Thanks folks,
Floyd, I did have a "Motown Exciter" track in parallel with the main vocal, (dry, high passed & compressed to the max), and blended. I've upped it a tiny bit for clarity's sake but am relying on exposure and a 2nd listen for understanding..
I've pulled the guitars down a tiny bit and altered the bass tone a little.
Ron, Yes, they're digital files of Mellotron tapes cut n pasted into the track. It's a song about homicide - possibly "justified" but I found it unpleasant enough to not work with the lyrics in a song for a couple of years after writing them.
Bob, the cochrane stain eh? So long as it's not as unpleasant as Jeff Lynn's sound.
I can't update/edit the O.P. so here's the update.
Darksun 3010
A couple of days later DCuny/David schooled me a little on the benefits of vocal clarity for this song. A bit of synth vocal made the case soundly. David also offered to use Waves - Clarity to clean the vocal. His efforts revealed the vocal very much better treated than I had managed with ReaFir. THAN YOU David.
Here 'tis...
NOV. 2nd David assisted mix

Last edited by rayc; 11/01/23 07:40 PM.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe