Dean Taylor/Lee Johnson need feedback

[leejohnson]

Hi Taxi Friends,Here is a new song I am working on with Dean Taylor. We would like your feedback for all aspects ie lyrics, melody, music, production etc... we are possibly going to have it mixed/mastered by a pro (We had Fett mix/master our recent song "Fragile") but we want to try to get Broadcast Quality ourselves if we can. This is recorded in PT LE 7.1 002 rack, imac OS 10.4.7, using ART preamp, SP C1 (vocals) and SP C4 mics (aco guit stereo), drums are EZ Drummer, eguits (Vox Tone lab) , bass, shaker, vocals and bu vocals. This is for Film/TV pitch opportunities. We think this song describes in a general way the concept of overcoming problems, or breaking free from trouble/things holding you back. If it comes across as we'd like, the song could be used for a variety of scenes where the characters are overcoming problems and learning to "Rise Above" Here is the link to my Taxi page: www.taxi.com/leejohnson See song "Rise Above 12.11.08"(if anyone can remind me how to copy and paste the link directly to the song, I would be most grateful, I tried several times using right click on the "play" link, and then paste and must be doing something wrong) Here are the lyrics:RISE ABOVE © 2008 by Lee Johnson and Dean Brantley Taylor Lyrics by Dean Brantley Taylor (ASCAP) www.sonicbids.com/DeanBrantleyTaylor Music by Lee Johnson (ASCAP)www.leejohnsonsongs.com VERSEI can’t do for us, what I used to doI can't be the person I wasIt’s tough on me, its hard for youBut this thing we face won’t break our love (We’ll)CHORUSRise above, rise aboveLand can’t hold us, we’ll rise aboveOver mountains, over everythingThrough the clouds, up where angels singWe’ll show the world what we’re made ofWe’ll make it through, we’ll rise above VERSEWe’ve been trapped by fate in this prison cellWe’ve been forced to do hard timeBut all the bars and chains of hellCan’t stop our grace, Our faith will fly(We’ll)CHORUSBRIDGEWe’ll beat our wings ‘till they grow so strongWe’ll soar....... on the wind from just a song(We’ll)CHORUS CHORUSEND© 2008 by Lee Johnson and Dean Brantley Taylor Thanks for your feedback and help!Best, Lee and DeanPS here is the instrumentation and stereo imaging FYI:Vocal: centerBuVocal1: hard leftBuVocal2: hard right ( I doubled these back up vocals) Aco Guit: Stereo, hard L+REguitRhy1: hard Left (tele, thin tone, Vox AC-15 amp)EguitRhy2: hard right (strat, chunky tone, fender blackkface)Eguitlead: hard right (tele, vox AC-30 crunch)Bass: center (SDGR by Ibanez 5 string, using tube gain and OPL)Shaker: stereo, hard L+RDrums: EZ drummer, bussed to 2tk panned hard L+R

[billg]

Cool song . . . parts of it give me a bit of a Neil Young vibe which makes me wanna hear a crunchier guitar somewhere (and maybe a really bad harmonica part LOL!).One thing I notice is that either the bass guitar or kick drum OR both is causing the compressor to pump, you need to make some adjustments there imo.I like the song a lot!

[slowdance]

Lee and DeanCool song.............Lyrics are telling a story............I'll agree with billg a little harmonica would be a nice touch.For my taste the front vocals could use a tad of reverb...a little harsh............especially in the "we'll rise above rise above".Tweaker and shes a keeperKeep up the good work guys.regards,Dick

[slowdance]

ps: I forgot to add.........you might have the drum kick and bass fighting for the same space.regards,Dick

[deantaylor]

Thanks Bill, Dick! Bill, Lee got some Neil Young comments on our first song, too. If anyone else has ala's or a song that we might look at as a guide for further production refinements, throw it out there. Kinda glad you guys mentioned harmonica .. always wanted to do a song with a harmonica part.We are thinking of changing the v1 lyric to this .. more emotion:new VERSE 1 lyricI can’t do for us, what I used to doI’m (just) a ghost of what I wasIt’s killing me. It’s tough on youBut this thing we face won’t break our love (We’ll)Dean

[leejohnson]

Hey Everyone,thanks for chiming in, we apreciate your input! I will take a look at adding a tad more wet to the vocal mix...I am just sooooo careful not to over do it becuase it seems to be a common amateur production mistake to add too much reverb! We're often afraid to let our vocals be "naked"...there is actually a nice hall reverb on there but I have the mix setting low from wet to dry, so I could bump that up a couple notches, and also we do have a lite delay...but again mix of delay is low...this is a technique I watched them use in a Nashille studio and found that a cool approach, however i dont have the nice gear they were running either...I'll also go back and check on drum/bass compatability/issues etc...I can play harmonica, sometimes badly, but I'm not Neil Young I swear! You should have met me when I had long pony-tail type hair and wore flannel shirts!LOLAlso, yes see Deans revision for verse1 lyrics...I think he's got something better there too. I will leave the original for now while folks are listening but we will be changing that to match his post just above me here. Any other thoughts/suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated...tanxLee and Dean

[leejohnson]

Hi again,so I borrowed a Daking Mic Pre, and re-did the vocal today, mostly to include Dean's revised lyric, but also great timing, i got home from the mic preamp store and had this new thing to try for the weekend. i posted a little excerpt of my visit to the boutique mic pre store under tech and production for more info see that.SO there is a new version of "Rise Above" on my taxi site...with todays date. if you care to here the revised lyric, the new vocal track with a REAL preamp, and a new mix that addresses some of the issues brought up here, please take a listen and let us know what you think. I tiried to fix the stuff you all brought up ie the compressor kicking in on bass or drums, I eq'd the bass guitar to make space between it and the kick drum etc...I added a littel more verb to smooth out the vocal and hopefully it sounds better thru the Daking Mic Pre than it did thru my cheapo ART pre. Here is the link to my page again: www.taxi.com/leejohnsonplease see song "Rise Above 12.12.08"it includes the new verse 1 lyric Dean posted directly above. WE'd love some more feedback if you like!BestLee

[billg]

Man, you're gonna want to shoot me . . . the vocal performance is better in the first one imo. Also I think (with the exception of the muddiness in the low end) the first version "sounds" better to me.I told you you were gonna want to shoot me.

[deantaylor]

Bill,No, we don't want to shoot you. We like it honest and we greatly appreciate the relisten. I agree with you on the vocal performance, mainly I hear it in the verses, Lee definately doesn't get as much emotion into them as in the prior version.As for the overall sound, your ear is better than mine.Dean

[ideascapes]

Lee and Dean,I was gone this week, so am just hearing this for the first time as I catch up (new version only).Nice tune--I thought the bridge was the high point and my main recommendation is to try to capture more of that energy throughout. How? Maybe more powerful background vocals. More E guitar fills (really well done, BTW). More energetic vocal performance? There were several moments when the vocal went slightly off pitch and this was a bit of a distraction.Might be my ears, but the bottom (high) E string of your acoustic guitar sounded very a little out of tune. It was only apparent during the intro, obviously.Hope this helps and not too critical, 'cause I like the tune!Vince