JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum The Heart Of A Hobo

Thank you for indulging me.
I'm sorry if I caused anybody any hard feelings.

Hi Kurt and Billy:

This is a meaningful collaboration in today's world. Loved the message and the melody. Your vocal, as always, is strong and the phrasing works very well. You asked for recommendations about the mix... and that is a tough call. Lucky me, I can experiment all day long without having to hire a band or backup singers... but I'd like a stronger country sounding instrument during the intro.

This one seems like a cross between a folksong and bluegrass... and that is a good thing to my way of thinking. I like the way the song "builds" instrumentally and you already know what to do about any grammatical blips, You talented Word-smiths. Best of luck with this one and it's inspiring message. B-T-W... as you already know, even the title is a hook. ----Dave

Hi, Dave.
Thanks for checking it out.
"but I'd like a stronger country sounding instrument during the intro."
What's more country than a mandolin and a harmonica?
You're correct that it is "like a cross between a folksong and bluegrass", and that is completely intentional. I'm not trying to appeal to the contemporary "country" market, and I don't want all the songs on my upcoming CD to sound alike, but I do want them to be as good as they can be.
My "mix" question has more to do with the levels of the different parts than with the parts themselves. Should certain things be louder or quieter, etcetera?
BTW...this is all the same players (and recorded on the same session) as the last song I posted, it just has a whole different feel.
Another BTW...sadly my friend Billy passed away about two years ago. He would have loved this recording (if not this mix).
Thanks again for the comments.

Hi Kurt,


Man, I liked it from start to finish, sounds good to me.
Best of luck with all you do.


Calvin


Roseberry Garden..... http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

Hi Kurt,

First thought was, wow this sounds great! Mix was very balanced to me, if nitpicking maybe the acoustic in the left was 1db too loud in the verses, and the drums lacked a little punch, but overall very nice sounding. The parts was really well arranged, imo. You sound good on that mic!

In terms of writing I dont know [naughty word removed] these days, and I can't tell up from down, so no reliable comments on that from me. It sounds great, Kurt, get on with it!

Thanks, Calvin!
I guarantee that it will sound better with a little tweaking (and not the meth head kind) of the mix.
I was just trying to see if other folks were on the same page as me.

Thanks for listening, Kolstad!
It's funny that you should mention the drums. I personally think they're too loud. We already took the kick drum way down, but my producer likes that "drums up front in the middle of the mix" sound, and he always starts there until I complain enough.
I think it takes over the song, and with acoustic instruments, you can let some of them drive the song.
If we turn the vocals up a touch, the guitar won't seem too loud.

Nice song...can't comment on the mix as my hearing sux
sounds fine to me...if anything I'm not keen on baritone guitar...just my taste..it seemed out of touch with the story, and the sound, but I'm no producer. I think a harmonica or fiddle would be better
All the best with your next album.

Hi Kurt.

This is beautiful, love it. I like this song a lot--and nice performance.

Concerning the mix--you were looking for opinions/crits. Man it sounds good, no real nits, but I do have a couple producing sugs which certainly aren't nits, but may offer you some consideration. I'd reduce the volume with the intro slightly, and have the bass guitar come in "half way" through that intro for slight build--and have the bass stay low key only playing some supporting notes to support the unique capoed intro, then the bass can let loose a little more. My only other sug -- I think the last chorus would have a little more finalizing flare by "not" vocally going down on "KNOW" in the line: "And Jesus loves me this I know," -- (instead of going down to a C, go up to an E). I REALLY like that you are going down the first two times which gives a nice baritone-ish country resolve to that line--but by going up the last time around IMO would accentuate the "fin-ally or crescendo" effect with the chorus line with that tiny slight change-up. Use or lose--and JMO.

This is a hit song as far as I'm concerned--beautifully written both lyrically and musically--dynamite bridge too! Good luck with it!

steady-eddie.

I see, well if everybody have a different opinion about the drums, they are probably just right as they are :-)
I thought the bass sounded really good, so I would suggest to let the bass rule the bottom end of that mix. You are probably right, it's not a drum oriented mix.
I wouldn't fiddle with the vocals much, as there's a lot of tracks to balance out, and 9/10 was great, which I think is more than you can hope for. Don't mess with a good thing, imo.

Sounds about right to me.