Cigarette Man w/APB & Musichead by estellie
Genre: Pop (mainstream)
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Keywords:
cigarette (1), man (34), apb (12), musichead (2), love song (51), lost love (5)
Description:
Well, here's a song I had posted as naked and awkward as a baby bird. This one is the new and much improved version thanks to APB (aka nicotine gum man) doing guitars and ALL production. He has more patience and wisdom than a man should be asked to have ; ) Musichead (aka cigar man) was kind enough to create and play the bass part. Both men were a real joy to get to know and taught me a thing or two about garage band and Scottish single malt whisky. I am grateful. I hope you enjoy!
Lyrics:
Cigarette Man, I want to kiss youbefore I quit again
Mr. Insomnia, I stayed up all night
just to be with you
Jesus Christ, I was nice to you;
be nice to me too
I was yours to keep
if you dared
I was yours to keep
Whether you laugh or cry is not up to me, boy. Do what you need to do
Whether you live or die is out of my hands -
now I understand,
I don't know and I can't guess
I understand I love you no less
Cigarette Man, my clothes still smell like you
smell like last night's smoke
Cigarette Man...I breathe you in
I can't breathe you out...
Hardware:
ibook G4M-audio
MXL mic
and whatever the guys used
Software:
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mvh9591
Ms. Esellie, Alan & Steve, I enjoyed the music and your voice very much. You all did a outstanding job.
I Love It.
Thanks for sharing,
mvh : )
estellie
I love the songs you write for your sons. You're an inspiration. I'm glad you love our little song. Take care,
estella
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*estella
musichead
Alan (apb) and I really thought this young lady had something in this song!!!! As you can hear,,its a basic and fun song. I really enjoyed playing this song. I hope I get a chance to do it again! I used my Fender jazz bass
through my Eden bass head. Im only the bass player on this.. :D
Thanks for letting me in on this Estella and Alan.
Steve
haribo
a lot of impression compressed into your soft, evenly yet expressively sustained vocal... beautiful tone.. empathetic, resonating
i really like the lyric.. the descirptiveness, the senses describe.. hints, personalised symbolics of love..
was very touched to hear this!
thank you for sharing ! ;)
Alannah
... the first time I heard it .... even with the simplicity of the original acoustic guitar ... however - this definitely does it justice to hear it all finished up and polished. I think Estellie has a lovely voice and this tune is very well done. LUV the lyrics .... it is also greatly enhanced by the addition of the backing vocals (by apb I am assuming). Don't you just love it when a collab goes so well.
estellie
I'm glad you thought the collab went well. Yup that's me and alan doing 3-part harmony with myself, ha ha. It was fun.
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*estella
musichead
I was just the bass player
estellie
I loved your voice and contribution to Steve's song. And thank you for liking the original. I was under the impression it stinks compared to this ; )
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*estella
moorlandt
... to redo this track with these two talented musicians. Sounds so much better, which this lovely composition certainly deserves. Brilliant lyrics as well by the way. And your voice is confident and clear. Big bravo from this guy.
- Walter
estellie
a lot Walter. It means a lot to me that you like it (and Thanks for the push in the right direction).
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*estella
what a nice rendition of your early post. You realyb pushed this with Apb and music head. what a difference.
THe old song was good but this shows where your musical writing can go. Great job
Joe Brady
Your vocal seems to get better as the song goes on; really great at the end. Sweet harmonies. Well I gotta go check out more of your stuff.....btw, great song.
apb
.. who edited out the little bridge and made it sound like a Spanishy REM I wonder? er .... ;o)
Thanks Estella for trusting me with having a go at playing producer and trying to let your fine original song shine a bit more and to Steve for enthusiastically throwing in his time, enthusiasm and tickety-boo bass playing too, which really helped things gel together.
I used my usual set-up: bad ears, Yamaha APX-8A acoustic, Rode NT1-A mic- and I didn't strictly do all the production: Estella recorded her excellent vocals herself and helped with the mixing, including ousting "Cher" who popped in at one point and deciding to keep my backing vocal efforts..:o) and Steve wrote and recorded the bass part - he's just the bass player you see hahaha ;o)
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments on our collective efforts, glad you got a kick out of it too: I certainly had lots of fun working on and being a part of this as they are both great and easy to work with- we had some laughs, tears, technical obstacles, tears, more laughs .. the usual .. that's healthy
isn't it? hahaha
I'm certainly up for continuing to help you both as best as I can again as time permits - auch aye ye ken? Talk to you on iChat and Skype soon... I'm off for a hard [earned] drink ..
/Alan aka APB.
