freddy j

Another social observation song. I'll get over this phase soon --- I hope. This one is about a social climbing lad who is upset that his dreams of financial and social success are failing. Some how I have little sympathy for my fictional character. It is done up in bluesabilly style. As always, your comments, suggestions, etc. are and will be appreciated. Thanks! I hope that all of you are doing well in this period of crisis. Listen to the physicians, healthcare workers, and other experts and temper the comments by the politico types. Take care and stay safe. TO WHOM DO I TAKE THIS MATTER https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandid=963481

A bit different from your usual postings John. However, it does have your signature style. Great production, a nice blend of sounds that for me created a cheery but melancholy mood - all at the same time. Nice one --- I very much enjoyed it!

I may have said this before but you have been posting some great work. I agree with Mark above. The dialogue matched with your music does give this song a cool edge. Kind of Big Brother-ish.

I did a cold start on my computer and now it works. I'm glad that I did because I love this song. To me it very much sounds like the Shadows (Cliff Richards' back-up group and a legitimate group on their own). The style of the lead playing sounds like Hank Marvin. Excellent work!!

Oh dear, I couldn't get to play. I also tried on the YouTube and couldn't get it to play. I love surf music ----- so, I will be sure to try again later.

A really bell clear mix and some doggone good playing on the guitar. Very cool over all jazz feel. Love the horns on this. What did you use?

Welcome back! Great song for the genre. The mix sounds terrific on my end --- very professional indeed!

Thanks John B. I very much appreciate the kind comments.

Another home run Bats! Excellent playing and vocals and and interesting change up! Well done indeed!!!!!

I agree the lyrics are terrific. The part I enjoyed most was the overall arrangement. As pointed out above, some corrections in volume or panning might be made but everything conceptually in the arrangement works and works well. Being a rhythm guy, I particularly like the way that there is a rhythm that drives the songs but blends in perfectly with the melody of the vocals. Well done!!!

Very creative and inventive indeed. I particularly like that dissonant sound (brass?) that comes in at the 0:30 mark. It has been a doggone long time since I have listened to any classical music but if I remember correctly, this reminds me a bit of some of Stravinsky's work. Well done!

Thank you Lynn. I too would enjoy "jammin'" My complements on your recent posting. To say it is excellent would be an understatement. I am glad you have been able to get back on the forum - but - I know that family definitely comes first and must be the priority. I hope all works out for you.

I agree with the above comment(s), this doesn't sound rough at all. I'm a Bernie guy but Joe is probably the better choice. So, let us know if you put up the sharing files. I would also like to give it "a shot".

Wonderful ! A funky beat to an old message how creative. I had to look up who the senator might have been that you mentioned above because of the anti-fascist dictatorship statements that he was making. Was it Senator Wendell Willkie? If so, he was a long time Democrat who turned Republican in late 1939 but was a stanch supporter of the UK and the lend lease program. Be that as it may, this was a great and well done piece that you created --- fun but thought provoking. Well done indeed!!!!

This is quite a departure Jesse and very good it is. Actually, it is a beautiful ballad and well demonstrates your versatility. The vocal were very well done --- was that you? Really???

Hi Wookiee -- wow, this was quite a cerebral trip. It was ~14 minutes and yet kept my mind (what's left of it) interested and involved the whole time. I loved the bass sounds ping-ponging in the beginning. You do have a talent for coming up with the appropriate sounds in the best sequence to create good emotion generating music.

Hi Daryl1968. I'm glad that all that guitar noise worked out. Thanks for listening, letting me know and for the kind words. I very much appreciate the feedback Geeare1. Thank you very much. Hey Paul. Thank you very much for your response and the feedback. I appreciate it. Hi tom. A lower case "t" it is. I certainly don't want to cause any confusion ? Thanks again for checking up on me! Thanks emeraldsoul. Good guess. I did not use compression on the bass but did use the SHB-1 Ignite plug-in amp. Perhaps that might be part of the problem. I did, however, double the bass part and a guitar part (panned R). That also might be contributing to what you observed. I am not sure why the bass part would have cleared up after "Hot Dog". I'm going to pull out the working file and see what is up. Thanks again -- I very much appreciate your insight!! Thanks Jesse! Ya, I've been retired for a while and I am a bit of a fossil. However, I highly recommend retirement. Thanks again. ????Pouseur???

