Sad country song. Please give an opinion

[heinsite]

well Stevie is right on with this Matt--and please, i'm still looking for my first high bar, and i was the first up there to suggest the lyrics might not be up to snuff. i strongly suggest having taxi critique this, though i tend to NOT agree with the screeners, it may just indeed give you a leg up man!! i still love the tune though.... i'm going to attach one of my c/w tunes in the traditional/contemp vein, that has been consistently turned down, and I STILL DO NOT AGREE!! you can listen or not, it's cool...all the best, http://www.taximusic.com/download/25310 ... Kiss.mp3wh

[cameron]

FWIW, the Taxi critiques I've gotten (for$20) have been as good or better than those I got elsewhere for $35 each.Cam

[Casey H]

Hi MattConstructive feedback from someone who admits he doesn't doesn't know much about country music... Please don't be offended by the honesty-- it's meant as helpful... As a non-country guy, I usually can't tell good from very good and from great. But I'm pretty darn sure when something is not ready yet to compete at all.This song is NOT ready for investment in a full Nashville demo. The lyrics are nothing special, a lot of old cliches and no real story. Musically, the chorus isn't very original in it's common 3 chord rock pattern- that MIGHT NOT be a problem (I'm not sure) but that's why you need feedback from the pros. As you know, you will be competing with the cream of the crop.I say work at the simple guitar and vocal level until you are getting reasonable feedback in pro-reviews. I understand the rush to demo feeling- I live and breathe it. IF you get to the point where reviewers feel the major issues are lyrics and not music, one could argue that if you spend $500 on a demo to hear how it might sound as "Nashville" and later only have to pay $100 to re-cut a vocal with new lyrics, it might not be a terrible decision if you can spare the cash. Right now I think you've got a ways to go.Once again, this is all constructive, not meant to be simply negative.Best! Casey

[matthoggard]

Thanks for taking the time to listen casey. I dont take anything as negative. Ive been writing and performing for 25 years and have pretty thick skin.As Ive said in above posts, this may not be ready. But for some it may be. I dont feel like im "rushing to demo". I think if every songwriter waited until their song was perfect then we would never finish anything. I could re-write this 100 times and it may or may not get any better.I say again. Listen to mainstream country radio. It is chock full of cliches and standard D-C-Gchord progressions. This thing may flop but comparing it to alot of the songs on the radio I think its at least in the ballpark. Im just getting a demo. Once I hear a produced version ill get it critiqued again and take it from there. I dont rush things. It took me 4 years to ask my wife to marry me. Preciate your time.M~

[claire]

Yes, country radio is full of songs that make you go "hmmm..." but those songs weren't written by us. They were written by the artists, cowritten by the artists, cuts that happened because of politics and relationships and are recorded by stars with track records who could sing a Chinese take out food menu and it would go to number one. If you want to hear how your song sounds demo'd, by all means do that. I've done that, most everyone I know has done that (and not just for country songs). Sometimes that helps to hear where the weak spots are, as well as the good spots.Claire

[Casey H]

Oct 2, 2008, 2:00pm, matthoggard wrote:Thanks for taking the time to listen casey. I dont take anything as negative. Ive been writing and performing for 25 years and have pretty thick skin.As Ive said in above posts, this may not be ready. But for some it may be. I dont feel like im "rushing to demo". I think if every songwriter waited until their song was perfect then we would never finish anything. I could re-write this 100 times and it may or may not get any better.I say again. Listen to mainstream country radio. It is chock full of cliches and standard D-C-Gchord progressions. This thing may flop but comparing it to alot of the songs on the radio I think its at least in the ballpark. Im just getting a demo. Once I hear a produced version ill get it critiqued again and take it from there. I dont rush things. It took me 4 years to ask my wife to marry me. Preciate your time.M~Hey MattGood luck with whatever you do. No one knows all the answers, we just have (strong ) opinions. A couple of suggestions if you don't already have these in mind:Ask the demo studio if you can get a master release (for film/tv) for an additional fee. I'm assuming you will use a Nashville studio and I hear that most, if they do it at all, will charge you for it. You don't have to get it immediately, but it's good to know. If, after hearing the demo, you do think you really want it and can afford it, do it sooner than later. Months or years later you don't know what anyone's situation will be- the studio's, the musician's, etc.Get the no-vocal backing track with your demo. This can be very useful for both film/TV and artist pitches. Even better would be the individual tracks for the mix. That way you always have the freedom to go elsewhere for re-work, touch ups, new vocals whatever... you never know who will still be in business in a few years.Ask how much it would cost to re-cut vocals only in case you change lyrics later.If you really think this is a first cut just to hear how your song would sound with some Nashville treatment, consider the most minimal approach that is reasonable if you can save some money-- e.g. least instruments, BG vocals, etc. For example, sometimes a simple guitar and vocal with just a little extra might suffice (not saying it will here).Best! Casey