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Post by Rob W on May 2, 2014 14:44:00 GMT
This is where everyone can comment (in a kind of interactive way) on this month's songs. It also has a voting system built in! So get your votes in. You SHOULD only be able to vote once.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72 
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Post by Karl on May 2, 2014 18:04:49 GMT
This forum is a good idea, Rob - it will be easier to see what's going on.
What a varied, impressive and interesting start.
I'm saving my song comments and vote until I've had a few more listens - there are a couple of "growers" amongst this months contenders.
Rob - could you set up 8 new threads, 1 for each song, with the existing comments copied and pasted in, and then further comments can be posted up to the relevant thread?
I would do it myself but can't find a "new thread" button!
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Post by patrickd on May 2, 2014 19:22:36 GMT
Songwriters Collective - April 14 Patrick's notes - Here's my thoughts on the songs, written before I've read anyone elses. Well done everyone this is a nice idea.
Mark Swift intro reminiscent of Sting Seven Days ?
Nice singing tone, strong verse, I like the repetition of the first line "ok, ok" which runs throughout.
Rob -
I like the guitar intro, is it slide ?, is it a sample ? is it Carlos Santana ?
Courageously exposed verse, no mistaking Rob's voice, he stamps all over it, ( in a good way)
nice to have the guitar back. Nothing wrong with repeating the riff exactly as before.
I like the sparse arrangement. Pleasant introduction of BVs in second chorus.
Drummer ? Rob on programming ?
Steve and Claire Warner -
Straight in no chaser. I like the chin out no nonsense approach
Ooh Jazz turnaround and straight in with Al Di Meola solo instead of second verse - and why not.
You really threw the rulebook away here. I like the audacity. Sounds like we should be in Greenwich Village circa 1960, wearing polo necks.
Tim And Julie Warner
Apocalyptic intro gives way into more frivolous feel. I ilke the girl/boy "tell me what you want" you can sense the tension.
effects work well on the voices.
Catchy hooks, nice and tight arrangement, no flab.
I think this must win the prize for getting the most out of The Love has Gone lyric test.
Phil Stapleton
I like the drum sounds - kind of like Kraftwerk.
I like the way it goes into 9/8 in places - quite surprising.
Mike Gosling
I like the ooh vocal hook.
Great verse, reminds me of xtc/squeeze late 70's new wave, which is no bad thing.
Courageously simple words and uncluttered melody, not easy to do.
Tim Lucas and Glynn Hughes
Nice upfront vocal in the mix, Is that an e bow ?
I like the simple melody, and atmosphere of the song
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Post by Colin Steward on May 3, 2014 7:44:10 GMT
Since I didn't submit a song this time I almost feel I haven't earned the right to comment, nevertheless....
Patrick's song is just lovely. Effortless and very professional. Very impressive vocal and a seamless transition to falsetto. There's a McCartney-esque quality about it.
Rob's song stuck in my head very quickly - always a good sign! (It's still there!). Great vocal, as one would expect from Rob.
I also really enjoyed Steve's song. Very nice jazz chords. It can be easy to pay so much attention to tricky jazz chords but it wasn't at the expense of the melody which is very appealing.
I'm very impressed with all and am now extremely apprehensive about submitting my own work but I guess if I manage something this month I can click the send button and run and hide.
Col.
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Post by Rob W on May 3, 2014 9:32:38 GMT
Rob - could you set up 8 new threads, 1 for each song, with the existing comments copied and pasted in, and then further comments can be posted up to the relevant thread?
I would do it myself but can't find a "new thread" button![/quote]
Hi Karl
I was about to do as you say (blindly; sheep-like!) when I wondered whether people would take the time to go to each thread and comment individually on one person's song. So, as long as you are fine with it, I think we should stick with a 'Master Comment Thread' per month and then other threads can be discussions about up-coming themes or other issues.
x
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Post by Rob W on May 3, 2014 9:35:25 GMT
This is the review of the songs sent from Mike G
Congratulations to all for completing round 1. I think Rob's choice of a title
song worked well and the theme was a familiar enough one to get us all going.
Stylistically, we're all over place! We've got Beatles pop, 60s American pop, 70s
funk, 70s jazz rock, 80s funk pop, 90s shoegazing rock. Curiously, although not
surprisingly give our ages, there don't seem a lot of influences from this century!
Has modern pop/rock music hit a dead-end?
Are we all just recycling stuff from the golden era of popular music?
Onto the songs:
Patrick Duffin
The bookies' favourite didn't disappoint. A lovely song, well performed and recorded.
The echoes of Randy Newman and The Beatles are unashamedly there. The ascending chords
in the chorus are a joy. The backing vocal arrangement is brilliantly assembled and executed.
