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#590803 04/09/20 02:39 AM
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The idea for this one came from Chris, she sent me a demo with vocal and piano and we developed it from there.

The Beacon

The band:

1189:Bass, Electric, HardRockWaltz Ev 140
372:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Hank Sw 120
1183:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopWaltzGrittyArp Ev 120

Chris did the piano, strings, and Pad and I played the lead guitar parts. I used EZDrummer2 for the drums.

Mixed in Reaper, mastered with Ozone 9.

The Beacon (2020, Christiane Spruit)

Where are we now?
Set our sail
Drifting too far from the shore

Break open sky
Lurk in the night
Steering the boat by sight

Northern wind blows
Cold hand of hope
Howling and creaks in the ropes

Beacons light
Shine on and fight
Don't leave our ship to the night

(Chorus)

Blow boys blow
bring back the ship to the shore
Blow boys blow

Where are we now?
Running aground
Steering the ship by sight

Beacons light,
Shine on we'll fight
Don't leave our ship to the night.

(Chorus)

Also on soundcloud (sound quality not as good) here: https://soundcloud.com/blue-attitude/the-beacon-featuring-chris-spruit

And youtube:



As always, all comments are welcome!

Last edited by BlueAttitude; 04/10/20 09:53 PM. Reason: added youtube link
BlueAttitude #590833 04/09/20 04:56 AM
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Dave & Chris,
An unusual blend of styles - blues rock ballad with a drift towards trad.folk on the chorus
( love that almost sea shanty feel of the "blow boys blow")and very much to my taste!
Those searing guitar breaks are amazing and the drums are nicely subtle- I wish I knew how to create an intro like that.
Simple lyrics with a consistent metaphor, beautifully sung.
One of your best!

Robert

BlueAttitude #590837 04/09/20 06:15 AM
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I like the cinematic celtic folk feeling. The mood of seas is very present in the music: the piano has nice melancholy tone and the drums have nice bouncy rhythm. I can feel the northern wind blowing. Enjoyable guitar playing, the solo guitar melody is very beautiful. Chris's amazing voice on top of that turns this into a small masterpiece which I want to listen to again and again.

Janne


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BlueAttitude #590841 04/09/20 06:28 AM
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Dave / Chris,

The imagery in this song is so vivid. The guitar lines, production, vocals all are top notch. You guys never have a missed moment - the songs always shine.

Excellent work!

Bob

BlueAttitude #590849 04/09/20 07:04 AM
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Loved this song. Piano was excellent. Super vocal and lyric. The chord changes were excellent as well. Guitar was gritty and fit the song perfectly. Loved the tailing harmonics on your solo. Sounded so good on the headphones Really neat picture on the reverberation site as well. One of my favs of yours


Scott Collingwood
https://soundcloud.com/scottt709
https://soundcloud.com/spiritlevel-ca
https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritLevel-ge3hm/
BlueAttitude #590867 04/09/20 08:04 AM
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Thanks for posting this. It is a real pleasure to see other people's work, as I am just starting out creating my own songs, mixing and mastering, etc.

I wanted to comment on the mix, or possibly ask you why you did something. The singer's voice seemed lost in the mix; almost as if some effect had been put on that made it muddy. I had to read the words to figure out what she was saying.

I stayed on to hear the next three Blue Attitude tracks, and the singer was much clearer on those tracks. Being a singer, I want the singer to stand out as much as the beautiful guitar solos!

Forgive me if my ears need cleaning...

Glenn

BlueAttitude #590880 04/09/20 08:55 AM
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Hi Dave and Chris,

Well here is the real runner up on Valantines Way! The beacon, with very nice, mysteriously, sweet, dark, but strong vocals. In that case I don't agree with Glenns' words (post above), or maybe my ears need cleaning as well.
I also enjoyed the rhythm of the drums in it, it really supports the melody. And what a beautiful solo you played till the end of this (much too short) song!
So a lot of compliments and just one complain. I think the both of you must be very proud you achieved this result.
It makes you forget there is a virus outside...

Thanks a for this song,
Hans


Hans Berkhout
(Birchwood)
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130
BlueAttitude #590919 04/09/20 12:20 PM
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Shiver me timbers, what booty have we here? A ghostly sea shanty waltz with some Pink Floydian guitar. It could be a new genre.
Chris, I love your piano work, especially in the earlier part of the piece, and of course your vocals are, as always, on song.
Add in Dave's great guitar work and those beguiling drums and we have a wonderful original work.
Thanks for sharing,
Mike


Mike Garry
BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7.

https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
BlueAttitude #590927 04/09/20 12:46 PM
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WOW this is really good. Chris's vocal is super as is his piano and other instruments.! Dave's guitar is icing on the cake. The backing tracks are perfect.

