classify the genre --- sorry. I have worked on several versions of this song and and in frustration with them all, I am posting this particular version. Therefore, I would be most appreciative of any crit.'s, comments, suggestions, etc. Thanks!! LONELY OLD MAN https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandid=963481 NOTE ON RE-MIX: I have completed a major re-mix of this song incorporating the suggestions that have been made below. Unfortunately when I went to substitute the re-mix on my SoundClick site, rather that just replacing the song it deleted the entire post! When I ask SoundClick support if the post could be restored they said ---"unfortunately, no- sorry"! I guess it must have been "operator error" and have to assume the responsibility for the deletion. I have just re-posted the song on SoundClick. As stated above, I have incorporated most if not all of the suggestions made in the comments below. I hope that this version is better. Certainly, I am much more comfortable with it! Thank y'all very much for the input - it is very much appreciated. I am still open for more suggestions if you have them.

This is a bit different from what you have been posting. However, it shows the excellent productions (musical and visual) that you have been posting on this forum. Love the sax in this. If I were a younger man, I might try seeing if I could manage a sax. This was a treat in viewing and listening.

Clever piece indeed! I agree with the comments above about the low end ---- However, this is an excellent musical number matched with a most entertaining video. Great work and well done!!

An absolutely lovely song and some wonderful playing! Love the clear bell tone of the guitar you are using.

Love that sax sound. I love the phrasing and breathing you are using on it. That has always been difficult for me when I have tried a sax VST. Great sound -- I really enjoyed this!

It does indeed have a retro feel back to the late "60's - '70's. Your vocals sound great and I love that guitar solo. Great work!

Brilliant!!! Psychedelic sounds for the new millennia. Love all the change-ups and transitions musically. There is a lot going on in this song at one time but it all makes sense and fits. The lyrics might seems vague but with just a wee drop of thought they make sense and relate to worst uses of chaos! The use of the synths, vox apparatus, etc. are beyond my limited comprehension but doggone -- it all sounds great. Excellent work my friend!

Hi Wookiee! Thanks very much. Perhaps lying is a prerequisite to being a politician. ! ?? Hi Steve! Thanks very much for listening and I appreciate your comments/suggestions. I have run into the same problem with a song that I am finishing up today. We are at the peak of allergy season and trying to get down some vocals between sneezes is a wee bit more than ---- frustrating. Hi tom! Thanks very much!! I always appreciate your insight pal, To quote someone who used to be very popular at one time ---"... truth is not true." Whatever that means?

Hi Mark. Thanks very much for the kind words and for taking the time to listen! I tried to get the music to reflect a wee bit of the current chaotic times. Hi Lynn. I really appreciate your very kind comments - edgy was what I was going for. Doing a song like this and getting the lyrics down on paper helps take the edge off of me. 😉 Unfortunately no re-vocalizations (is that a word?) will be occurring any time soon. The tree pollen counts have been around the 10 to 11 levels. The 10 level is considered high. Thanks again for the encouragement!! Hey Nigel. Given the high quality of all of your work your comments are very much appreciated! Thank you!! Hi KSband. Thanks very much for listening and commenting. I understand what you are suggesting. When I first did this number it was all guitars. IMHO opinion, it wasn't providing the kind of edge that I was looking for -- plus I thought it needed a bit of a broader sound. So the horns were put in and I tried a wee bit of guitar noodling panned left. I tend to abuse reverb/delay and I may have done that with the dissonance. I will be redoing the vocals (at some point - if the pollen ever stops) and will give a listen to what you suggested. Thanks again!

Metal meets hip-hop and both meet punk. Cool!

A toe tapper indeed. I echo the above kudos on the BGV's but also on the lead vocal. Oh ya, lyrics also. Great work!!

I have neither the musical knowledge, studio experience nor skill to effectively comment on the mix. Plus I am a minimalist! However, I think that you have a really good song going here and would encourage you not to drop it. It has a very large sound (not sure how to define that -- but it is good). The lyrics, arrangement, and vocals all sound perfectly good. You have received many good suggestions above (hot mix seems to be a commonality) but the final product is up to you. What were you going for, who is your target and with what you are you satisfied. BTW, liked the video also!

Hi Bjorn. Thanks very much for listening and taking the time to comment. Your comments are much appreciated! BTW, just listened to your recent post "Spanish Guitar" -- excellent work Bjorn. Hi Ruralrocker 2010. Thanks very much for listening and for your comments. I can't disagree with your comments about the dissonance of the horns. IMHO lies are a very efficient means of creating chaos. It was my attempt to create a bit of discomfort or an edge using dissonance to echo the chaos that lies can create. I was thinking of some of the dissonance that was used in some of the (very) old Bebop music. However, given my musical limitations, my intent is often failed by my end product. 😕 Thanks again -- I appreciate your input!

Very good guitar work and enjoyable noodling. The background music is interesting in itself. Well done!!