PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Kiss me Slowly with Guenter and Marion Leibbrant

Hello All

I am sure you are all getting very bored of this but this is (probably) the last song for the album.

This song was selected by friend of mine, Marion, who is a wonderful vocalist and performer. I met Marion on a song writing course at the end of 2013.

After Guenter did such a wonderful job with "Its Time (the Last Farewell)" I asked him if he wanted to mix this one.
I also did a mix of the song, which is more like my original mix, so that Marion had a couple of options to chose from.

Guenter and I would love to hear from you guys which one you would choose for the album and why.

Your input is much appreciated.

Kiss me Slowly with Marion Leibbrant (my mix)

Kiss me Slolwy with Marion Leibbrant (Guenters mix)

Hello Josie,

Isn't this a fine project! Another fine song.
We got to say we prefer version A. The folky,country arrangement really suits the song.

Rob and Anne-Marie

I prefer mix A too but it's not a runaway. Guenter's mix on the vocals were better as well as his build up as the song progressed. However, the bass seemed too busy for the song in mix B.

Having heard the original, your mix seemed to retain some of the familiarity of the original to me and even though you staggered instruments entering the song along the way, the song did not seem to build as a result. Maybe you should play with having orchestration begin earlier.

A similar style to your mix is played a lot on our local radio and those songs use horns a lot. Your chord progression is common in this area and trumpet/sax combo's are heard in nearly all the songs. Check out Josie's (Sundance) User Forum post from Jan. 2013 - "She's in Love" for a sample of the horn sound.

I like the song and either version works fine other than being contrasted against each other.

Charlie

Dear Jo !

Wonderful song and vocals !
I loved everything about
this production !:))


Cheers
Dani

There's a lot to like about both mixes and that
is helped by it being a good song to start with.

I think the choice would be based not on which
is "right" or "best" but rather on what you want
the total package to feel like.

"A" sounds like a folky ballad.

"B" sounds like a light rock ballad.

Personally I'm inclined toward the light rock sound.
But Janice's take may be different. We'll see!

Hard to go wrong either way and I enjoyed
the listens.

Bud

Just to make the decision harder, I'm going to have to say B. Both mixes are excellent. A is more your style but I think B is really nice (Guenter is the remix master) and I think it will add variety to the project. Both are very nice! Take care. Greg

Joanne...

Your mix is excellent. One of your best ever I think. Nice instrumentation, good balance, crisp and clear. The vocal with the harmonies got a little hot a couple of times (not by much). It is, however, a "dated" sound - pure 50's... Very well done - if you want that sound - but dated, nonetheless... in that musical bed, the vocal (and harmonies) become more a part of the production than the star of the show. It was a hallmark of that style. It was always tough for a vocal to rise above that cadence...

Guenter's production/mix gives you a "current" sound. The song and the vocal are more "the star" - it has a "sexiness" that the other does not (cannot by its nature). When she sings "kiss me slowly" it sounds like she really wants to be kissed. I never got that feeling with the 50's style. The guitar solo adds to the sexiness of the song - smoldering (I'd like to know what RT it is). The instrumentation causes the vocal to ooze feeling. I kept comparing the two at different spots to see if they were the same vocal...

So... my vote would definitely be Guenter's. For the feeling that it evokes. Your production/mix is beautiful - so if that were your choice, it certainly is not a wrong choice...

floyd

Hi Floyd,

in my opinion you nailed it.
Here is what I wrote Joanne to explain my decision:
"The song reminded me too much of Donna by Ritchie Valens
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMcHbh6HBDk)
and hundreds of songs from the late 50s and early 60s which used the same chord pattern and rhythm.
So I used some Maj7 to jazz it up a little and got rid of the 6/8 measure."
Here is the lead: RT1168_Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockBalladBrent Ev 065

Guenter

I think, personally, either mix would be a good one. Unlike the song we worked on together which was very similar, there is a WIDE disparity between these 2 versions. Choosing which one will come down more to a matter of taste. Do you prefer the 50's retro sound or the smooth sexy sound.




Mix A:
this has a dated 50's sound. However the groove is good. The feel "fits like a glove".
IMHO, the vocals could come up a bit overall because I think they are a few dB low in the mix.
I thought the bgvh were a bit loud but I think that you like it that way. As Floyd pointed out, that was par for the course in the 50's and 60's style music this represents.
the guitar solo needs to be lowered significantly. It's a good solo and fits well, but it's too loud in relation to the mix.
Pay attention to the transitions. for example, at the end of the guitar solo, the singer and solo are happening at the same time. That's not good. They're stepping on each other. The listener is processing the ending to the solo which is expected at that point, and suddenly, before they are expecting it, the singer starts and they miss that magic that should be there. Edit the guitar solo so that it clearly is ended BEFORE the singer hits her first notes. Make those transitions clean and clear. A few seconds of break between the parts is ideal. With a definite ending and a break there's the expectation that the singer should be coming in...and there she is...right on time as expected. Details matter. I would edit the solo to stop on the high note before she comes in..... edit or envelope the notes after the high one and it works well. The problem in that edit is ending the note properly. Cut short, it sounds like a bad edit.... that's where it takes creativity and thought to end it so it sounds natural. I usually go hunting for that same note near the end of the song and copy/paste it in for the edit.... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Also a re-render of the track will produce DIFFERENT notes..... my solo on The Best Christmas is comped from 5 renderings of the same track. All depends on how much work you're willing to do to get it "right".