Great work that you should both be very proud.


I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.

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BlueAttitude #590951 04/09/20 02:37 PM
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Great atmosphere. I liked the lyrics and vocals. Nice sparse instrumentation. Loved the lead guitar parts. Good job to both of you.


My music can be heard at: The Cracks
BlueAttitude #590977 04/09/20 04:32 PM
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Dave / Chris

A truly wonderful piece of music. Excellent in every way. Chris' piano and vocals were excellent.
The melody build up and narrative were superb.

Loved the guitar (great bend at 2.50).

Top notch.

Peter

Robertkc #591020 04/10/20 12:51 AM
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Originally Posted By: Robertkc
Dave & Chris,
An unusual blend of styles - blues rock ballad with a drift towards trad.folk on the chorus
( love that almost sea shanty feel of the "blow boys blow")and very much to my taste!
Those searing guitar breaks are amazing and the drums are nicely subtle- I wish I knew how to create an intro like that.
Simple lyrics with a consistent metaphor, beautifully sung.
One of your best!

Robert


Hi, Robert,

Yes, Chris was going for a Sea Shanty feel with the chorus.

As far as the drums go, there is no way to do an intro like that with BIAB drums AFAIK. I mostly use RealDrums, but for stuff like this EZDrummer2 is the best choice IMHO, very easily done using that tool.

Thanks!

BlueAttitude #591052 04/10/20 03:40 AM
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Great job, Dave & Chris!! Love nautical themes, especially mysterious ones.
"Northern wind blows
Cold hand of hope
Howling and creaks in the ropes"
Piano sounds perfect, and the guitar always shines bright.


Enjoy whatever happens!
marty

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub
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BlueAttitude #591058 04/10/20 03:53 AM
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Great work - sets a really nice vibe, and the theme of the song is unique and attention grabbing too. Thought the mix was stellar as well - it flows really well.

Thanks for sharing smile


Cheers,
Deryk
BlueAttitude #591075 04/10/20 05:59 AM
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Dave & Chris,

Add one more terrific offering from Blue Attitude. If we could turn back the clock, I would not be surprise to hear you guys "got a deal". And we would all wait anxiously for the next record to come out...

Nice everything - as always... piano, bass, DRUMS! (great sound). Chris' usual excellent vocal. Dave's always smoking leads. And the usual solid mix.

On my third listen. (that says it all for me)

fj

BlueAttitude #591128 04/10/20 09:53 AM
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Dave and Chris—

Beautifully done—haunting and powerful. Really sweet vocal, Chris—really sails in the chorus (no pun intended). And some great guitar work as always Dave. Love the tune! Great work!

Best regards,

Deej

BlueAttitude #591136 04/10/20 10:12 AM
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Wow, the BlueAttitude team certainly knows how to deliver.

Refreshingly different, and superbly produced.

There's so much to like about this. The lead guitar provides a really powerful driving feature.


BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
BlueAttitude #591176 04/10/20 01:57 PM
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I listen to a lot of nautical music (old stuff), this was really good. There are a lot of great nautical tunes you guys could do if you wanted, they all are public domain. But whatever you do, it's always first class.


Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
jannesan #591230 04/10/20 09:59 PM
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Originally Posted By: jannesan
I like the cinematic celtic folk feeling. The mood of seas is very present in the music: the piano has nice melancholy tone and the drums have nice bouncy rhythm. I can feel the northern wind blowing. Enjoyable guitar playing, the solo guitar melody is very beautiful. Chris's amazing voice on top of that turns this into a small masterpiece which I want to listen to again and again.

Janne


Very happy you liked this one, thanks, Janne!

jannesan #591296 04/11/20 03:27 AM
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Originally Posted By: jannesan
I like the cinematic celtic folk feeling. The mood of seas is very present in the music: the piano has nice melancholy tone and the drums have nice bouncy rhythm. I can feel the northern wind blowing. Enjoyable guitar playing, the solo guitar melody is very beautiful. Chris's amazing voice on top of that turns this into a small masterpiece which I want to listen to again and again.

Janne


We rarely quote but Janne really nailed it.

This is one of the best builds we've heard in a production...remarkably effective.

"Epic" is over used, admittedly, but this is an epic ballad.

Janice said she was getting very worried about the sailors near the end, i.e., great imagery.

And BlueAttitude never disappoints with guitar and vocal! And Chris's work on her instrumentals
is perfecto for the feel.

Enjoyed the audio and vid...

J&B



Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
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