The lead vocal is great. The chord change into the middle 8 is great. It all seems so effortless
and easy. Question to Patrick: Did you find out where everybody went? They didn't all become
astronauts did they? Ah, I'm being facetious, I enjoyed Patrick's song immensely.
Mark Swift
What a great atmospheric start - the pizzicato strings and general orchestral type
sounds create a very good ambience for the start of the song - I understand the rates at
Abbey Road are quite reasonable now and you certain made good use of the facilities.
Nice bass and piano in the song; not sure whether the guitar and drums always work but
the song is solidly constructed. Laura's lyric and vocal vocal work ( I like the line about
not being "a girl that likes to wait" ). Well done.
Rob Warner
It is with some trepidation that I review my (ex-) colleague's song!
Rob, it's not so bad -don't keep putting yourself down. It has a very good soulful
vocal; the drums and bass are very well played and entirely appropriate for the material.
The girl(?) backing vocals are very nice. Best of all for me is the electric piano - it is great!
and places the song in Hall/Oates - type 70s white soul arena - not a bad place to be.
The clean production is also welcome and appropriate.
And here's the problem for me - that synth guitar line (which is quite loud at the start!)
should be Michael Brecker on the saxophone. I think that's what's "wrong". Oh, I think
that maybe the middle 8 could have lifted the song more (like in a Paul Simon song).
Good effort Rob.
Steve and Claire
Lovely jazzy chords. The lyrics are good and the vocal melody is very nice.
I could have done with a full sounding bass and some drums to fill out the production.
I think this would have helped to balance out the guitar solo, which is very bold!
It sounds like you, Steve and Rob are having fight for control at the start of the last verse -
but I can hear from the last few notes that Steve has walked out the easy winner (by 3 lengths)
Tim and Julie
I don't think I've ever heard a Tim song before! Classic guitar intro - I thought Gary Moore had
infiltrated Rob's website and sneaked in a new recording of Parisian Walkways!
The groove is good and funky - I can imagine a big 70s Parliament-type line-up to play
this one live. I really like the "sharing" nature of the vocals - I was never quite sure who was
going to sing next (and in what type of voice!). The deadpan (New Order) verse vocal works
well and I like the radio voice chorus vocal - Tim, you might be trying to disguise your voice
but I like the effect and catchiness of it. I think the end section could have been built up more -
I wanted it to get all chaotic and then fall apart (spectacularly). Shame that Tower of Power
horn section were unavailable for the recording session.
Phil Stapleton
I thought the Purple Prince was amongst us once again! The clattering percussion and drums
are all very welcome, but started to wear me down after a while - the introduction of the
acoustic guitar was nice and it would have been good to make more of that sound as a
contrast to the synthetic sounds. The English vocal is good - a welcome change from all of us
pretending to be Americans! I would like to have heard some girl backing vocals to complement
the lead vocal - perhaps you could have asked Prince to borrow Wendy and Lisa for the
recording session. The shredding guitar was a surprise, but then I remembered that Prince
was a fantastic guitarist, and why not!
Glyn and Tim
A good warm sound to the start of this. I am transported back to the Shoegazers, the Cocteaus,
Mazzy Star. It is so nice to hear Glyn's voice again after all these years. The harmonies are lovely
in the later verses. And that infinite guitar sound is fantastic - I never did find that sound on my pedalboard!
The drums build nicely, but they could have been louder and more forceful to drive the song to
a climax. A good atmospheric effort.
All for now, Mike
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Post by Rob W on May 3, 2014 9:36:18 GMT
These are the comments for April's Songs from Steve W
I think the level was fantastic. Detailed comments are based on first impressions. The standard of production on some of them is quite breathtaking. As for picking a winner? Really, seriously, not sure I can. Really looking forward to the next one!
Patrick's - well composed, well played, well recorded, very professional. What did you say he does for a living?
Swifty's - jumps out at you, has the most immediate hook. Altogether sounds very lush. Strangely, Laura's voice sounds better on the chorus than the verse, and then it sounds very good indeed.
Rob's - very sparse start (though strangely I can always hear the bass), in fact a very 'spare' feel throughout. A typical example of a 'Rob' song, though I only know that because I've heard quite a few in the past.
Steve n Claire's - a testament to the limitations of GarageBand. Bass sounds as though they went up to a ship in dock and twanged the mooring cables. Chords don't quite fit, especially when you try to solo over them, and the solo sounds like John McLaughlin, if he insisted on wearing oven gloves and was addicted to sleeping pills. What a shame they didn't find some soggy cardboard boxes, they could have recorded a drum track.
