When I saw the title, I didn't anticpate the subject of the song at all. It's a really strong metaphor in a lot of different ways. The lyrics are really great, especially these lines:

A soldiers coming back
As she puts on her wedding gown
And though we once were close
We both know it ends

I would love to have written that!

As far as the mix goes, I think the guitars are competing with each other too much. It was actually a little difficult for me to make out the acoustic guitar part and it seems that the electric is drowning it out a bit. Without knowing what you've already tried, I think the first thing I'd try if it were me mixing is to do a little frequency cutting in each of the guitar tracks, just to make a little more room. The other thing that strikes me is that the voice might be better if the sound were a little brighter.

Dig the guitar solo, very much.

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I'm so glad you mentioned the title. I was quite proud of myself when I came up with it. Chris wrote some great lyrics, as usual. He wrote those in about 10 minutes. Amazing. Thanks for the comments on the mix, I need to learn some more about EQ and guitars, it seems to be where I get stuck lately. When you going to stop by and sing a song with us? :)

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Guys - really like this track, although guess I'm biased. It has a similar sound to 'come with smiles', which i like - feels like your getting a cohesive sound together. The vocals remind me a bit of Tom Petty, which I really like - there's a nice attitude in the delivery.

I like the guitar sounds, but they sound like they're panned to the same side, and therefore competing. I agree with Lisa - probably try cutting the ferquencies to try and seperate them. Love the bass on this, really drives the track, and of course, another great solo ... just thought, sounds a little like Cracker.

Structurally, i'll need to chew on this - I tend to write very definite verses and choruses - this is less defined, and I think it would benefit from having more definition in the structure.

Hope this helps ... will listen some more and give it some more thought.

Steve

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It's always a constant pull between me and Chris on structure. I get really bored with standard structure and lengths (verse chorus verse or 4 of this riff than four of this riff). I tend to be more about distruction and he tends to be more about order when it comes to song structure. This song was kinda problamatic due to the fact it had no pre-chorus, so I had to improvise to give the vocals some room to breathe.

I need to work on mixing guitars better. I got really good signals this time around, but need to learn more about layering and panning them in a mix. I think part of this is cause I don't have a stereo monitoring set-up. Sigh, more equipment to buy.

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.... i think you're starting to get a definite 'sound', which i really like.

When you sent me 'smiles', I really struggled with the structure .... initially I had nothing for the 'Every night ...' bit, and thought of that as just an instrumental break ... i now think of it as the chorus .... i think you write interesting structures, which although not immediate, give the tracks a bit more depth (my structures are always pretty basic).

I am no expert, but I'd be happy to have a look at the mix of this if you want, either just in GB3, or if you get the Logic express disc and can install it, in there.

I'm trying again today to send one of my tracks .... hopefully it may arrive in about 10 hours!

Steve

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Nice laidback feel and great bass guitar, love that run the bassist does totally beautifies the verse, nice words and vocals, silky song!

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Thanks for noticing that little run. I was quite happy with it, thought it really added some character to a line that could be quite repetitive.

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3HSW

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I like the mode to this song. Its got a bit of a suspence thing to it - like youre hanging in mid air with the tune. Steve asked me to drop by to comment on the mix. The tune; guitarwork is pretty much untouchable and I reckon the whole structure/composition works really well. Vocals and lyrics are fab. The bass is your best friend in this one.

On the production; It does need some work. Overall it sounds a little close for me. All the instruments are on the same level and are competing with each other a bit. You need a bit more contrast.

First off the acoustic needs to be pulled back a bit by adding a bit of reverb (dont be shy - my acoustic often gets a good bit). Its also a bit treble'ie. Also a nice thing for acoustics is duplicate the tracks and pan one totally right and the other left.

On the vocals; they need to be lifted away from the intruments level. I normally duplicate my vocal track. I sometimes sing it twice and use both tracks (dont pan) and add different effects to each. Reverb is a must for vocals also (in my opinion).

The drums sound great with the bass so its really just finding a harmony between the guitars and the vocals and this would sound way better.

Look, its a fab tune so dont over work it. The best thing to do is to try a few different approached and if it gets too much just leave it for a bit and when you come back with fresh ears the answers will come (oooooo scary).

Hope that helps!

Gav



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Great advice, that is definitely what I"m looking for. My weakness is really mixing guitars (I'm a bass player, what can i say :) Anyway, the adding reverb to keep the acoustic presence good, but volume lower is a good idea. I need to get into stereo mixing more as well.

I did duplicate the vocal levels and had them higher, but he was pretty breathy on the mic causing a lot of popping, so i eased up a little so it was abrasive. But I do need to mix vocals higher.

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3HSW

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.... nothing much to add on guitars as I'd take Gavs comments, only other thing I'd add is that in headphones, can't tell how the guitars are panned ... a bit more panning would help seperate them. Structure-wise, if the 'A soldiers coming back' is the chorus, I think it could be emphasised more, and you don't bring it in until the end - although it's used instrumentally after the first couple of verses. personally, i'd make the first-time round this a 'vocal chorus' as well, to help structure it. gotta say, this is really growing on me Rich.

Hope this is some help

Steve

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Funny you said that. This song has really grown on me. At first I was shaky on it, but the tense feel of it, just makes it more powerful. I originally had the vocals in on the first chorus progression part, but it really seemed the song had too many repeating choruses. It lost its impact, so I took it out of the first time so it just came twice. We should have recorded two different chorus sections, with different words, but alas, time ran our.

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3HSW

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immediately from the guitar intro. Nice vibe throughout. Really like your guitar playing. Nice transition on the part that starts with... "A soldiers coming back..."
Kudos to all involved.

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I agree, Chris and Mike really nailed the guitar playing on this one.

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3HSW

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