Mix A needs some simple fixes, mostly related to levels and perhaps a bit of EQ to brighten the vox at the very beginning of the song and some judicious editing or envelopes. The vox sound a bit muffled when she starts singing.... but seems to clear up as the song moves along.


Mix B:
I don't like the groove or the feel of this one. The bass (especially) and drums made this version too busy for the soft smooth sexy feeling this song should have. I would spend some time trying other bass parts to find one that fits the feel and still maintains a sweet groove for this song. I currently think the bass part and to some degree, the drums are the main issues with this version.
vocals are well done. good eq, nice levels for the lead and the bgvh. These are the best part of this mix.
nice guitar tone on the lead/solo and the fills. Keep this guitar tone into the final mix.
The clean phased guitar is cool but I think I might would lower it a bit...a few dB at most. AND....look at using a string pad or a nice sampled string section with cello's, violins, etc. Doing that, I feel, would free you to use the clean guitar more like spice as opposed the main ingredient. This version would really benefit from a sweet string section rendered from a high quality sampled VST.



Personal opinion: I would favor the B mix simply due to it's NOT having a 50's groove. That said, it's also the version that needs the biggest re-working to get where it should be. If time is an issue, the A mix is the closest to being ready to go with a few minor tweeks to levels and EQ as I already mentioned above.

Good song.

Hello, very beautiful song Josie!

Beautiful song! I like both mixes, but like Floyd said, Guenter's does give it a more current feel. Either one is good though. Herb does have some good suggestions.

Steve

Guenter's version for the win.

But they're both very good.

They are both nice. I can picture one during cocktail hour, and the second during the dance set. So, for me it would depend, like someone else suggested, on how it fits in or compliments the rest of your songs. Very nice performance either way.

This has a early seventies feel.
Thanks for sharing.
Great song great mix.
Rob

I like both mixes, but I am leaning towards Guenter's. I agree with Herb and Charlie, the bass is too busy. Other than that I like the more modern sound. Great vocals and another great song for your standout project. Tom

Hi Rob and and Marie – Thanks for listening. So glad this project is nearing an end! But it has been great fun and a learning experience to say the least.

Charlie – Thank you very much for your detailed response. We appreciate it.

Dani – Thanks for popping in and leaving your nice comments.

Hi Janice and Bud
You said
“I think the choice would be based not on which” is "right" or "best" but rather on what you want the total package to feel like” and I think you are spot on. I think mix B is going to be a better choice for the album because it is so different from my version and this project has wielded such diverse compositions. I do think it is the variety of the album that is going to be attractive.

Greg – Thanks. And yes, as explained above, I see your point.

Floyd – Thank you so much for your detailed response

Guenter – Thanks for this and THANK YOU for the hard work you put in to making this song come out so nicely.

Herb – Thank you so much for taking the time to comment in such detail about both the mixes. This certainly a huge learning curve for me. I learn such a huge amount on every song I mix.
It looks like we are all leaning to Guenter’s mix.

PRADDON – Thank you! You are most kind.

Steve – Nice to hear from you again.

David – It looks like that one is the favourite. Thanks

Patrick, Rob and Tommy – Thank you for taking the time to listen to both versions and comment. It has been a most useful exercise.

Josie,
Great song and both mixes are wonderful. I suppose it comes down to the sound of the rest of album. I personally like big production of mix B
SD

I think it's so cool that you have two mixes! I heard that first one and REALLY liked it. Then I heard the second one and REALLY liked it! ha! Big help there, right?

One thing I am curious about, the first one the harmonies don't seem as smooth as the second. Where they done differently, or just mixed differently, or...am I just off?

For the first mix, given the strong vibrato, I would recommend singing the lead a second time with no vibrato at all. Then use that track to generate the harmonies, leaving the second lead out altogether. It may give you a smoother result

Moving on, this is a cool song! I could see someone like KT Lang wanting to do this. It's just such a great feel.

Thanks for the share!

Joanne and Guenter,

Both versions are good!

I would not be able to choose as they almost sound like 2 different songs, beautiful write.

My collab now sticks out like a sore thumb

good stuff

Alyn