Tim's - the start doesn't give you a clue as to what it turns into (and my sneak preview didn't give me much idea either). Really like the telephone vocal. Has a nice 'shuffle' to it, and a couple of nice bits of incidental guitar. A typical 'Tim' song, as I've heard him play quite a few times.
Phil's - interesting set of chords, though from an aspiring jazzer's perspective, not enough mode changes. Very interesting rhythms. He can shred better than I can, damn him, and doubly so if that's an acoustic.
Mike's - we both think we'd have been unsurprised to have heard this on TOTP in the late sixties, it really has that feel to it.
Tim n Glyn's - it must be years since I heard Glyn sing, I was wonderfully surprised all over again. Like Rob's, sounds quite sparse. Especially like the way the synth bits interweave.
Cheers, Steve
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Post by mikegosling on May 3, 2014 10:35:59 GMT
Thanks for posting my (rather too lengthy) comments - I enjoyed the challenge and listening to everyone's contribution
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Post by timwarner on May 3, 2014 11:10:25 GMT
Okay, I don't listen to lyrics much and generally only hear them when they're terrible. For me, it's mainly about how it feels and the few snatches of lyrics I catch.
If this was an exam and these songs were the answers, you'd have to say that the question wasn't very well written because the answers are SO diverse. Luckily it's not, but who would have imagined they would all be this different?
Foolishly, I listened to Patrick's song before I completed my own. A wonderful song brilliantly recorded, setting the bar very high for everyone else by posting first. I have heard Patrick's voice many times live and recorded but the voice on this is way, way better than anything previously. Brilliant soaring vocal. I could easily imagine it as the song to a Richard Curtis film (I hope everyone likes his films, this is meant to be a good thing).
Swifty has come up with a solid song again here (Ghostwood still comes up on iPod shuffle occasionally and I never skip). I echo robs comments about light and shade and pushing the vocal more or perhaps taking the vocal back and making it more conspiratorial, but the song is good. Perhaps it could have built up a bit more towards the end?
Sometimes I think Rob is cursed with a fantastic voice, he could sing from the telephone book and people would listen, but usually I'm just jealous. Having listened to this I'm jealous. He seems to be channelling Otis and Ray more than Sting or Gabes these days, complemented by a sparse, but perfectly adequate backing.
Steven's and Claire's track is a jewel. Wonderful chords pushing the melody along and suggesting the next change, then letting us have it with both barrels for the guitar solo. It sounds like a rare and treasured demo of a song that never got the full treatment in a studio. Yes, you get extra points for keeping if short and to the point. I can really hear the joy in the way this has been recorded.
Phil SANDERSON's song is pleasantly bonkers. I though I was shy about my voice but here the voice is a bit too low to make it easy to follow. It sounds like it's being played by a young enthusiastic band, which I particularly like. I don't know how it works but it does. I wasn't expecting a song like this at all.
Goz, hats off. Another vocal that surprised me and I love the guitar sound you get (always have, it's as much part of your as your voice). It almost sounds like Chris Martin is singing with a proper band rather than the collection of backing tapes that ColdPlay seem to have become.
Tim and Glyn's song came out of the blue. I've not heard much of Glyn's voice and I think I've missed a treat. Glyn's voice makes it all sound like she's divulging secrets and details that she's never told anyone else. Vulnerable. Lovely. Than backing is perfectly weighted to compliment the song. How you make some of those sounds I don't know, it's a bit like Robert Fripp meets Lisa Hannigan.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by Karl on May 3, 2014 15:03:38 GMT
01 Patrick Duffin
Great singing and a lovely sound.
Kate (my wife) said she thought it was Paul McCartney and I thought of Neil Finn.
I love the middle 8 and the way it goes straight back into the song – no instrumental break needed here.
This is a lesson in keeping it simple! Very accomplished.
02 Mark Swift
What a great intro.
Laura’s voice sounds nice. The arrangement is very lush, if maybe a bit too multi-layered at times.
Even though this isn’t a contemporary pop song, I found the overall sound a bit hard on the ears –
following on from Patrick’s song it felt like switching from Radio 2 to Radio 1.
Some nice ideas in here and I want to say well done to Finn – good drumming young man.
03 Rob Warner
As expected - great singing, as always.
Did you sample Joe Morton for the intro?
I didn’t expect such a laid back “lounge bar” backing, but the more I hear it, the more I like it.
The backing vocals are great – is that your own voice?
04 Steve Warner
Using Rob for vocals works well on this jazzy number.
The solo was unexpected and could probably have been a little lower in the mix.
I like the main guitar sound and part though. Jazz … mmm … nice!
