"Just Another Try"

[Lee Shapiro]

As a songwriter, there's nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of a massive dry spell.  In the past, I could write about one song per month, but this is only the second song I've been able to write in over a year.   Admittedly, not my best work, but not my worst either. Just something to get myself going again....even though I fall back on the same familiar topic of past loves, regrets and time. I'll try and do better next time. For now, this is "Just Another Try".

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Just Another Try

Edited September 28, 2021 by Lee Shapiro
additional info

[mark skinner]

 Lee , this one was worth the wait !  Great guitar work , I loved the bridge and the fade out. I think sometimes a break is in order to reload.  Very well written , performed and mixed..   mark

[KSband]

Nice song, I liked the echo, perfect place for it.

[jack c.]

ya did good on this one.jack c.try less drum fills.

[Lee Shapiro]

Thanks for the feedback, it's always appreciated.

Jack C.  I think what you are probably hearing is the percussion track (Indiginus Brio for Kontakt) which runs throughout the song, buried just below the main drum track.
I often use this instrument when I think a song needs a little more energy.    I'm also a big fan of the early Santana sound (Guitar, Hammond Organ, and lots of percussion), so, again, that often appears in my songs.   ?
EDIT:  Upon giving the song another listen (specifically to the drums), I realize that, yes, there are a fair amount of drum fills (from the main drums, Superior Drummer 3).
I tend to write many busy parts in my songs and it take a conscious effort to make things less busy.   But again, it's a habit of mine for trying to make a song feel like a live band and energetic.  

Edited September 28, 2021 by Lee Shapiro
additional info

[CSW]

Hi Lee

Good Organ/Acoustic/percussion mix. Nice and crisp.

I think the echo in the beginning verses is a little too predictable.  Maybe give a shot at revamping the very beginning lines of the verses slightly with more lyrical phasing and develop a short melody line there instead of just one word with echo.  That's a lot easier said than done to make it match what you have but I think that could be a direction to explore.

Regards

Craig

[Lee Shapiro]

43 minutes ago, CSW said:

Hi Lee

Good Organ/Acoustic/percussion mix. Nice and crisp.

I think the echo in the beginning verses is a little too predictable.  Maybe give a shot at revamping the very beginning lines of the verses slightly with more lyrical phasing and develop a short melody line there instead of just one word with echo.  That's a lot easier said than done to make it match what you have but I think that could be a direction to explore.

Regards

Craig

Hi Craig,
Thanks for the suggestion and I have considered trying something like that. 
Originally, I just held out the one note for that time of the echo, but with my vocals it didn't sound good at all.   So I got the idea to do the echo.  But that sounded, as you said,  a little too predictable.  So on the other vocal track, I actually blended the sustained vocal note with the echo'd vocal track, and I thought the two together sounded good. 
I don't think I've tried anything like that before, so it was a fun experiment in using digital delay for just one word.  I used an automation lane to turn the delay on and off.

[noynekker]

Lee . . . there's a lot I really like about this one, and it's very smooth and professional sounding to listen to. The organ and the lead guitar are standouts for my ears. The vocals sound great as well, though I think it stays in a limited range for most of the song . . . if you really cut loose into the higher register at the end of some phrases it would add some power and dynamics, but I know it's easier said than done. I did get some hints of Pink Floyd in the melody in places, and in the way you sing it.

I hope your "massive dry spell" goes away . . . looking forward to hearing more quality stuff like this !

[Lee Shapiro]

4 minutes ago, noynekker said:

Lee . . . there's a lot I really like about this one, and it's very smooth and professional sounding to listen to. The organ and the lead guitar are standouts for my ears. The vocals sound great as well, though I think it stays in a limited range for most of the song . . . if you really cut loose into the higher register at the end of some phrases it would add some power and dynamics, but I know it's easier said than done. I did get some hints of Pink Floyd in the melody in places, and in the way you sing it.

I hope your "massive dry spell" goes away . . . looking forward to hearing more quality stuff like this !

Thanks noynekker,  I appreciate your compliments and suggestions.  And I know exactly what you're talking about with adding power and dynamics.
One of my favorite songwriters is Rickie Lee Jones,  I love the way she builds her songs.  There is so much dynamics in most of her songs, going from quiet passages, to powerful loud parts, and then back again.    For years I've been trying to emulate her song structures, with limited success.
But with my vocals, I don't have very much range so I have to depend on instrumentation for those dynamics. (That and adding harmonies, sometimes using Melodyne to create higher registers).
With this song, the dynamics were a bit too subtle.  I added a lead guitar part in the background of the 2nd half of the verses.  I thought it sounded good, but unless you're really listening for it, it kind of gets lost in the mix.   But I'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind for my next song(s) and try for a wider range of dynamics.
Thanks again!

[Paul Bush]

Delay on the vocals was a good touch , good production  , liked the hammond , cheers

[Bajan Blue]

Lee - excellent track - really liked the overall sound on this

Cool

Nigel

 

[SUPAREELS]

Really loved this bit'o'work. It reminded me of a song I heard some years ago, but I'm not sure what it was ... I felt it was  Floyd'ish in a way and I really enjoyed it so thanks for the posting ... BTW you need dry spells to find out what it was you started all this stuff for ... ?

ATB

Steve

[Larry T.]

real nice....i hear the Santana influence...also allman brothers (at times the allman brothers had more than a little Santana in their sound....at least to my ears)....early Traffic as well ????

[PhonoBrainer]

that guitar lead in the intro could be louder. I appreciate the hammond backing track in the chorus and in the pre-verse (is that a thing?) - super great barely discernable leslie wobble! What were you using for the organ/processing? It adds a ton of vibe, very authentic!!

I'd be proud if this were my song. It makes regret feel good.

cheers,

-Tom

[Lee Shapiro]

7 hours ago, PhonoBrainer said:

that guitar lead in the intro could be louder. I appreciate the hammond backing track in the chorus and in the pre-verse (is that a thing?) - super great barely discernable leslie wobble! What were you using for the organ/processing? It adds a ton of vibe, very authentic!!

I'd be proud if this were my song. It makes regret feel good.

cheers,

-Tom

Thanks for your comments!
I use GG Audio's Blue 3 (with it's built in Leslie Speaker sim)   I'm a HUGE fan of the Hammond Organ, and even though I was never lucky enough to own or play the real thing, I've tried (or used) just about every Hammond VST plugin available.   In years past, my go-to plugin was NI's B4.  But when Blue 3 came out (IMHO) it blew all the other's away.    I tend to use a Hammond Organ in many of my songs, (maybe too many) which is why I chose to push the organ down in the mix.  But now I'm thinking maybe you can't have too much Hammond Organ in your songs. LOL!  (you can check out some of my other songs that have the Hammond louder in the mix from my link below)
I'm also kind of proud of how I've learned to use the slow/fast rotator control for the Leslie speakers.  I found it's kind of an art form of knowing when and where to add the emphasis (fast rotation) on my keyboard parts.  I think it's just as important as what keys you play.  I don't think enough Hammond players realize how influential the timing of the speaker rotations can be.  I'm also a big fan of the "gliss", sliding up the Hammond keyboard with the fast rotation on, makes an excellent musical punctuation mark in the song.

Sorry for babbling on about the Hammond Organ, but you brought it up.