pretty righteous shit guys... diggin' it.

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cheers man - we aim to please!

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There's a bit of an 80s vibe running through here (which is meant as a
compliment by the way!) and I like the juxtaposition of the guitars with
the electronica. You certainly know how to construct a song ... there's
plenty going on, lots of variety, and it all holds together as a cohesive
whole. It's a rich and dynamic song, with magnificently performed
vocals as usual! You sing it like you mean it.

And the ooohs at the end are delightful.

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Thanks Rebsie - appreciate the comments, esp. form a member of the Doris!.
This track was a complete pain to write, the longest I've spent on anything. The
structure went through multiple versions (it initially had a 3 minute guitar wig-
out at the start), as did the music (guitars got added at the end to beef it up~),
but i must admit it was worth the effort (although the guitar at the end needs
taking down a notch). I was thinking of 'stupid girl' by garbagein terms of
sound (so hence the electroica/ 80's feel i guess).

i certainly menat the 'cappucino' bit, as I'm currently addicted to Costa - a line
about 'burning oyur coffee houses gone' got scrapped at the last minute!

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How come i didnt get an auto-notification on this one? :-)

This is one of your most engaging songs, quite possibly your best one!
Musically, this one has all the elements of a well-produced song. This
has a rocking energy and a very catchy vibe and melodic hook to it.
What catches my attention more than anything is the bold message
that you inject in your compostions. Lots of unflinching political
statement and symbolism in your lyrics, both plainly told and
figuratively.

Overall, it is a very well constructed song that is not formulaic, offers
some interesting bridges and arrangement novelties. The guitar and
percussion/beat are classic 80's British rock with a still refreshing
familiarity to all the elements that made that decade a glorious era, a
time when music was unqualified music.

Awesome work, Steve!



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Oh , I forgot to mention the great voice! Your rendition here carries the very
spirit of this song. A voice of full of conviction and passion that sends forth the
lyrical message with a great emotional force.

---
The lion roars, the eagle soars.

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Firstly - great to hear from you again.
I don't know what happened to the auto-notification - I've moved house and
e-mail addreess - maybe that's messed something up?

Thanks for the very positive feedback. This has been the hardest song to
write, for reasons I'm not really sure of. I started with a basic structure and
chord sequence, but was never really happy with them. In the end , I
simplified as much as possible. The only live guitars were those used in the
pulse/hum in the chorus, which are put through a filter (I don't think you can
tell they ARE guitars). But the song felt a bit lacking, so fake guitar ( 'cause I
can't really play) was added, especially to the chorus.

I think the mix on this is pretty good, mainly 'cause the more stuff I've heard
and read on this site, the more it's encouraged me to get away from preset
EQs and work with real EQs, but I still have a long way to go.

The vocals were done 5 times, then last saturday, bored during the Eurovision
song contest, I banged them all down in 30 mins, but that's sometimes the
way, isn't it? And still using the same £70 mic!
Funnily enought, the song lyric was originally about government control of
the individual, but morphed into a song about personal control of ones self -
there are still a few hangovers from the original though.
Well, I'm yakking on here - many thanks for stopping by Leon, and keep
roaring and soaring.

Steve

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Steve , I listened to this song a few more times trying to admire the subtleties of
your excellent production. With a headphone, the artistry and skill you put into
this song are multiplied as I become more aware of the background strings and
keyboard, which are excellent.

Also, I tried to re-analyze your lyrics, and indeed this song could be interpreted
in more ways than one . When I first read the lyrics, something about it made
me think that it was an internal war within one's self, but there is also a
symbolism that could mean a war of a more global scale. Either way, your song
is cerebral and induces people to think and analyze. It has a profoundness that
separates it from most other songs in this site.

---
The lion roars, the eagle soars.

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It's shocking sometimes what ends up flying under the radar here. This
should be number one this week. It's one of the best Indie Rock songs,
maybe the best Brit Rock song on the site.

Excellent lyrics (the one about your cappuccino hand is a killer)
imaginative production, fabulous instrumentation, all capped off with
an absolutely PERFECT vocal.

I hope you're really proud of this song; you really should be.
Downloaded, faved, big scores. I only wish I'd found it sooner.

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Spookily enough, i was just replying to leon, and your comment appeared, so I
won't yak on, but just say that I really appreciate your comments, and it's made
my Sunday, just before i do something rock n roll like cut the hedge or wash the
car (the chores are calling). Having checked out your stuff LeDeb, I really
appreciate this feedback.
If you ever get the chance, have a listen to 'Summertime', also posted, and let
me know what you think.

Music for my caffeine rush

Steve

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This piece is very well arranged, performed and produced, Steve.

Very tastefully done instrumentation with good dynamic shifts from
lush to elemental. There's a definite tribal chant feel to the melody,
with the electronica for a bed and then the vocals are given a touch of
the blues that complements the lyric.

