TAXI.com

Hi all, here's a new one that we're pretty excited about and wanted to share.
Logan really knocked this one out of the park for us, we're very happy to have him on this one!

All comments and suggestions welcome.

Thanks,
Marc

Notes:
- the intro is meant to be optional for Film/TV
- We believe the vocals can come up a touch

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9093020

I'm Begging You Please
© 2010 by Marc David Blackwell and Chris Maxwell

I’m down on my knees
I’m begging you please
Don’t do this

I didn’t see this coming
And it’s knocked me to the floor
And as I try to stand up on my two feet you hit me with more
It’s some revelation, it seems like I am the last to know
It’s killing me inside, I don’t want you to go

You cut me like a knife and I can’t stop bleedin ( it won’t stop )

Why would I live if there's no reason
What have I got if you're not here
You keep telling me you're sorry,
But I’m not seeing one tear
What did you say as you were leaving
cause I really need to know
what have I got to do to change your mind
I'm down on my knees beggin you please

God knows how I got here
But I’m drivin’ through the rain
This road is goin’ nowhere
And the miles won’t ease the pain

I missed every sign along the way
I’m lost for words, what can I say?
If only I could find a way to make you stay

You cut me like a knife and I can’t stop bleedin ( it won’t stop )

CHORUS

Don’t do this ( I’m begging you please )
Can’t you find it in your heart if you’ve got a heart
You can see I’m just dying
I can’t breathe ... I can’t breathe ..

Why would I live if there’s no reason?
What have I got if you’re not here ?

CHORUS

Hey Marc - Wow, great production! I didn't think the vocals needed boosting, seemed plenty present to me. Only thing I was missing was why this guy is so distraught that this person is leaving him, maybe a memory of good times together or something like that. I only got the desperation without any sense of what's causing it. Otherwise the music and production seem pretty radio friendly to me...eo.

Hey Marc!

I think the reason you haven't gotten more responses is that some may be jealous of this demo! As a composer/engineer/producer, I give BIG thumbs up! I don't think the lyric needs anymore explanation. And the vocals are fantastic! --- I love the little pre-chorus effect. Very well done.

I do think this needs mastering. It is extremely mid-rangey, with extended high end (as I'm sure was intended). But there's no BOTTOM on the mix! I can barely hear the low end of the bass and kick, even though I've listened to this on Bose phones (hyper-bass) and Sennheiser phones (flat as a billiard table!). --- Since you have the mid-range so expertly dialed-in, there should be no problem to put some 50-120 hz on the low end. Try it, and you may like it! Just make sure you listen to it through monitors that can deliver those frequencies. Play a CD of a similar song that you like, and compare.

IF you want to remix it, and I doubt you do because it sounds so good, the other recommendation is to make the mix as "aggressive" as the opening is. THAT is aggressive! Right in your freakin' face. But, what I've learned over the years, is that aggressive mixes include accentuating drum fills (especially), and certain guitar parts and bass parts in a rock song. The mix sounds pretty "flat" dynamically to me, but that could be fixed by adding some bottom-end in the master and not re-mixing --- not sure about that. Maybe the master is compressed too much.

Overall, a great song and an EXTREMELY competitive sound for this market!

Best Regards,

Ern

Thanks for the comments Ern, eo!
Don't want to derail Marc's thread, but felt like I should chime in on the mix. Actually Marc hasn't even gotten his hands on the vocal tracks and actually done any of his magic yet. Can't wait until he does, but in the meantime any mix issues can be blamed on me. Marc sent me over the rockin bed track, and before when I sent back the vox, I just plopped a bit of generic sweetening (compr,eq) on the master bus. It could have gotten by without it though! My bad!

Cheers
-LRP

audiorayne wrote:Thanks for the comments Ern, eo!
Don't want to derail Marc's thread, but felt like I should chime in on the mix. Actually Marc hasn't even gotten his hands on the vocal tracks and actually done any of his magic yet. Can't wait until he does, but in the meantime any mix issues can be blamed on me. Marc sent me over the rockin bed track, and before when I sent back the vox, I just plopped a bit of generic sweetening (compr,eq) on the master bus. It could have gotten by without it though! My bad!

Cheers
-LRP

Logan! Nice to hear from you about this project. Man, I am extremely impressed by your vocals, and the overall midrange sound. Very crispy! What microphone did you use on your vocals?

--- Back in the olden days, EVERY master was mixed EXACTLY like this, if they had a good engineer as you obviously do have....

But now, in the digital age, we don't have the problem of "the stylus jumping out of the center groove of the vinyl!" Engineers like Alan Parsons etc. pushed this envelope in analog. Low end is becoming way more prominent in digital, as you can hear from the cars next to you at the stop light. If you're not going to do a vinyl mix, I'd experiment with 40-300hz on your final mix. --- Sh!t, I'll master this for NOTHING if you want me to! That's how impressed I am. Probably the best talent here I've heard in a long time. --- Say, maybe I should be a TAXI screener! I live about 10 miles from their headquarters!

Ern

Wow, Marc and Logan. This was as awesome song overall. It reminded me a lot of Nickleback. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Lyrics seem okay to me. All the best with it!

Ken

Hi Marc,

Yes, I agree that the vocal need to come up a little. After the intro (during which the vocal level is fine), it was the first thing I noticed.

Caveat: I am a singer therefore I do prefer the vocals up in the mix...but I think that most listeners [non-musicians] also do.

Stuart

Thanks all!

Ern, thanks for the helpful mastering tips.
Once I get everything together I'll try bringing up the low end.

I usually do my mastering in house but I wouldn't be opposed to letting you have a go at it.
I may be in touch.

Glad I read the other posts because the only comments I had were on the mix, everything else sound really good. The mix (to my ears) was just too compressed which I think might have also clamped some of the low end down. This is gonna be a very "radio friendly" song when finished!

Marc

Love that vox start. Wow. Could really feel that.

I had a chance to jump on this early this morning and waited for a few others to chime in first.

You might want to get a hold of Daughtry. He would grab this up in a minute.

On it's own, the vox is simply excellent.

Holy cow this is a big sound.

This is top notch bud.

I have a feeling this one might put you over the top.

Nice acoustic bridge and then pow.

Fantastic

Excited for yawl.

Paul