PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Tell Her (co-write Tom and floyd)

>>>>>>>>>> A NEW MIX WAS UPLOADED ON 3/5/14 @ 6:55 <<<<<<<<<<<<<

A co-write (Tom and floyd) - and a "collab" with Janice and Bud...

Tom (tommyad) sent a song that he had just written and ask if I wanted to "join in".
Perhaps another verse or bridge...

Having seen old friends walk away from long term relationships, he felt he needed to "say something"...

I tweaked the verses a bit and extended the chorus a bit... hopefully, staying true to Tom's original message.
Tom's original (beautiful, but very range-y) melody is essentially intact..

I recorded the song based on a track layout that Tom had sent (using a different acoustic, a different ep).
I did the vocal and some harmonies (2) and then asked Janice to add some (2 - thanks, Bud!) as well..
Tom added the lead guitar. (I think it is GORGEOUS!)
I mixed that (it's like a magic pot).
Tom then Mastered it.
A real team effort... (Peter - thank you for the friends that you have brought me!)

Did not intend to post this quite so soon "on the heels" of the last one, but..
Today is my birthday.
Turns out... it's Tom's birthday, too.
We just found that out this morning.
So this is a "celebration".

We hope you enjoy it. I know we all enjoyed putting it together...

Lead guitar: Tom Adams
Vocal: floyd jane
Harmonies: Janice Merritt and floyd jane

The rest of the band...
RealTracks in song: ~701:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesSync Ev 085
RealTracks in song: ~1639:Piano, Electric, Rhythm JazzFunkBreezy Ev16 075
RealTracks in song: 1761:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Pop16ths Ev16 085
RealTracks in song: ~542:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 085
RealDrums in Song: NashvilleEven8^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride


TELL HER

you're wondering how this happened
goodbye still lingers in the air
numbering the reasons for letting go
you lie and say you just don't care

(chorus)
you don't have to live without her
you don't have to let her just walk away
there's still love in her eyes when she looks at you
tell her that you want her to stay
whatever it takes
don't let love slip away
listen to your heart while there's still a chance
tell her that you want her to stay
just tell her

you've had your share of rough roads
through it all, you've both been there
so, take your time; think this through
she's not the only one who cares

repeat chorus
solo
repeat chorus


Comments encouraged.

Have at it...

floyd

Most excellent. Great colab.

Happy birthday to both of you guys.


Regards,


Bob

Happy birthdays, you two!

Thanks for giving us this lovely present for your birthdays. Nice!

Thanks for the music,
Dan

Great song and happy birthday.

Nice job on the collab. Really good job on the writing here.

I listened to this on cheap speakers this morning but wanted to hear it on something better before I commented.

The mix is big and wide.... I like that. Vocals are forward nicely.

I'm listening now on headphones so I can hear details better.


redacted commentary on crits

Well I don't know about all that for sure.
All I know is that it's another Winner from The Showcase Music Factory.
Superb ensemble effort here. I love the lyrics, some delightful chords in the verse, great singing from EVERYONE, wonderful solo and infills from Tommy. EVERYTHING
I particularly like the way the guitar follows the notes (or is it the other way around?) of the opening notes of the chorus.
My only crit is that end chord. Doesnt seem to sit right. Just MO.
Happy Birthday, Floyd and Tommy
cheers
Ian

Hi floyd and Tommy,

I haven't listened to the music yet. I'm coming back to that tonight.

I just wanted to wish you both a happy birthday. I know I'm late. The International Date Line already puts me in tomorrow compared to the US. Just didn't want to get any later

Happy birthday to you,
Noel

Bob - thanks for that. (you're due...)

Dan - appreciate it.

Sonny - thanks for taking this for a spin...

Herb - thanks. No need to wipe out comments regarding the mix - it's a forum - which by definition is "for discussion". I checked the vocal - it never exceeds 0. A couple of snare hits do, but just barely so I don't think you could pinpoint them. What you perceive as a compressor pumping is two different acoustic guitar tracks panned L & R to help give this that "big" feel. As you stated, "subtle but noticeable" which was, in fact, the intent. Thanks for the comments

Ian - Thanks - you are most kind. Tom's guitar is cool, isn't it! That last note does make you "sit up and take notice". It is not what you expect. I love it because of that. It kind of leaves you hanging - sort of where the lyric leaves you - you just don't really know what the outcome is - whether or not it/things is/are resolved... I hope you will add this to your "listen in the car" list.. and let me know 6 weeks from now how you feel about that last note/chord... (it might be that it never "grows on you" - I'd really like to know...)

Noel - you made it in PLENTY of time!

I have "stepped in it" before over some comments on tunes here so.... hey... no problem. I withdrew those comments..... I like that song a lot.... like I said on the tune.... great job with it.

Floyd and Tom,

Fellas, that last note was the major 7th tacked onto a D maj chord, making the chord ... you guessed it ... D maj7. Now, you guys teaming up - there oughta be a law. But it's everything I expected. Interesting technical remarks by Floyd, over my head, but interesting anyway.

Another day at the office for a couple of pros.

Dean

Floyd / All,

Outstanding collaboration! I liked everything about this, including the extremely cool lead guitar lines... Excellent!

