FreeEarCandy

Cruising around in big spaces and sucking it all in. Nice and easy. I felt that.

While we audiophiles could pick apart some things here and there, the performance and talent contained in this track are outstanding. Really nice work by all involved. Yeah. The use of the sax is a delightful treat, for sure. Nevertheless, the keyboard work deserves a trophy too. This has a very creative groove going on, and everyone has tapped into it elegantly. Well done!

Cool. I didn't hear any vocals so I'm wondering what you used the Melodyne for? The relatively small space you created with your reverb is well done. Not too echoic, which small spaces tend to sound like to me. This has a sort of sci-fi quality to it, but not necessarily. Yes. I hear the tension created between the various element used, but it all follows a underlying pattern that glues it all together and gives it a backbone. Interesting composition. Well done!

The story line and music work for me. Depicts the dingy side of substance abuse, which is indeed a hell unto itself. But the poverty that pops out in the pictures comes from many directions. No doubt, many turn to substances to escape mental depression. So while you were focusing on the substance abuse, all the other issues underneath it popped out for me. I think it's important to note that the rich are not immune from the desire to escape the reality around them. You could easily frame the substance abuse issue in their worldview as well. All the above aside, you did a wonderful job here. You performed the music with a very noticeable level of talent. It pulled me in immediately and held my attention. It really doesn't get better than that for me. Very cool, thought-provoking, and a joy to listen to. Excellent work!

A wonderful cover of a great song I haven't heard in a while. I miss those old songs. I didn't hear the first stab at this mix, so I can't offer any comparatives. You do sound a bit like Lennon, or does the song mimic Lennon's style? Maybe both. As far as the mix, please take what I say with a grain of salt. I think there are a few frequencies in the mix that need a little more taming. According to my ears, I would guess they are around the 3000–5000 range. Right around where one finds sibilance issues. I'm not sure where it's coming from, and it's not terribly bad, but my ears seem to be picking up on something hissy popping in and out. If I'm correct and you are able to address it, I think it could possibly warm this mix up more. But the bottom line here is you did a fantastic job capturing the mood and feeling, and for me, that goes a very long way. Your vocal deliveries are very well done, and you have a wonderful voice.

Cool song. Is the video AI generated?

Very nice conducting! The synth is outstanding. I like this one.

I like the organ work. Sits wide and easy to hear. Interesting mix and performance.

Joe Satriani comes to mind. The driving beats impart a sense of speed and certainly captures the theme. Everything working together like a racing engine as the song takes one around the sonic race track. Good one!

Part of our human nature. We see a problem and we invent a cure. Clearly the adds are a problem. What's the cure? Thought provoking track and video. Very nice work!

Very nice Mark. Your guitar work and arrangements are outstanding!

Snappy catchy tempo. You have a good singing voice for this kind of tune. Everything else sound good too.

Out of the box! Those horns sound really nice! The chord arrangement is not typical and it was interesting listening to you latch on to it. Cool stuff!

Interesting.

Nice easy listening song. Good arrangements. Backing vocal harmonies are a treat. All the levels sound like they are in the goldilocks position ( not too loud and not too soft). The product and presentation is top shelf. Good work!

Vinyl is making a comeback! Yeah, noodle soup. The bass caught my attention. Has a sort of vibrating cab effect added. Cool stuff!

Thanks Nigel! Thanks for the conformation regarding the compression issue mentioned., and I'm glad you liked the track. Dean

Thanks John! There are several acoustic guitar tracks, each with different effects and automation. The intro acoustic uses an Eq'ed delay and ends with some automation to create a slow opening gate effect before the finals notes. Glad you like the imagery! Dean

Hello Larry! While the music is free, I'm always glad to accept a few pennies worth of advice and how others may have approached the work. Indeed. The SoundCloud upload did something to my cymbals. They seemed louder after the upload, which then brought my attention to the drums. The drums do seem a bit narrow to me (the toms are not spreading out), and I will likely explore widening them more. The compression you mentioned I'll have to also look at and consider while I'm in there tweaking the drums. I probably should have gone a few more bars at the end, but in my earlier days I had a bad habit of being long-winded when playing lead. Now I shorten them for fear of becoming boring. I suppose it's better to leave people wanting more. Larry! Great comment, as always. By all means, don't hold back! Such critique is a great benefit to me and is always welcomed.

Its a pleasure to share it with you and I'm very glad you enjoyed it! Dean.

I was certain you were not talking about the dance, but it was very late when I wrote the comment, and my mind went in a silly direction. I totally agree! The tune does just that (from soft to loud). So Rock "Bolero" is an appropriate assessment. I actually like the term better than "Ballad". I heard the term before but couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was referring to, so I looked it up and found something about Bolero dancing, and from there my tired mind took over. Nevertheless, Thank you for lending the term and explaining. Dean!

Thanks! You are very kind. "Rocking bolero"? Had to look that up and got a good chuckle imagining myself in very tight pants with one arm arched over the head. Kansas was a very popular band in my area, so yeah, I'm a big fan. Your mentioning it made me think where that may be coming from, because I never really tried to play any of their tunes, but now that you mentioned it I do hear it mostly in the acoustic guitar. The electric guitar arena mostly favors David Gilmour, because I used most of Pink Floyd tunes to learn how to play guitar. @jack c. picked up on it. To some very small degree I sort of regret it because its hard to shake the habits I developed while learning from their collection. I also use to play to some OZZY tunes to help with speed and power cords. So every once in awhile a little Ozzy pops through too. Somewhere in it all I think there's a little bit of me in there too, which may only involve how I arrange and meld it altogether. Very pleased you liked the work and thanks for the belly laugh! Dean @jack c. Thanks Jack! Very glad you liked the work and letting me know in your comment. Very much appreciated! Dean

Hello Jesse! Thanks! This version has its moments, but I personally like the acoustic version the most. The acoustic version seems to capture the theme better in my mind. Nevertheless, I thought it would be interesting to pursue the rock-ish interpretation and also share it for whatever its worth. I too prefer the up front presence of a vocal performance, but often widen it with harmonies if they add to the feeling and ambience. Sometimes just to add emphasis. A lot of experimentation that often ends in a lot of editing out as the project reaches its final phase and the full context is realized. Glad you found something in this you liked and enjoyed your feedback. Stay well, Jesse!

Hypnotic. Sexy. It all sounds good to me.

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well. My last post here was a tune I put together back in 2016. The title of said tune is Puppets. I got a lot of nice reviews and some very helpful feedback. When I first created the tune back in 2016, I had two ideas rolling around in my head, and I was sort of torn between which way I wanted to go. After considering both roads, I thought to myself, Why make a choice? So, rather than throw away what I thought was a good idea, I went ahead and made two versions of puppets. This post is the alternate idea I had at the time. As I'm not very good at identifying genres, I'll just say this version is a bit more edgy and leans towards rock. Maybe folk rock—I don't know. It is what it is, and I hope you enjoy it. The link to the first version is posted along with this version, or you can scroll down a bit here at bandlab song forum and find it. Thanks for clicking. Dean.