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Post by Rob W on Dec 22, 2017 23:25:18 GMT
Voting and comments here. As it's not a Christmas song, voting will close at 11.30pm on New Year's Eve.
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Post by timwarner on Dec 30, 2017 9:50:26 GMT
I’ve listened through these a few times now and, well, as a group of songs, the sound they make isn’t particularly happy. I don’t think Pharrell will be calling any of us to co-write any follow for whatever number of ‘Despicable Me’ will be next.
That said, I’ve never really cared how closely we stick to the subject. I THINK I like happy songs but, I also love Tom Waits so, possibly, a good story trumps ‘happy.’ I guess I’m a bundle of contradictions, just like everyone else.
You Lifted Me - Christian Duffin
This reminds me of a happy sounding sounding Peter Gabriel’s ‘Mother of Violence,’ which I love, and something by Jake Thackray. The opening lyrics feel little saccharine but it soon gives way to a much more wistful feel. It’s very gentle and reassuring. Nicely underplayed, no need to show off if you’re just giving the listener a cuddle.
The Sun Is Strong - Stephen Clarke
As always, there are some nice fills and counter melodies in the accompaniment. It’s almost a Johnny Cash boom-changa country style song. I’m not sure I’d get to the nub of the story from the lyrics but, I don’t think that hinders the song at all. It’s as if you’re singing about non-specific adversity.
I Love You Shelly - Tim & Glynn
I love the idea behind this. The melody is strong and the sounds are all very good. I love the hammond coming in to boost it all a little. Difficult to fault this, perhaps some more odd chords may have helped a little but, only a music nurd would notice.
Non-Specific Adversity - Me
This sounds terrible on some of the systems I’ve played it on - the overdubs stand out like a sore thumb. Not sure what’s happened to my accent either. What was I thinking? At least I don’t hate the basic idea.
Falling In Love Again - Phil Sanderson
Mysterious opening. Is this showing an affinity with prog? So, you’ve fallen in love again but, you don’t really sound very happy about it. There’s obviously more to this than is immediately apparent and carefully listening to the lyrics helps. Well, sort of, you’re certainly not make it easy for me.
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Post by eddiecustard on Dec 30, 2017 16:49:29 GMT
Stephen Clarke – The Sun is Strong
Another very agreeable tune from Stephen. Like the sentiment here and the simple but very effective riff on the verse. No direct reference to Napoleon in the lyrics as far as I can tell. He’s conjured another fine tune out of the bare essentials, and it feels like the sort of thing he can do in his sleep, but we all know that it’s not easy to produce songs as good as this consistently. The bridge brings an interesting change of direction. My only slight gripe is that the ‘dark side of the moon’ hook is really good and I wanted it to reappear.
Phil Sanderson – Fallen in Love Again
Excellent production from Phil; his songs are often at their best when the washes of sound are taken out. Love in the park, on the tube etc. It's a bit of a curse to fall for someone this hard and this quickly, isn't it? It doesn't sound happy - especially at the beginning - but I suppose many of us this month have included melancholic moments in our songs again. The walk down the aisle at the end gives it a boost. Good singing, Phil.
Tim and Glynn - I Love You Shelley
A Christmas cracker. Everything works well here - from the tantalising verse to the very good chorus, where Glynn excels on the vocal harmonies. Can I hear Tim's voice too? The singing on the chorus is as good as anything I've heard for some time. It all moulds together brilliantly. I like the poignant way you build the story although I wasn't sure whether Shelley was killed in the fire or whether the fire doesn't actually feature in the lyric, It doesn't matter either way. The production has room to breathe because the instruments are arranged so well and the words are clear and concise. Beautiful work.
Tim and Julie – Non-Specific Adversity
Tim's customary piercing guitar work stands out again, and there’s a vibrancy about this one throughout. It’s got a high energy quotient. I really like the guitar interlude section where the two guitars shift between doing their own thing and harmonising with each other. The rhyme of 'adversity' and 'university' is good. I don’t know Alice Cooper’s work well but he must have produced some driving powerful songs if this is anything to go by.
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tandg
Junior Member
Posts: 67 
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Post by tandg on Dec 31, 2017 11:33:25 GMT
We’re really busy with appliance emergencies – water over kitchen floor and cooker and dishwasher moved into kitchen, with discoveries of things lurking behind! Comments therefore curtailed to allow time to get to B&Q…
Christian – You Lifted Me
Lovely lilting melody, with heartwarming (and heartfelt) lyrics. Happy in a satisfying way – the feel is quite wistful. Nicely played and well recorded.
