Been listening to Rodney crowell,willie etc.good ole time country ,.I sat down and this came up.
please feel free to comment

https://soundcloud.com/brad-stevens-uk/what-have-i-learnt-1

The Band


RealTracks in style: 1825:Bass, Electric, PopModernGrooveHeld Ev16 075
RealTracks in style: 2542:Pedal Steel, Background ModernBalladAtmosphere Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 2552:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Songwriter16ths Ev16 075
RealTracks in style: 2553:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Songwriter16thsHigh Ev16 075
RealTracks in song: ~2051:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 085
RealTracks in song: ~409:Fiddle, Background George Ev 085
RealDrums in Song: NashvilleBrushesBalladPushEv16: a: Sidestick, Brushes b: Brushes

*******************


ID LOVE EM THEN ID LEAVE EM
BY EARLY MORNING LIGHT
PULL ON THOSE WINGED TIPPED BOOTS
AND RIDE ON OUT OF SIGHT
HEAD OUT TO THE HIGHWAY
WIND BLOWING THROUGH MY HAIR
NEVER LOOKING BACK NEVER HAD A CARE

PROMISES ID BROKEN
AND MANY HEARTS THATS TRUE
PLAYING JUST A STUPID GAME
THE ONLY ONE I KNEW
ON ONE SIDE THERES AN ANGEL
ON THE OTHER DARK DESPAIR
FIGHTING WITH MY DEMONS
AND NOT GETTING ANYWHERE


WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
IN ALL THIS TIME
LOVE IS CRUEL LOVE IS BLIND
WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
IM JUST A FOOL
MY HEART WILL NEVER BE TRUE


FROM TOWN TO TOWN ID WANDER
JUST BUMMING HERE AND THERE
WEST COAST TO THE GEORGIA PINES
BARS AND COUNTY FAIRS
IM RUNNING OUT HIGHWAY
AND RUNNING OUT OF TIME
SLOWLY LOSING ALL MY HOPE
AND MY SENSE OF PRIDE

TIME NOW ITS A SLIPPING
LIKE WATER FROM MY HAND
CATCHING UP TO ME A SINNER ONCE AGAIN
IM COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS
AND THE HURT I LEFT BEHIND
WAITING ON MY LAST GOODBYE


WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
IN ALL THIS TIME
LOVE IS CRUEL LOVE IS BLIND
WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
IM JUST A FOOL
MY HEART WILL NEVER BE TRUE
MY HEART WILL NEVER BE TRUE

BRIDGE

IVE DRANK AWAY MY DEMONS
IVE SEEN MY SHARE OF LIFE
WATCHED SINNERS GO FREE
IVE LOVED AND LOST FAR TOO MANY TIMES
YOU SEE ITS EASY WHEN YOUR ME

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
IN ALL THIS TIME
LOVE IS CRUEL LOVE IS BLIND
WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
IM JUST A FOOL
MY HEART WILL NEVER BE TRUE
MY HEART WILL NEVER BE TRUE

@Spender2018

Rodney Crowell is one of my favorite country writers.

Nice song. I like it.

The mix could use some work. Mainly with the vocals. Your vox is good, but it really becomes distracting hearing those obviously doubled tracks. I liked the part at 2:33 where it was just one vocal track. Personally, I'd remix it with just that one main vocal.

I'm not telling you anything that I don't do myself. I'm in the process of final mixing a song where I took the time to record 5 vocal takes....one main lead, 2 harmony and 2 doubles. In the last few sessions, I have muted and moved the doubles to the bottom which is the last step before deleting them totally, But, yeah, I pulled them out because they took away from the mix.

See what everyone else thinks. All told, I like the song but it's not finished yet from the mixing POV. IMHO.

cheers herb ill give it a go . I agree its been a nightmare to mix
thanks john

A nice, thoughtful write, John.

A good vocal on this. The mix is sounding good (you must have removed the extra vocals that Herb mentioned?)

Lovely tune Brad. Super vocal. Acoustic was very nice. Well done.

Brad, there's a lot I like about this song, and only a few complaints.

Great title, catchy chorus. Good lyrics, pleasant vocal.

I've got a few quibbles about the arrangement and mix... But then the final chorus comes around, and it doesn't really matter, because it's a great chorus and it brings the song home good and proper.

It might be nice to have some more vocals on it, but I'd take Guitarhacker's advice any day over mine.

I enjoyed the song!

Hi John,

I enjoyed this. The write, the arrangement and your performance complement one another really well and each component adds texture to the ambience of self-reflection and self-honesty. It's a really nice song you've composed.

Also, since you asked for comments, here are some thoughts that occurred to me as I listened. Please feel free to ignore them.

I read where you said that you were finding mixing this a bit of a challenge. For what it's worth, I found myself wondering if part of this might be because you are pushing the limits of the Realtracks you've used. I notice that you have utilised RTs optimised for tempos 65, 75 and 85 bpm while the tempo of your song feels like it's more around 100 bpm. Have you tried using RTs designed in the 90 to 115 bpm range? These might add instrumental clarity that makes mixing a little easier. I also found the drums very busy but couldn't work out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

This is definitely a song that's worth working on. It's got everything going for it.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Floyd ,thanks for the kind words.i did indeed take herbs advice and remove the backing vocals,its an improvement .the mix is clearer and I lowered the drums a little.glad you enjoyed it
cheers john

Wow - this is beautiful. It is so texturally pleasing on the ears, and every aspect of this song compliments the others. I love the chord progression, I love the gentle shuffling percussion, and I love your remorseful and intense vocal performance. This is a very strong ode to that classic old school country sound.

You nailed this - thanks so much for sharing

"FROM TOWN TO TOWN ID WANDER
JUST BUMMING HERE AND THERE
WEST COAST TO THE GEORGIA PINES
BARS AND COUNTY FAIRS
IM RUNNING OUT HIGHWAY
AND RUNNING OUT OF TIME
SLOWLY LOSING ALL MY HOPE
AND MY SENSE OF PRIDE"

Nice!

We enjoyed it.

BTW, we've been Crowell fans since his heyday. A great catalog of work.

J&B

A lovely song Brad and beautifully sung, you have a nice timbre to your voice.
John

I agree with the above. Great job Brad. My fav or yours so far.

Thanks sundance appreciate the kind words
cheers Brad