The Fritters
This is a super version of this sort of Lucinda Williams type of song, and it really has developed quite nicely from the original version. My only criticism is the male backing vocals on the chorus.They are very well done, but I have a feeling that they don't mesh enough and I have this weird out-of-phase feeling every time they come in. This is such a personal song lyrically that I don't know if they really serve the song best but perhaps if they were mixed a lot lower like they were a ghost to the vocal and made a bit more distant with reverb. It would be a shame to lose such good performances, but it's just something I thought I should mention. It sounds like you really spent a long time on this and I don't mean to sound like I am being overly-critical, it's really pretty great as it is, too. I've listened to it bunches of times already!
apb
.. it's a fair point.... in my defence, the meshlessness
(trying saying that after a few) is mainly due to me recording that backing prior to Estella doing the main vocals - so I agree totally they could be much better in unison/sync - I just offered them up into
the pot as something to play with, I really expected
Estella to drop them if it didn't suit with her preferred phrasing.
Her own backing is panned L and I am in the right, evenly
balanced (opting to do that is why I am louder than I would have liked myself- I still wanted to hear Estella's voice prominently throughout) and all backing vocals are reverbed a fair bit more than main - exactly that distancing thing I was going for.
As to suitability of a male voice in the song, seems very taste oriented - I could well be the "Cigarette man" ;o) lol
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your honest critique/feedback - easy enough to remove me and replace me in the R with a copy of "Estella B.Vox L".
echoroom
... and somewhere to go, for sure. Loved this song, but the guys have done a really great production job on this. Lovely clear guitar, and a sublime chorus - really heartbreaking.
A wonderful collaboration - Estellie, you just keep getting better - i really look forward to what you do next.
Steve
estellie
I always love to hear from you. Somethings are in the works for sure. Take care,
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*estella
jiguma
This version gives the song lots of depth. I really like the production and the performances all around. Jim's comment about the chorus struck me as well - I'm not sure if it's Alan's vocal or the "Spanish" guitars which create the "out of phase" feel, or maybe a combination of both. Estella, you have a really interesting voice, and this shows it off well.
Neil
VicDiesel
Your vocals showed potential in the previous version, and that potential has now been realized. The backing track suits your vocals very well. Overall a very nice song.
Eh, what happens in that chorus? Are you all deliberately singing out of sync? It could be a cool effect, but it doesn't really fit the rest of the song. Or maybe it's that guitar in the far right channel, the one with the galloping rhythm. It sounds a tad disjointed. But that's nitpicking.
springclock
really great song.....really great dead pan vocals on this.....wonderful playing......smashing harmonies.....good structure.....great execution....now, I would like to hear her sing something amped up.....I think you'd get that super-cool Kristen Hersh sound......but this is a great song....every thing is in it's place and it moves along nicely.....great collab!!!! now increase the Flash Gordon noise and put more science stuff around.......peace....Ian
musichead
You may just hear that...Good idea!!!
SecaMode
Estella, you sound great on this! Lovely voice, lush guitars, this is a sure hit! Enjoyed listening. I really like the back up vocals, this really is quite a production.
estellie
I had a lot of help, ha ha. I'm glad you liked it.
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*estella
Einarus
...I just love it.
Especially the vocal harmonies and that "Triddly" guitar. (Triddly is a word I just made up - I think it kinda fits the thing I'm describing.)
The lyrics are very nice and the overall feel of the song is very appealing.
A very nice post, indeed!
Kudos to all of you!
-Einar S.
apb
.. glad you really like it and even more so because you
have just officially added to my arsenal of made up words to
describe sounds. I like that: "triddly": a twiddly sound but containing a pattern in three's (hence the tri) .. perfect. All in favour of adding "triddly" officially to the MJ English language say "auch aye!" - motion carried ..lol...I said "arsenal" .. now that's a funny word :o)
Slotogenic
I love everything about this. I love your voice, I love the guitars and I love the backing vocals. A real gem. Congrats to everyone who participated!
estellie
I'm such a big fan of yours, especially your more experimental songs. I'm really pleased that you love it.
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*estella
that was totally different and extremely GOOD! i loved the way the song developed. the rich layers of guitar were a pleasure to listen to. but estella's vocal unfolding the story was the icing on the yummy cake. the unusual lyrics caught my ear and wouldn't let go. i have to say i LIKED the male harmony - it all came together superbly for me. EXCELLENT! anne
estellie
I enjoyed your comment very much! Thank you. I love being compared to yummy cake. And who doesn't want to be U-NEEK? Well, thanks very much. I really enjoyed your recent collabs, too. They are my cup of tea.