Stephen – The Sun is Strong
A jaunty, foot-tapping vibe from Stephen – I get the ‘In the Summertime’ references in your intro. But there is a hint of Bob Dylan about the fretwork in particular. Great stuff.
Tim & Julie – Non-specific Adversity
For me, there’s definitely a hint of REM (at their rockiest) about this (apart possibly from the dirtier guitar sounds). Witty lyrics and definitely a fair critique of some pop/rock bands.
Phil – Fallen in Love Again
Beautiful. The harmonies are terrific – we loved how they hang and the ending is simply delicious (more please)! Great sounds and strong melody. Happy!
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Post by philsanderson on Dec 31, 2017 17:12:55 GMT
Christian Duffin _ You Lifted Me
A really heartwarming song for a cold and soggy winter’s day. The balance of instruments and the mix is spot on from first note to last. Your backing vocals are always a highlight and something I look forward to before I press ‘play’ for the first time – they sound very natural and organic! ( if that makes sense?) Organ solo is a slightly haunting, and almost surprising ( that’s why I like it a lot ) Really like it when the piano kicks in. The guitar sound has a nice resonance, and every note is so well executed. Verdict: Happy.
Stephen Clarke – The Sun is Strong
Another song with a distinctively sunny feel to it, another perfect antidote to a cold, damp December Day. Like the section from about 2.34 with excellent ‘chord’ change…and it all flows back together very nicely indeed. There is, as always, a lovely movement throughout the song, and the combination of guitar and bass sounds is weel judged and a pleasure to listen to ( or emulate, as I am trying to!) Verdict: Happy.
Tim and Glyn - I Love You Shelley
What a great song. The sound is really positive and the singing is so so good – maybe one of your finest moments yet. Like Christian, the backing vocals are something I always look forward to from your songs, and they certainly do not let me down here. The playing behind the vocals is very good and dare I say 'restrained' at times. A song with ‘winner’ stamped all over it. Verdict: Happy.
Tim and Julie – Non-Specific Adversity
Powerful stuff! The interweaving, and at times seemingly deliberately non-interweaving guitar parts are really good. You’ve tapped into some really powerful and foot tappingly good drum loops /samples again to back up the guitar parts. After your comments about the overdubs I keep trying to identify what you might mean. I only picked out one guitar part at about 2.20 where the guitar part on headphones only seems a little ‘too far forward’ (?) in the mix. Couldn’t get the ‘gruff’ bit – sounds just fine by me!
Verdict ( you guessed it...): Happy!
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Post by stephen on Dec 31, 2017 17:51:37 GMT
Christian D You Lifted Me
Excellent plucking, a touch of Jethro Tull's "Wondering Aloud" (one of my favourite acoustic guitar songs), perfectly controlled vocals, great lyrics, and the "you reached out when I was falling and lifted me" hook is a classic. I must confess a pre-existing fondness for this song. I was lucky enough to play it with Christian at a pub gig, and as I listened again, I was trying to redo the folky harmony I attempted on "lifted me". In the pub, I'm pretty sure that by the last time I got it right. A really strong all-round song.
Tim & Glyn I Love You Shelley
A tribute to the Buzzcocks? I'm all for that. Uber-happy sentiments, excellent chorus, excellent vocals, with those lingering harmonies on the "love", and some nice electric arpeggios, all well constructed and controlled. The rhythmic bridge sets up the finale really well, with the extra rhythm guitar lifting the chorus to a new level. Great pop song.
Tim W Non Specific Adversity
As usual, some really powerful guitar playing, I really like the twin-lead interplay and the single notes. All the instruments work well, especially the drums (which aren't something I usually listen to that much). Funny rhyme, "university/adversity", making things a bit too cynical to be really "happy", but it doesn't matter because I was really happy listening to those two guitars jamming and jousting away.
Phil S Fallen in Love Again
So, Phil does Marlene Dietrich? The vocals are much better than hers, I especially like the overlaid "oohs", and the way you've added vocal tracks to highlight different lines. The simple instrumental arrangement works really well - deceptively simple, too, because the acoustic playing sounds pretty complicated in places. The "fallen in love again" hook combined with the choir of oohs creates a floating, happy mood so that when the song ended, I wished it had carried on. A good sign.
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Post by timwarner on Jan 1, 2018 16:46:52 GMT
A three way split! I hope none of you are competitive types because a draw pleases no-one.
Well done Christian, Phil and, T&G. Good songs, all.
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