05 Tim Warner
Funky Tim’s entry has supplied me with my current ear-worm, in particular the backing vocal “tell me what you want” refrain.
Contrary to popular opinion the telephone voice didn’t work for me - I think your voice sounds fine, so don’t be scared to mix it up higher and I don’t bother to disguise it either!
06 Phil Sanderson
I guess Phil’s influences are 90’s indie dance. It’s bold and different from everything else here.
I’ll admit to finding it a bit difficult to fathom for the first few listens, probably the unusual time signature in the bridge,
or the very busy arrangement, but the chorus has a lot going for it.
As with Tim – don’t worry about your voice , mix it up a bit higher, and as with Patrick’s song - sometimes keeping it simpler is better.
07 Mike Gosling
Another good intro (the sound of which I’d have liked to hear more, probably in the break-down repeated choruses at the end)
and a bright, positive 2nd (chorus) intro. I happen to know that Mike did a lot of last minute work on this recording, which was well worth it.
But one of the tests of a good song is if it still sounds good played with just a single instrument accompaniment,
and having heard this with just an acoustic guitar for backing I can confirm it does. I really like it.
08 Tim & Glyn
This was a bit of a surprise to me - I expected something more folky.
There are some lovely sounds in the backing.
Glynn’s voice reminds me of Laura Baxter’s (Mark Swift’s song).
I think the chorus could have been bigger – perhaps by adding some more of Glynn’s voice harmonising with her lead vocal.
Overall a very good start to a very good idea - Well done Rob. I look forward to next months entries.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by Karl on May 3, 2014 15:11:34 GMT
Hi Karl
I was about to do as you say (blindly; sheep-like!) when I wondered whether people would take the time to go to each thread and comment individually on one person's song. So, as long as you are fine with it, I think we should stick with a 'Master Comment Thread' per month and then other threads can be discussions about up-coming themes or other issues.
OK Rob, makes sense to me.
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tandg
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by tandg on May 3, 2014 18:37:52 GMT
That was great. I love the variety and how unpredictable it all is. I feel a bit nervous about commenting when the standards are so high.
Patrick - I don't know Patrick but would like to. I love the rising sequence in the chorus. Lovely singing and playing - I was still hearing it in my head for a long time afterwards.
Mark - I don't know Mark either and would like to having heard this. Blown away especially by the build-up at the beginning - the sounds (love the sort of chattering noise at the end of the introduction) and the sequence going on underneath. This would benefit from hearing non-compressed format. Lovely voice - overall Glyn's favourite (and as we only have one vote, I'll go along with that).
Rob - The voice is right up front and sounds really good. Is that a guitar or a sample? - I suspect the latter but none the worse for that. I thought with the lyrics as they were it probably could have been bluesier but like Mike, I loved the electric piano - really effective. One gripe - Rob sent us an email demanding we call the song The Love is Gone and then called his All the Love Has Gone!
Steve - That's a passable vocal impression of Rob. Loved the chords and flow of the song. The lyrics worked really well - we thought the best here. Would love to hear it developed further.
Tim & Julie - Really interesting sounding song. I liked the weird voice - I believed you meant it! And there's a sort of Vincent Price quality to the half-spoken verse. I think you should be shameless about the vocals; both of you could be higher in the mix. I wanted to hear more.
Phil - Really enjoyed the sort of wall of sound - would love to hear it less compressed. The solo break is amazing and after the threatening vibe to the verse the burst into the chorus is great. Took a couple of listens but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Mike - Sorry to admit we haven't kept up with what Mike's been up to, and was taken completely by surprise by the vocal sound - I really like your voice. The sort of sixties vibe is great and the sounds are a wonderful mixture of raw and polished. It's one of those songs that is so 'right' you sort of wonder if you've heard it before (and I mean that really positively).
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Post by Steeyuv n Clayer on May 4, 2014 21:37:00 GMT
We can't decide on a favourite, and really, voting is beside the point. The exercise of working on song ideas is worthwhile itself. And yes I know we're new to this lark and quite a few of you are experienced singer/songwriters. Remember what it felt like when you started!
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Post by Rob W on May 5, 2014 10:21:35 GMT
If I could, I would come round to your house and hit you around the head with your copy of the Guardian!! Just pick your favourite! It's anonymous and nicely draws a line under that month's 'task'. If you genuinely can't pick a winner, use Clarkeson's method. (Eenie, Meanie...)
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Post by Mark S on May 5, 2014 20:22:22 GMT
Hi all,
Isn't great to have a forum to share our music, comments and thoughts that isn't restricted to meeting up far too rarely and then having completely forgotten having listening to each other's work! Thanks for setting this up Rob.