Hey Nigel. I always look forward to your posts. Everything that you have posted has been excellent and professionally done. The videos relate to the song subject and are a great complement to the music - oh ya, also professionally done. The artists have all given excellent performances. This post is no exception. Brilliant productions -- keep them coming!

Love it Jesse. I'll take it back to the 1950's, since believe it or not it has buried in it a wee bit of a beatnik vibe -- crazy man, crazy, it's real gone ---way out!

Hey pal, great to see you back posting on the forum. WOW, this is absoflippinlutely brilliant. I wouldn't change a thing about it. That sax/guitar work was terrific. The arrangement, instrumentation and mix sound great to me. Oh ya, your vocals were most cool. I have been getting a lot of adds from WAVE concerning the OVox. I might have to look into it. Every once in a while, we all have to take a trip into a new area --- especially if we might be uncomfortable in it. Well your trip in experimenting with new stuff was a complete success. Well done!!!

This is a nice laid back song. The lyrics and melody are great and backed up nicely by the instrumentation. I agree with comments above that some lyric wordsmithing (sp?) might be needed to fit the lyrics a bit tighter to the overall song. Well done!

Hi Patrick. Don't give up! The re-worked version is better. The guitar work is great and over all it sounds good, but I agree it just needs some tweaking. From my perspective, I am guessing that it might be (in part) the drums that could be influencing the timing. The bass pedal some times gets a bit out of sync with the overall tempo of the song or so it seem to me. A trick that I read about concerning vocals, is to mute some of the instrumental tracks and just keep the basic drum beat and the minimal number of instruments to keep the rhythm of the song going. Then record the vocal(s) to that --- keeping in mind how you want the vocal to sound and matching the vocal melody to the rhythm. Hope that helps. You're almost there and I would love to hear the finish.

Well done lads!!! Good performance and great sentiments. Mix sounds good to me.

Well this past week was certainly a revolting development! I had to take my computer in for "fixin' " and it took just shy of a week to get it back. I don't do phone stuff (my thumbs are too fat?). So can you imagine the horror? !!? Anyway, I am almost back to normal - and - my computer is also. Hi David. I'm very glad that you enjoyed the song. Thanks for listening and thanks very much for commenting. I listened to "White hole" and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice cheery song that would contrast with the darkness of a blackhole. Nice one! Hey Tom. Thanks very much for the kind words and encouragement. I was concerned with the guitars stepping on each other. Now that I have my computer back I can take another listen and do some fixin". I love songs that tell a story. Would you believe that Leiber and Stoller (you know the one's that wrote all those great Coaster's songs) are absolute fav's of mine. "Gainfully unemployed" I like that term! Mind if I use it? I have been "gainfully unemployed" since I retired! BTW, thanks for checking up on me. The absence of a computer was the problem. Thank you Starise. I very much appreciate your comments. I was also going back in the alley a a bit on this song as I did in Hot Dog. Back in the '50's and very early '60 duets were not unusual in rock 'n roll and Pop (e.g., Black Slacks by the Sparkletones). I didn't intend to do dual vocals throughout but I guess I got carried away. Since in was in the alley, I just decided to leave it that way. Thanks again for listening and commenting. Hi Douglas. I am very glad that you like it. Thanks very much for listening and for the kind words. Hi Bjorn. Thanks very much for your kind words. I had to look up what DSM-5 but was not able to find a free access to it on-line. I did, however, do a search and the phrase "black hole" has been used in psychology although not in the same way that I used it in the song. In the articles I read, it was used more to describe a feeling of emptiness associated with some mental illnesses. A bit different from my concept in the song of a person who sucks in all that they can. Thanks again for your comments.

You have definitely captured that reggae sound. I particularly like the "Big Hall" feel on the lead vox. You have also captured a great feel good sound through the lyrics and melody. Nice one!!