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Scarecrow
a song by Spirit Level.

Written by Scott Collingwood and Robert Cordrey Feb. 2021
Mastered by Scott Collingwood.
SCARECROW

This song was born from a song Scott recorded in 2018 called Fluffy. Scott & friends, as teenagers playing in a band, listened to records together and, when a new band like Uriah Heep or Grand Funk Railroad came up, one of the fellows in the band would describe the music as “fluffy”. This provoked laughter as the bands were far from fluffy. From that adjective came Fluffy and from there comes Scarecrow.

Robert wrote the lyrics and vocal melody then recorded, as well as treated, his vocals. He wrote some of the lyrics months ago and dragged them from the recycle pile on hearing the Fluffy demo. They are intended to be crazy in your face fun... coming from listening to the likes of Kevin Ayers (Soft Machine), Viv Stanshall (Bonzo Dog) and, of course, Captain Beefheart.

ray tracked a variety of guitars and bass which, over time replaced the RealTracks but took the “vibe” from the two excellent Grunge guitar RTs.

Structurally and melodically the song is recognizably a Spirit Level thing but sonically, it’s in a parallel universe inspired by the sounds and arrangement of _THRAAMP.STY (Amplitube Metal Chug w/ Organ).

Scarecrow

Strawman don’t you dare
Stare at my house
My house glares back at you
Your soup can eyes try to hide
What`s living down in your shoe

Make me moon-shot crazy
Waving wire arms in the wind
My soul`s flame thrower surely gonna sing
If you move your hands again
You'll reap what you sow
Listen to the scarecrow…

Give me back my hat
I don’t wear it like that
Your saw teeth they got rats
Your little flock, flock of sparrows
Scatter when pond ice cracks

I hear what you’re saying
You`re all over the news
Burned-over messiah talking holy fire on booze
And I`m coming with a match for you
You’ll reap what you sow
Listen to the scarecrow…

You’ll reap what you sow
Listen to the scarecrow

© Robert Cordrey Feb. 2021

In addition to Scott’s melodic lines and riff this version began with
Key=E , Tempo 80, Length (m:s)=2:18
1009:Bass, Electric, HardRockThrash Ev 085
~673:Organ, B3, Background Blues BB Ev 085
3736:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm GrungeSlowDistPower8ths Ev 080
3737:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm GrungeSlowGritHigh8ths Ev 080
3729:Guitar, Electric, Soloist GrungePopGritty Ev 110
2304:Synth, Rhythm DanceRockKoto Ev 120
RealDrums, RockHardLA^1-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Loose HiHat

After various developments the only RealTrack to survive intact is the RealDrums one.

Scott’s gear: Guitar: Gretsch Duojet, Amp: Marshall Could combo, Effects: Eventide H9’s

ray’s gear: Vantage VS696B bass, Squire Mustang “Bullet”, Joyo ACTone, Behringer GDI21, No name 5 string banjo – mic’d and the Yamaha FX500 “sitar” & “Soft Focus” effects.



Thank you, in anticipation, for listening.
Comments, suggestions, thoughts are welcome.

A welcome retro sound. I really like the experimentation in the music and the lyrics.

Well done!

Love it guys! Cool blast from the past sounds! Everyone is doing their thing here in fine fashion! Love all the little effects popping in and out from the right and left! Great title! Thanks, T

Flashback! This was extremely well done. Super guitars, bass, and vocal. I liked the effects also. The stereo mix was outstanding.

Great job on this!

Hey team!
Probably the heaviest tune by S.L. as of yet. Excellent vintage sound / drive with modern approach, which in my opinion is a hard goal to achieve by itself. Big sound. Lyrics are something special and unexpected! Love fuzzy guitars + panning fx. Great job on solo guitar and bass! Vocals are strong and suits genre well, however one (the only) thing that I think that I would change is vocals vs everything else ratio, with voice a little more upfront. I do understand that for some genres, especially where this is leaning it is not a major thing. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Nice backstory! It also helped make sense of the song.

It's not a genre that I know much about, so I'm really not qualified to speak to anything musical. Clearly this is a song that needs to be played loudly to be truly appreciated!

But, like Misha, I also have liked a mix that put the vocals more forward. The lyrics were a good fit for the style, and I'm glad they were rescued from the dustbin!

Thank you gruverider.
I'm not entirely sure what era or style we've tapped into.

Thank you Torrey,
Panning is always a little fun.

Thanks Mario,
Glad you like it. It was a blast to construct.

Misha, thanks.
There is a heavier version but it's probably not one that most folk would care to hear.
Robert was happy with the vocal level in this mix - he called it done. You know I'm inclined to keep them lower.

Thanks dcuny,
It's interesting that the back story helped you make sense of the song.
It's not a genre I'm normally into either...it's just how it grew.
Yes, increased volume does benefit the listen.

Sounds great, guys!

Very different from anything ever posted before on this site before I think. And that's a good thing!

Cool production, love all the panning going on, sounds great through the 'phones.

Nice to see you trying new things, always enjoy listening to your music.

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, David. Man, love that interplay of guitars and bass.

I hope Scott will link to his original Fluffy instrumental as its very good and an interesting comparison.
Yes, PLEASE PLAY LOUD- its a bit of a sensory assault but that`s how the vocal level in the mix makes sense.
Thank you for listening and commenting!

Robert

Really not my type of music, too psychedelic But I really admire the artistic end result. Very rich imagery in lyrics and together with the band is very mesmerizing. Robert's voice is almost unrecognizable, but it fits perfectly. The guitars and the bass have great sound. Scott's painting is once again in its own class. I'm glad to hear that your collaboration has no limits when it comes to creativity.

Janne

Thanks for checking out the song Lawrence. Pretty much all our songs are an experiment. We start with a basic back track and then start adding layers. Our songs are shaped pretty much in three directions at the same time. Really glad you liked it.

Spirit Level!

LOVED this.

My favorite from EACH of you.

Favorite Scott lead work. Perfect.
Favorite ray bass/guitars and mix
(or whoever deserves credit for the mix).
Favorite Robert vocal. Perfect.

Cool song. Excellent Black-Light-Rock write.

Sounds great in the phones.

fj

Good work to all. Robert's lyrics are excellent as usual. Dark poetry. Vocals fit the mood perfectly. Well mixed. Outstanding production. Good job to you all.

Thanks.
It grew into what is is fairly organically.

Than you sir,
the louder it's played the more sense the vocal level makes.