swamp jazz peer review

[jfiegen]

Hi guys,
Tell me if you think this tune has a future as a pitch, please.
https://soundcloud.com/jfiegen/swamp-jazz
Jim

[remmet]

Jim - I think this certainly has potential to be useful in a variety of situations. That said, there are some things, IMO, that could be improved upon.

1. Don't begin with a fade-in and end with a fade-out. (I suspect you may have mixed it that way as a mild protection against theft, but it really detracts from the overall effectiveness.)

2. The panning is a little out of whack. The drums are panned really wide, which sounds a bit unnatural, and you've got the lead guitar and at least one rhythm guitar panned to the left. That creates a bit of a muddle. Why not have the lead guitar more to the middle and keep it clearly separate from the other guitar part(s)?

3. There doesn't seem to be a theme, i.e., a main melody at the beginning and returning at the end. It sounds like a long improvisation. As such, I think it goes on a little too long without a compelling reason. As the guitar solos through the progression several times, some cycles are stronger than others, and the weaker cycles aren't enough to sustain the listeners' interest. Possible remedies include substituting another instrument occasionally (bass solo, piano solo, dobro, slide guitar for example), just to break it up a bit. Or shortening the piece by editing out some of the weaker cycles.

4. Occasionally the groove goes slightly astray and the interaction between the instruments gets out of alignment. Just something to listen for.

5. Since you described the piece as at least partly swampy, there may be issues with the sounds of the MIDI instruments, which I assume (though I could be wrong) consist of the drums and bass. Both the drums and bass sound very clean and pop-y, which might work for certain types of fusion-ish jazz, but they are worlds away from swampy.

6. Also detracting from the swamp aspect are the chord changes in bar 10 of the progression. Where you'd normally expect to hear A maj for those 4 beats (or 2 beats of A and 2 beats of G), you have 2 beats of C maj and 2 beats of B maj. Somewhat jazzy, but not swampy.

So those are my rambling thoughts. I hope they are at least somewhat helpful.

Richard

[jfiegen]

Thanks for the input, all great points!
Jim

[mobster85]

Jim I agree with Richard and he has given you some very excellent points and details that I can't give but that's why he is so good at what he does. I am finding out in this business that you have to be very detailed and you have to find a niche. While experimenting is good and makes you a better musician it also can hinder the productivity. I think this track meanders a long. It is not cohesive enough and it sounds like jamming to a certain degree. Also if you are gonna do swampy type music you have to stay with a very simple minded approach and find a hook that really captures the listener's attention. I know because I have tried to do this genre and am not to the point of feeling comfortable yet. All in all though I like the concept you just have to work at it more. It's a really good effort and being a Guitarist myself I know that it is fun to solo but try to keep that to a minimum. Develop themes and motifs and expand upon them. I hope this helps.

Peace,
Bob LoGrasso

https://soundcloud.com/bob-lograsso
www.taxi.com/boblograsso

[DanLuedke]

Cool guitar playing. I think you do a great job of setting a specific mood and sticking to it.

Richard made all good points. I wonder if the track could use more easy edit points as well?

Thanks for posting!

[niallyboy]

The drums are funny-sounding, with that double flam on each snare hit. I heard zero jazz, so I wouldn't reference it as such.

good luck,

[funsongs]

fwiw: sonically, it does sound like it was recorded live, from way in the back, at an outdoor jam in a very large venue;
and the repeated turnaround seems to anchor the jam around an instrumental cover version of
"Little Sister"... Elvis Presley/Tom Petty mix.

Even if the mix were to be what a listing was looking for, the "too familiar" licks might be a stumbling point.

Hope that is helpful.
Cheers,
Peter

[jfiegen]

Guys,
Thanks for all of your help and interest in this track.
I've taken all of your comments to heart and done two remixes of the basic track. The first one https://soundcloud.com/jfiegen/swamp-jazzremix01 is a solo cadenza that was originally the intro.
I hear it as a "stinger" cue for a biker/car show/Duck Dynasty/Living in Alaska/ type TV show.
The second remix is a full band mix with only the interesting solos that might work over a longer cue, like credits at the end of a show. https://soundcloud.com/jfiegen/swamp-jazz-remix02. Let me know what you think. By the way, the slide guitar track was recorded on a lap steel tuned to E7 lo to hi B/E/G#/B/D/E and the rhythm guitar is a G&L ASAT Tele.
Thanks, Jim

[funsongs]

I heard zero jazz, so I wouldn't reference it as such.
good luck,

The new tracks... lots of reverb/echo notwithstanding... do sound better; maybe having a version that's less-deep would broaden placement appeal and opportunities... keeping the ones you have as well.

Agreeing with the comment above, consideration for a more fitting name may also prove helpful for placement purposes. Swamp Juice... Swamp Jumpin'... something that fits your idea, but doesn't throw off the listener.

HTH: Nice guitar chops!
Cheers,
Peter

[bobporri]

Jim,

Drums still seem to be a weak link here. On remix 2 they are way in the background. I'm also not sure if the style of them really fits. Guitar is cool, bass is fine, drums-I'd suggest trying something else for them. I think they are sort of Jazz sounding, but still weak sounding and I'm not sure they fit.

Just my opinion. Nice guitar stuff.

Bob P.