So to the music.
Firstly, I loved two things about the collection of entries; that so many have taken the time to work on a song to submit, and secondly the wide range of styles and interpretations that came out. I haven't had time to to all of them properly yet so will add more comments when I do, but my thoughts so far....
Patrick has nailed a really great song, with a strong melody and hook that doesn't need to be carried by complex layers, interesting sound scapes or flashy solos. It hasn't got in my head yet, but for me that's a good sign - it will grow and will still have something to offer me after many listens. Great work.
Rob's I also like, obliviously more than Helen and the kids do! For me it's got a laid back bluesy edge and reminded me instantly of Rob getting back to his roots with his 'Robber Sole' cd a few years ago. Good hook, good balance of instruments but screaming out for a little more and varied guitar work, although I suspect that it's a keyboard rather than guitar?
Steve. Is that Rob singing? Or is the Warner vocal gene stronger than I thought? I love the raw feel of this, lovely clangy bass sound and gritty guitar work. Not sure if this one's going to be something I listen to over and over, but I'd love to hear a polished version.
More comments to come soon, but thanks everyone for the comments on my work. It's definitely still a work in progress as I had to rush the mix and production to hit the deadline. I aim to include it in my current project and your comments will be taken on board to improve the final version. I suppose that's one of the great things about this forum!
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Post by Mark S on May 5, 2014 20:39:44 GMT
Finally managed to get the system to accept my own name so no longer have to be known ask 'ghostwood'. Slightly easier for everyone :-)
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Post by Rob W on May 7, 2014 16:46:58 GMT
I'm not one to spread conspiracy theories, but all of the composers from Harwich haven't received any votes!! It must be all the fluoride in the water (i.e. we've got lovely teeth but can't write songs.)
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Post by philsanderson on May 7, 2014 22:30:14 GMT
I haven't even got nice teeth!
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Post by philsanderson on May 7, 2014 23:24:51 GMT
What a great collection of songs. I deliberately left off responding for a few days so I could listen to all the music more than a few times, and hear the songs in different situations /contexts eg. car, on dog walk, lounge, at work etc.
Patrickd - fantastic production on an all round great song. It sounds so professional from first note to last. Love the harmony, chords and the quality of vocal performance is already 'legendary'!
Steve and Claire Warner- I really like the song. Would have to agree that the sound of bass needs to improve. Whilst listening today I imagined the song without a bass at all, and I think that would work quite well, as the quality of guitar playing is so good and is such a strong feature.
Rob - the quality of your excellent teeth certainly powers up the vocal on this song ..... what a performance! I like the sparse arrangement. The song maybe could do with some sort of variation in the guitar work or an additional instrument in the background.
Tim and Julie - what a catchy number. I like the way the different vocal lines interact. I like the 'telephone' vocal style here, Tim. The different styles of vocals work really well for me in this song. I think it would go down a storm as a live number -can I join in!!
Mike - Slick, professional and sounds like a hit. Great guitar playing and I like the overall sound throughout.
Tim Lucas and Glynn Hughes - really atmospheric throughout. Immediately after I played this for the first time I replayed it, only louder! I love the sound of all the instrumentation / vocal, in particular all the guitar work. When I hear it now I'm transported into an evocative, arty video... filmed somewhere in Scotland. I sort of agreed with another comment about the chorus not being 'developed'.. at first.. but now I think the flow between verse and chorus works so well as it is.
Mark..- a great song. I like the verses of the song in particular. I found myself singing the chorus out loud in the freezer section in Morrisons tonight! The vocal performance on song is really good!
Me ( Phil Sanderson... not sure where 'Stapleton' came from, Rob!) I'll be adding my own comments tomorrow, with just a teaser to say I wrote and recorded 7 ( seven ) songs called 'The' Love is Gone' for April, and I'm not at all sure I uploaded the 'right' song in the end. Will post tomorrow... |
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Post by Mark S on May 10, 2014 14:31:20 GMT
Hi all,
After a couple of comments about the compression on my track I've been working on the mastering to find it sounds fine mastered out of my DAW in .wav format and the compression seems to be occurring as part of the mp3 conversion.
Anyone got a recommendation for a good mp3 convertor or advice on the process?
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Post by Rob W on Jun 1, 2014 15:06:24 GMT
So, congratulations to Patrick D. Commiserations to those who didn't make it, particularly those that came so close to topping the poll
May's voting will be open shortly and will close at the end of June.
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Post by mikegosling on Jun 2, 2014 15:39:07 GMT
Congratulations to Patrick - a worthy winner.
I think that the theme and the song entries were a really good start to the Songwriters Collective.
Onward and upward.
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