Bob

Great song guys, and really well produced, vocals work so well together, and a really good feel happening with the entire arrangement.

Thanks for sharing

Hi Floyd and company,

first happy birthday to you and Tommy.
Great collaboration.
Especially like vocals, harmonies and lead guitar.

@Ian: When I played maj7 chords my father always said that sounded wrong. He never got used to it.

Guenter

Really pretty song.

Happy birthday guys!

Hello everyone. I just came in from a day long celebration which included the posting of this song. I sent a couple of verses and a chorus to Floyd as a rough draft of something that came very quickly to the surface. He is a great closer and polisher and he worked his magic on the lyrics rewriting and and creating a second chorus. He really structured the song and brought it together in a cohesive manner. I tend to fly off in different directions and he was able to salvage the main idea. Thanks to everyone for the comments on the guitar parts. Once again credit to floyd for the walk up doubling the lines in the chorus. It was an inspired idea. This eventually became the signature lick. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, it has been a terrific day. I see a couple of new faces and want to encourage them to stick around. Regarding the maj7 note at the end. I had told floyd that I thought it was like the singer was saying oh well I tried. Regarding Herb's comments, please don't redact anything. We're big boys and personally I know you have a wealth of knowledge to share. On the compression issue I don't hear it yet, but I am still going over it. You are right about the sibilance issue and it may be a couple of things. I tried to de ess the vocal during mastering and that may have worked better during the mixing stage. There is a fine line between crispness and too much analog warmth and after de essing I tried to get back some high end. Anyway I appreciate your careful listening and your constructive comments. It helps us get better. Thanks to Janice and Bud for the vocal and the ears. Oh yeah, Happy Birthday floyd . I appreciate all the work that you put into this. Tom

Great effort guys!! Sweet song! Happy B-day to both of you! Always love Tom's guitar! Take care. Greg

Outstanding work, so well written and performed; engineered, thanks for sharing!

Floyd and Tom,

Excellent job by all,
the chorus is really powerful with all the voices, really powerful.. I can almost sing it after the 2nd listen so it is a little earworm AAARGH
good mix, excellent vocals by all concerned, good solo and nice ending

and Happy Birthday to Tom and Floyd

Alyn

Let me see if I can say this the right way without offending too many people.

I try to be constructive in everything I say when I comment about someone's song. I know how I feel when someone comments in a negative way on mine. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to song writing or engineering a recording, however, Ive been around music for many decades, in every aspect of it, and I do try to share my limited but growing knowledge with others to the best of my abilities. If a song structure is a bit out of the ordinary, I may comment on that. If the vocals are pitchy, it's not a slam on someone's singing abilities to say that they should consider Melodyne for the vox track. I can sing fairly well and I use ME on every single vocal track that comes through my studio as a finished track for every singer, and most especially, me.

Nothing I say when I comment on a song in any manner is intended to be hurtful or negative or seen as putting down a song or someone's talent, but I am here to tell you, I have been taken to the proverbial wood shed by some folks over some the comments I have posted.....so I'm trying to be a bit more..... uhhhh, what's the word here.....? "Sensitive?"

So, with my initial comments, it was a case of should I have, or should I not have, and I opted to pull them down. Thank you for clarifying with your reply that you do wish to get details in the commentary beyond the standard... "Hey loved it, good job"....

So, with that in mind, yes, I thought I did hear some compressor issues in the song, especially evident to me in the headphones in V1. Kinda like the release was slow and grabbing the entire mix, not exactly pumping but it certainly sounded like it was hitting the acoustic guitar's initial attack on the strum. You gotta listen carefully. It is very subtle. You can hear it rising back up.

OK, saying this too.... knowing how BB and RB tracks sometimes sound and how they interact with each other in weird ways, that could also be at fault and it not be totally a comp issue. More than one time I have searched a project with 12 to 20 tracks looking for something that didn't sound right and found it to simply be the interaction between 2 RB tracks causing it.

On the sibilant highs, I almost hesitate to comment when I hear that unless it's really noticeable since I realize it may be the low end speakers and headphones I monitor with breaking up and not being able to handle the high end cleanly. Cheap tweeters and a $30 set of Yamaha cans. I rarely take the time to move someone's song into my studio for a listen on my studio monitors. If it's not cutting the mustard on normal (cheap) computer monitors and my cans plugged into my lappy, the studio probably won't do it any favors either.

I know this is nit picking but I know that if it was my mix, and you heard something in the song, or the mix, that was a fixable, avoidable issue, I would appreciate the heads up on what you thought was the issue so I could learn from that experience. Sometimes, we get lazy. We hear the issue as we mix, and figure no one else will notice. (I'm guilty of doing this a lot)

Yeah.... so, no more redacting my comments. If I hear something in a song AND I decide to comment, I will let the chips fall where they may. Hear it and learn, or hear it and get mad.... it will be the choice of that individual writer/engineer. I will do my best to be sensitive, but I will be saying what I believe to be the case. As always, folks are free to PM me with their flames. I've got a fire extinguisher.

Sorry to be so long winded. We now return you to your regular forum.....

BTW: loved that guitar tone too.