Newbie song 'Compass' - Point me in the right direction? :-)

[KathrynOverall]

Hi everyone

I am going to join Taxi soon, but am starting to get acquainted with the forums as per Michael Laskow's suggestions.

Would love some feedback on this song called 'Compass' - I only have the ability for rough demos at the moment, but would love feedback on the song itself so I can see if it is worth demoing professionally.

It is the top song on my My Space page. http://www.myspace.com/kathrynoverall

Your advice and feedback is very much appreciated!
Kathryn

[deantaylor]

Hi Kathryn,

Welcome to the forum.

I liked the song. It has nice structure, pretty good chorus lift. Nice vibe.

I like the feel of your vocal. A bit like Dido or ... someone I can't quite put my finger on right now. I had a very hard time understanding all the words though.

Noticed the lyric button on MySpace .. kind of annoying reading the lyrics there .. first time I've done that. It works better if you post the lyric here in your post. Pretty good lyric. One nit .. you use faith in the chorus, then again in verse2 .. might find something else for one of those. There aren't many words, might be better not to repeat a theme.

I think the song would benefit from a bridge and less ending choruses.

Dean

[KathrynOverall]

Thanks so much Dean for taking the time to listen and give me that valuable feedback. I'll have a go at re-working the song with the changes you have suggested. Thanks for your comments re my vocal - will work on better diction when I record next.

I have pasted the lyrics here so others can read them easier.

Compass

Once again I’m sailing open waters
Uncharted seas before me
I leave the shore behind me
Can’t afford to look over my shoulder
‘Cause there on the horizon
Is the one my heart relies on
There you are, Here I go

You, you are the compass that I drive by
You are the anchor into this blue invisible deep
You, you are the faith that keeps me upright
I’ll go anywhere
As long as you’re with me

Don’t pretend to know which way the wind is blowing
This is unexpected timing
The waves are a little frightening
But I recognize the voice of One who’s calling
It’s more dangerous to stay
Faith stays go and don’t remain
So here I go, There you are

I’ll go anywhere, as long as you’re with me

[deantaylor]

You're Welcome, Kathryn.

My trouble understanding the words might not be totally with the vocal ... could also be partially or even mostly a mix issue. Not entirely sure.

Dean

[feaker66]

KO

Like your voice.

Like the notes in your first melody line notes.

Nice laid back tune.

Don't know if i like your vox panned out. It is usually right down the center.

Usually you will request help on lyrics, production or at least you intentions for your song.

The entire production just lacks a little clarity. Could be just about anything. Equipment etc.

Can you sing that tight on your harmonies or is that autotuned?

Simplicity is very refreshing.

You will be invited to my next campfire sing-a-long.

Nice to meet you

paul

[KathrynOverall]

Thank you Paul. Great to meet you and thanks for your kind words and your helpful feedback.

The production quality is pretty bad...I have just started playing around with recording on my MAC with an interface and Garageband so it's all pretty amateur Guess I'm just trying to get the basic idea of my songs down at the moment so I can review it, get feedback on the song itself generally - what works, what doesn't, and then will prob get some professional guitar/vox demos done a bit later once I think the songs are worth the investment.

The panning is a bit strange isn't it! The back story to that is I was having trouble getting enough volume from my mic without the sound distorting - so I doubled my own lead vox and panned one left and one right to thicken it up. And, I don't even know how to use auto-tune, so harmonies are just me.

I'm not sure where a good mid-point is between Michigan and NZ but I think of one I"ll meet you for a camp fire sing-along

Do you have a link where I could listen to your music?

[feaker66]

KO

My music is not-so-hot-so and very old fashioned.

I just let my taxi subscription run out. Too funny, but five minutes ago I added a link to my songs through soundclick. Wierd???

My wife and I (of 41 years) have just decided to to some traveling, Ya never know where I will end up.

There are some very talented folks here. Lets hope they stop and give you some more advanced critiques.

Sincerely

Paul

[thokus]

Welcome Kathryn.. The forums are great... Read what you can in the different forums ... Lots of good tips and advice .. I'm New ,Kinda , been here a couple months , joined Taxi about two weeks ago , submitted 5 songs sofar . Its just so much fun being able to "Chat" with like minded people.. not a grump in the batch...
I'm no expert in production or even your type of music but you have a very smooth pleasant voice... easy to listen too. as far as production just read as much as you can and learn what all those buttons are for and the nomenclature , then keep tweaking at it till it sounds good ... post them here like you did, and request feedback for what ever your concerns are and most likely there will be good constructive tips ...
Good Luck with all this and most of all have fun..
Tom

[remoteoutofcontrol]

"...I only have the ability for rough demos at the moment, but would love feedback on the song itself so I can see if it is worth demoing professionally."

Its definitely worth it!

I think this song is very well crafted . I love the melody and especially the lyrics. The voice and style of this music reminds me of The Corrs and a little Dido at the same time. With a better production and a little more intensity in the vocals around the bridge and final chorus, your song might sound even better in my opinion .

Whatever you do with your song, I wish you all the best!

God bless!

[glender]

Hi Welcome,

I like the groove of the song, it has a nice dido underlying element. Your singing is nice and you get points for living in a cool part of the world. As far as the lyrics and the story line I think it could use some more thought. At first I thought it was a faith piece and the central character was God, but then I wasn't sure. The references are a little odd. You yourself might know the premise of the story you're trying to tell, but I (the listener) couldn't quite figure this one out. Maybe another verse or bridge would help add some more information? It almost sounds like your trying to "wing it" a little lyrically. Your choice of words are not conveying the emotion that your feeling inside. It's like saying "I like the way you make me feel" when you're really thinking " I thirst for your passionate unfathomable love" Anyway just tossing some ideas out there. IMO the more of your heart and soul you reveal on the canvas the deeper your connection with the listener.

All in all it's a fun little tune, love the boating/sailing references.

gl