I might have been tempted to throw in some echoed counter beat tribal
drum solos in certain spots to punctuate the rhythm section... but
that's just me. ;-)

Nice work, man.

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Thanks JA - I get what you say about the tribal chant feel to parts of the vocal -
brings me back to my old Adam and the Ants days.

The drums in the chorus were orginal a straight 4/4beat, with a big crunchy
sound, but that got ditched at the last minute. Interesting point though- I'll
think about a drum break for the next remix.

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lots going on, and it all works perfectly. what a great blend of textures.
especially like the vocal and the great back up. a very clean mix, with
real energy. loved it

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Thanks KtB - usually when I have lots going on in a song, it sounds like mud, so the feedback I've had seems to indicate that I'm going in the right direction here. I usually do the vocals early in the morning - this one was done late on a saturday night - maybe i should stay in more!

Cheers

Steve

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Not much more to be said here than what's already been said. This is the most polished of all your posts. Your efforts and hard work shows.

Cheers.

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Thanks Charlie - i even got some of the lyrics to rhyme this time!

Cheers for posting.

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Great sound, profound lyrics, just good music period.

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Thanks for the comment jmb.
I always find it theraputic to put my problems into songs!

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I really enjoyed this song. Excellent structure, Production, palying, singing
ect. I look forward to hearing more of your work.

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thanks ed - I know that you're fairly new to all of this. Well, i've been writing for
just about 10 months now, and although I can't produce stuff to the standard of
some of the guys on this site, it is getting better. I've had a lot of advice from
people here, and am still learning.

At some stage i'll make the leap from GB to logic, but there's more i need to
understand about GB first.

thanks for stopping by - look forward to hearing more of your music soon.

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That was very well done, Echoroom - Thanks to Leon, I'm making my
way through and listening to everyone's first pick and hopelly,
eventually I'll make it through to everyone's third personal pick - But
this was a nice surprise - You have a great voice - The arrangement on
this was wonderful too - The lyrics, instrumentation and structure, it
was all good - Sorry that I sound so flat and two dimentional here, but
you get the picture... - I'm really glad that I listenend to this - Thanks!
- Dion

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Hey Dion - thanks for stopping by and commenting, but it sounds like you're
in the midst of a marathon listening session! Glad you liked this - it was my
favourite, but I always find that my latest song is my fav (guess you always
think it's your best, otherwise you'd stop working on it!), so I'm currently
smitten with my revamp of Summertime.

Sometimes tracks just flow - this had to be dragged out, but I'm glad that it
finally made it into the daylight.

cheers

Steve



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I enjoyed Revolver too.

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I think it's just the two of us, scratch.
The entire British press gave this scathing reviews, which I think were completely unjustified - i think they just wanted to take Mr Madonna down a peg.
Not only is it Ritchies best movie, i thought it was the best British movie released last year - an existential gangster movie - now , you don't see many of them!

Steve

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English Rock, btw romantic(The Smith) and new moviment!
SUPER!


------------------------

Im not musician�

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Hi schello - i was at college when the smiths came out .... it was a few years after that I finally realised Morrisey had a sense of humour.

I guess this does sound english (even though I'm Irish)... I've been away from home too long!

ta

Steve

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"Free world"? Where? Not on this planet. Not yet anyway.

Exceptional "Brih-ish rawk n' rawl"!

Be well!

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Hey Mike - we are free .... to do as you tell us (B. Hicks). Glad you liked this - it sounds a bit primative,this track - could do with being upgraded in logic, but not enough hours in the day.

Thanks for stopping by, Bro.

Steve

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Nice driving beat. Love the echo call-back vocals... Keep up the good work.

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Thanks LODP - I thought the echo was quite clever when I did it - then i listened to to soem of the other guys at this site!

Great name by the way - am going to check you out ...now!

Steve

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The harmonies are right on.
The guitar sounds got this thing driving nice and hard with the bass just driving on.

I love it when u say or sing War of nerves.
You voice reminds me of another MJer ...moorlandt...
a complement I think.
Your vox is a bit more pop sounding ...maybe its the deep sound you got here...

Love the lyric/ u have a great style

great tune

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Hey tim - thanks for the heads-up about the fan list, i'm terrible about these sorts of things! This song was a bit of a step up for me, and got the best feedback i'd had so far at MJs, so it's a bit special to me. I remember doing loads of crap vocal takes then getting it during the eurovision Song contest (televised cheesy annual song contest)... i also remember this song going through abou 4 iterations before getting it into shape.

Thanks for stopping by Tim!

Steve

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miss this one. really great track. your time spent on it really shows. all of the parts are so well thought and fit together perfectly. did you do this on GB? it almost sounds like a mellotron in there, nice.

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...I used to spend months on tracks, and this went through so many variations. It was all GB2 - not sure what the 'mellotron' was - either a Jam pack sound, or an effected guitar. One of these days I'll re-do this in logic, with real guitar.

Thanks for checking this out

Steve

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