noynekker

Philip . . . a great song just got greater with this mix ! This song has something very special about it, I hope you know that. The vocal up front totally works for me, especially in the intro section, you dial in the first time listeners attention right away, they can't wait to see how it goes . . . I'll have to be careful not to use that cool acoustic guitar riff in my next song, Lol, it's just so catchy. It's perfect you get it 3 times in a 3.5 minute tune. Don't see it available on your bandcamp yet, but I look forward to buying this one . . .

Hi David . . . well, there's nothing baroque about this, sounds great to me ! (guess you've heard that one before ?) Nice smooth listen for a Sunday afternoon, goes with Pinot Noir very perfectly. What's that low instrument in the middle, bass clarinet ? . . . what a cool sound.

Now that's a great tune Douglas, and an accomplished mix, I just listened on headphones, and it really surrounds, everything smooth and clear . . . sounds like you really have some top notch equipment to do the job. Great Stuff as always !

Hey PavlovsCat . . . excellent rockin' version of this classic ! Really like the drums and the feel they have. It's great when a cover doesn't "copy" the original, and I so like the way you presented your version a lot. Well done on the vocals as well, a few timing change ups, and an interesting effect really worked for me, captured the period. Mix wise, it gets a bit thick in a few places, with so much sustain going on . . . but I wouldn't change a lot, maybe vocals up a hair in the first verse. Love that ending where it goes all helter skelter.

Hi Paul . . . this grimsby thing is turning into a really great tune ! I think it would be time well spent tweaking this mix, because this is a good one. The lead vocals and political attitude lyrics really work for me, and the guitar solo in the middle really caught my attention, also the instrumental part right after that with the bass guitar high end melody . . . has something special. You have such a great feel for the background harmony vocals, oohs and aahs here really work well. Overall mix wise I'm hearing mostly that the bottom end needs boosting . . . yes everything's clear, because of that, but so missing that low eighties punch you want.

Nicely done Jack . . . this one really does capture a great Christmas spirit, enjoyed it. Posted a bit late, but all is forgiven . . . belated Merry Christmas to you as well !

Hey Tom . . . I finally ventured to watch the video, after totally enjoying just the music part last week . . . boy I hate the cold season, but this brings warmth, I saw it as a moving winter painting . . . also, noteworthy is your presentation, well done . . . there might be a tiny marketing person in that vast musical talent you have there afterall.

Great mix, amazing tune ! Excellent all star collaboration from the sound of it all . . . c'mon just form a band, go on tour, I would stand in line for this.

Nigel . . . such great vocals, and really bending the drama of pop music with the interesting chord progression, and the video compliments all that, so well done !

Musically, I really like this ! . . . though, I wonder about the bass. Makes the overall mix sound very thick, because of the bass long sustain ? I just had to turn the volume down because of that, but the acoustic guitar and flute solo part work very well.

Love how you captured that period of music instrumentally, especially the piano ! . . . of course the effects you added bring it to the modern era, very interesting and energetic piece Steve !

Somebody's havin' too much fun in their basement , , , and everybody gets to have their turn, nice work Bill ! Somehow I was reminded of George Thorogood, and his cut loose pop rock stylings . . . well done sir !

@Tim Smith . . . thanks for your positive comment, to clarify, this was posted here on the Cakewalk forum recently by Mark Skinner as a guitar groove mix . . . called "Winding Down" . . . I offered a vocal and lyric idea to him, we shared some tracks, and Mark was able to arrange it into this song idea.

YA ! Made me smile ! . . . very clever and fun lyrics . . . got the crispy edgy guitars. Like others, I'd like to hear some gang vocals on the "Never Enough" line of the chorus. Keep 'em coming . . . what else you got in that treasure chest ?

Mark . . . it was just a pleasure contributing on this one . . . no doubt inspired by all the great music you've posted here in the last few years, and all your unique creative approaches ! Also, thanks to Gary for lending a hand !

Steve . . . don't have a lot to add to the other great comments here . . . just really love the song, brought a tear for me . . . didn't really watch the video too closely, I think the song says it all, thank you.

