Barry Seymour

I'll second what others here have said. No need to be hard on yourself; bocals are stellar. A haunting, moody song, sparkling production. Well done.

I foresee a future for you in scoring science fiction epics. Good stuff! Love the crunchy bass on the bottom; is that analog?

This is a charming song, a touch of middle Beatles here, smooth and snappy. I'd only recommend a little more clarity / sparkle in the vocals, drums and the tinkly synths in the chorus. It sounds just a touch muddy in the center channel.

This one's bit of a departure for me. Striving for a Mumford and Sons type of sound, driving folk. Suggestions welcome.

Are you playing ALL of this? Holy Crap! Smoother than silk, great groove, tight playing, everything is nicely balanced. I wouldn't worry about the 'fake' violin sound, it's actually a little exotic; I like it a lot!

Sorry, everyone, I somehow failed to put the link to the song in my post!

Here's the final. Thanks, everyone, for the guidance and suggestions.

The drums are by MT PowerDrumKit 2; they're spot on. I suspect it's the playing that's off. Ugh. Don't wanna go there, but I might have to. Others have said it needed more bass. Maybe I should back it off a touch. Thanks...

Here's mix 2.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Sorry for my delay in responding, I literally re-sang this on vacation (brought my laptop, mixer, mic and stand on the road!), posted this and then finished my vacation. I'll get to this soon.

Thanks for the kind words. I do struggle with playing to the drum part - it's so slow! Trying to find that groove. As for the pad, it's the basic string pad, the free strings that come with Cakewalk. Still not thinking they're as natural-sounding as I'd like. I'm trying to build them slowly to a crescendo at the end, but maybe I can start from a slightly louder place. Thanks!

Here's the new song. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Final Mix!

I have given some thought to harmony vox on the chorus. Food for thought, thanks...

A rather personal experience.... a lot of these lyrics came to me in the hospital. Took me eight weeks to sort it all out. Input welcome. EDIT: Final mix!

That was charming. Wouldn't change a thing. If you're worried about varying volume levels, use TDR Kotelnikov to master the individual tracks, but I'm not hearing a problem.

Oh, I thought you meant AT 5:45. I get it now. And yeah, that is my response too! When I get an actual record company breathing down my neck, then I'll tighten things up. ?

Here's the final mix. Thanks, everyone, for your invaluable input! https://soundcloud.com/barry-seymour/sneakin-up-on-the-blues

Uh, I'm puzzled. The song is OVER by 5:45. ? If you meant 4:45, that's when the harp ends and the guitar begins. It then solos and fades out. So I'm not quite sure what you're asking here. That said, I'm done. Gonna launch this one. Thanks though, for the feedback.

Thanks, T. I've been told I "essentially have a new heart," that it's been "re-vascularized." I find I have more wind for singing, which I'm doing after my cardiac rehab workouts. I'm back to work as well, and I'm telling my co-workers "I'm fine - now it's YOUR heart I'm worried about!" Thanks for the kind words and suggestions on the song; I still am open to some tweaks. I moved the snare over to one side earlier, then back in a bit; maybe move it back out and down a bit.

EDIT: Final mix is here! FINALLY. Got the harp. Lemme know where you think I am on this. Mixing suggestions / input welcome https://soundcloud.com/barry-seymour/sneakin-up-on-the-blues

I'm still waiting on the final piece, the harmonica solo. I'll have a new mix soon, guys, I promise.

Fun is what I'm shootin' for!

Thanks, Lynn, very kind. I am actually leaning towards increasing the volume on the bass and rhythm guitar, but just a scoche. It's all minor tweaks at this point. Plus I'm still waiting for my harmonica player! ?

Thanks, TD. I think I'm going to stick with the EQ on the guitars for now, although I may boost the volume of the rhythm guitar a bit. It's all minor tweaking at this point, at least until the harp solo gets here. How about the amount of distortion on the vocal? Too much?