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*estella
pengui
Love the acoustic tone, sounds breathy, nice and open. I like your voice a lot. Innocent. Reminds me of this band called Loreli from the early 90's.
estellie
Thanks for stopping by! Haven't heard of Loreli; I'll check it out though.
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*estella
j2morrow
Much improved. Did you re-sing this? Sounds more confident and assured and I don't think it's just due to APB and Musichead's collboration, although they've done a terrific job. I imagine this version is very close to what you heard in your head when you wrote it, right? That's one of the great things about this place, being able to collaborate with some terrific people you'd never meet otherwise.
Anyway, congratulations on such a fine song. I hate cigarettes but I love this song.
estellie
Thanks for listening to both versions. I can't say I imagined it quite as good as this, so I'm really happy to have met Alan and Steve. I did re-do the vocals. I found myself singing to match or hide my mistakes in the guitars for the first one, and what singer wants to do that? This was lots more fun. I love this place!
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*estella
musichead
Thanks...for letting me help out.. I was just the bass player,,haha
Great song & vocals, Your voice sorta reminds me of one of my favs, Hope Sandoval :D
estellie
Thanks for the big compliment. I looked up Hope Sandoval, and I really like her. Reminds me of the singer from Mazzy Star. Take care,
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*estella
She IS the singer from Mazzy Star!!! :D
estellie
That is priceless....
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*estella
eleveneyes
Wasn't there a guy on X-files who they called cigarette man? or was it cancer man? I forget, anyway.....Cigarette man obviously gets around. I know many who have tangoed with tobacco, caressed the cancer stick, felt the filter between their lips and sucked cigarette man until he was done. Enjoyed this piece alot. I think I'll have another listen....while i have a cigarette!
estellie
x-files, ay? he does get around! I never saw the show, so I can't answer your question, but I'm glad you listened : )
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*estella
DOCTORBIZARRE
Wow you are a real good singer! I love the flavor of your voice. So perfect and the music is so well done. Love the backups! So full sounding!
DOCTORBIZARRE
I would say scrap the original version of this! This version smokes!
estellie
Ha Ha OK. The other version will be gone soon actually....but I love your comments. So far, the songs are tasty and sultry. Thanks for the compliments on my singing, and I"m sure the guys will appreciate you liking their version much better than mine ; ) Thanks!
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*estella
five_extra_arms
After hearing both versions (in order of existence) I found the first version to be a really nice song with a few minor mixing issues. My untrained extra ears were standing straight out and jiggling when I heard the second version!
Praises to all parties involved, but I am most impressed with how you took the feedback and worked out the magic. This song is really rather magical.
estellie
hey, your ears jiggle, too? lol
yeah, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I first heard the new backing alan and steve had created.
anyway, thank you for listening to both versions and saying such nice things about me!
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*estella
five_extra_arms
Make that a Jack-o-lantern!
ktb
Its awesome to hear the original and then this re-mix. Kudo's to you and everyone else for building on your fabulous original track. The instrumental bed is certainly more muscular in this, but it doesn't overshadow your wonderful soulful voice. Which, btw, sounds as if you re-did that as well. Its much more centered and up front, or maybe thats the mix. Great feel through out
estellie
thanks for the compliements...I did redo the vocals, which apb mixed into the song. thanks for coming back to listen to this new version!
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*estella
bronco
They definitely brought out the promise in this song! Wish these guys produced me. Great job by everyone! Much stronger vocal estellie! Way to go!
estellie
Thank you very much! I'm sure the guys are very flattered.
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*estella
musichead
Thanks a ton.. Its been great jamming with Estella.
Three Cat Clem
Like this very much. Pure.
estellie
what a name. I knew a guy who wrote all his poems about a guy named Clem. Strange, ay?
can't believe I hadn't seen this comment before, but I'm glad you stopped by. I appreciate the compliments a lot.
Peace
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*estella
chinaman2
great collab
estellie
Glad to hear you liked it.
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*estella
E-Frame Wrecker
Its nice to have both the original demo and the collaboration. I personally can appreciate the flow and continuity of the original that is lost when you slice and dice in many produced songs. (including mine) This song is another testament to the what is possible with a community such as this.
estellie
Thanks very much for your comments. I know exactly what you mean about losing something from the original, but I think we try again hoping something is gained, too.
Thanks for stopping by!
BossHook
on a recommendation from Trillian. This is a great tune and your harmonies when you open it up are great.
Dj French Toast
Little volume on this one ....Just a wonderful just at a little higher level :)Oh yeah just heard the male backing ....nice . Good remake . nicely done on everyones part .
Toast