Tom, some very interesting form choices in this one . . . yeah, I love that chord progression, piano chilled me right out . . . hope you didn't overpay the drummer for his brief appearance in the middle, then you take it orchestral, with some bending . . . just great stuff ! Oh . . . and thanks for that fade out ending, where you remind us that the problems of reality are still existing. I found that very interesting, when music speaks to you like that. I especially like the overall concept you've accomplished in this piece, cool and unpredictable as always . . . I haven't ventured to the video yet, just savoring that for another day.

Who says Christmas and the blues don't go together ? Well done and fun production, Merry Christmas right back at you !

Mark . . . such youthful energy for the big 68 ! Happy B'day. There's lots of action here, popping guitar strings, nice underlying theme that recurs. Tom fills, lots of different tom fills . . . very nice. So, yes . . . G flat, not usually a guitar friendly key . . . can you assure us that no capos or alternate tunings were harmed during the creation of this ? In other words, WOW, great stuff as always.

Hi Kurt . . . great swatch of blue you've painted here ! The electric guitar work sounds very pro, and I really like the palm mute bass picking sound you've captured, especially when you play on the off beat. The things that stand out in this version of your mix is that perhaps the crash sounds overwhelm for an instrumental, and personally I prefer the kick to have more boom to it . . . unless you're catering to that mobile phone crowd, where it don't much matter. Otherwise, the relative instrument levels sound good to my ears, an enjoyable listen. You've mentioned a classic issue with mixing . . . it sounds so great on headphones, but the monitors are coloured differently . . . yikes, the room, the volume, the time of day, ambient noise, fresh ears, wasted ears . . . so many variables. I like to check final mixes on the big 5 . . . headphones, mid quality ear buds, small speakers, near field studio monitors, car stereo (mixing for club system is another skill altogether)

Hi Jerry . . . an enjoyable listen on my Saturday night ! It has great dynamics, and I really appreciate all the thought and pre-planning you must have to do, to accomplish these pieces. Since you've invited questions, I've always wondered about your create process . . . how do you start a symphonic movement like this . . . do you start with piano composition mapping the themes, or do you just start playing sampled instruments and piecing it together . . . perhaps there is a visual component in staff view ? However the method, the results are always astounding. You write in the style of the classical composers, but also introduce some electrical components, like you did in this one. Always great to hear your postings here Jerry !

Philip . . . really love the song man, that acoustic guitar riff that recurs, like after "disappearing man" is so excellent, it's the main driving factor, and the lyrics and vocal are right there as well. The drama in the lyrics and vocal that you open with is bang on, and sets the tone for the rest of the song. My mix suggestion, since you mentioned Trilian Bass, would be to use a more percussive picked bass sound to cut the bass part through to be more obvious. What might sound great to your ear in Cakewalk 32 bit floating . . . well, by the time you upload to Soundcloud, it gets mudded, unless it's more percussive in the original mix, at least that's what I've found for projects like this one.

Pretty cool Gary ! Didn't you do this one last year ? Sweet production. Poof, another year on the Cake forum. You've certainly got another gear on those low notes that not many have, just like Bing did I guess, maybe that's why they named a browser after him, LOL. Thanks for kicking off that Christmas feeling for me ! . . . a very merry Christmas to you and yours. EDIT: The snowmen are my new desktop, classic fun.

Super song, like a psychedelic memory ! Mixing the vocal out front makes all the difference, and they are very interesting. Lots of different sections that are very memorable, hooky, and downright fun to listen to. I gather since you used spectralayers to boost the vocal, that this is an older recording . . . I'm glad to see it back out in the spotlight . . . really enjoyable !

O yeah ! . . . 'nother good one Paul. You've got the social commentary going on in the lyric, some good attitude in the vocal take. Song wise it's all there, and the drum feel (yup) works well too. Personally, I would keep the "Kum-ba-ya" ending, it brings an extra smile . . . unless, of course you may fear getting sued by the folks who originally wrote that ? Who would write that anyways ? Mix wise, perhaps bring up the presence range of the vocal a *&^# hair (3k,5k,8k ?) not all the lyrics are super clear.