Instant Karma John Lennon (COVER)

[PavlovsCat]

My original version of John Lennon's classic song, "Instant Karma." Constructive criticism, especially on mixing, is welcomed. 

EDIT: I replaced the below SoundCloud link, as the version I put up previously was greatly distorted. 
EDIT 2: Below is the latest version of the song. 

Edited June 25, 2022 by Peter Woods

[PavlovsCat]

I realized that the track I uploaded had a great deal of clipping/distortion and went back and fixed things, although I'm not sure if the drums should come up in the mix. I'd love to get input on the mix and suggestions for improving the mix. 

Edited June 24, 2022 by PavlovsCat

[X-53mph]

Are you going to put up a new mix?

I'll give it a listen when you do.

[PavlovsCat]

Thanks @Philip G Hunt . I did upload the new mix, but as it used the same URL as the previous file, there was apparently some kind of glitch.  I renamed the URL and now it works.  

[EDIT: I just realized that I forgot to do a fade out at the end. I'll fix it after I make the next round of adjustments to the mix.]
 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by PavlovsCat

[X-53mph]

Lovely production on the piano and drums. Crazy drum roll at 2:00, but I loved it.

You know what I'm gonna say  - the voxs need work. You start off really well. Nailed that Lennon sound to your voice. But you need to carry that on to the chorus and really let rip.

You probably already know the story about how Lennon and Yoko got into a weird screaming therapy group called Primal Scream (which went on to be the name of a UK band). Lennon used to scream out those lines,  just like in the song Mother.  It's a risky vocal to do.  Like a high wire act. I'd never take up that challenge personally, so hats off to you. 

For curiosity sake, there is a video of Lennon performing Mother live, where he's chewing gum, and, either his vocal chords aren't warmed up or else he suddenly swallows his gum....you hear his voice just snap.  He carries on, but it's nothing like the album version. Check out the 1 minute mark.

So, my advice - channel your birthing self. Let rip with that first primal scream of birth and really attack that chorus. 

....and don't forget to have fun doing it.

[PavlovsCat]

8 minutes ago, Philip G Hunt said:

Lovely production on the piano and drums. Crazy drum roll at 2:00, but I loved it.

You know what I'm gonna say  - the voxs need work. You start off really well. Nailed that Lennon sound to your voice. But you need to carry that on to the chorus and really let rip.

You probably already know the story about how Lennon and Yoko got into a weird screaming therapy group called Primal Scream (which went on to be the name of a UK band). Lennon used to scream out those lines,  just like in the song Mother.  It's a risky vocal to do.  Like a high wire act. I'd never take up that challenge personally, so hats off to you. 

For curiosity sake, there is a video of Lennon performing Mother live, where he's chewing gum, and, either his vocal chords aren't warmed up or else he suddenly swallows his gum....you hear his voice just snap.  He carries on, but it's nothing like the album version. Check out the 1 minute mark.

So, my advice - channel your birthing self. Let rip with that first primal scream of birth and really attack that chorus. 

....and don't forget to have fun doing it.

Thanks.  I'm not trying to sing like Lennon. It's my regular voice, I think it probably may sound Lennon-ish because I'm using artificial double tracking. Without that, I don’t think anyone would make that comparison.  But I'm severely limited vocally.  My voice just isn't very good. But thanks for the input. I might try again on the vocals.  But I'm not sure I can do any better. I spent two decades as a drummer doing background vocals and I think the best I can do is okay background vocals. 

[PavlovsCat]

If this sounds any better, I have @Philip G Hunt to thank for it.  I only re-did two choruses, not the end part.  Philip, do you think that's better? I think it is. I should give you co-producer credit for pushing me when I thought I couldn't do any better. Thanks. 
 

Edited June 25, 2022 by Peter Woods

[X-53mph]

Definitely a much better performance. You sound a lot more present in the choruses than before.  There are a few tuning issues that you could correct post production, but a much better performance. Bravo!

I personally dislike using auto-tune software as I find my vocals work better when they are slightly flat, but something that I like to do sometimes is to run my vocal through an auto-tune and make a note of where it corrects my vocals (this give me a map of where my vocal deaf-spot might be while performing), then I re-sing the vocals paying attention to hit those notes correctly.  I am not a great vocalist. I work with what mother nature has given me. But I do like to be as honest as possible with my vocal performances.

[PavlovsCat]

39 minutes ago, Philip G Hunt said:

Definitely a much better performance. You sound a lot more present in the choruses than before.  There are a few tuning issues that you could correct post production, but a much better performance. Bravo!

I personally dislike using auto-tune software as I find my vocals work better when they are slightly flat, but something that I like to do sometimes is to run my vocal through an auto-tune and make a note of where it corrects my vocals (this give me a map of where my vocal deaf-spot might be while performing), then I re-sing the vocals paying attention to hit those notes correctly.  I am not a great vocalist. I work with what mother nature has given me. But I do like to be as honest as possible with my vocal performances.

If I was honest about my vocal performances I would never sing again!