There's been a lot of talk in a bunch of threads about "the way things used to be".
Or what they are.
Or what they should be.

So here's a song about... stuff...

...regrets? ...maybe....maybe not....

THE WIRE     (new mix uploaded - 5/23/14 7:35)


it's been a while since i've been this way
i've been tied up ..had nothing much to say
i kept to myself...taking it day by day

i know there's talk that i'd given up
a time or two, hell, i thought as much
but i'm still here... just a little out of touch

    there's a lot i'd do different
    if i could do it all again
    a whole lot more i wouldn't do at all
    the best that i can hope for
    is one more chance up on that wire
    i'd walk it like i'm not afraid to fall


i wanted her with all my heart
i can't deny she held up her part
but i came up short... a little off the mark

it's not her fault... she deserved the best
i let her down.. i really must confess
and she turned away... finally had enough, i guess

    there's a lot i'd do different
    if i could do it all again
    a whole lot more i wouldn't do at all
    the best that i can hope for
    is one more chance up on that wire
    i'd walk it like i'm not afraid to fall



The band....

RealTracks in style: ~519:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1164:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CelticReel Ev16 110
RealTracks in song: 1608:Guitar, High-Strung Acoustic, Rhythm Pop16ths Ev16 110
RealTracks in song: 630:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopAmericanDirty Ev 120 (A:arp)
RealTracks in song: 834:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AltCountryMoody Ev 075 (B:arp)
RealTracks in song: 1948:Mandolin, Rhythm PopUpliftingAndy Ev16
RealTracks in song: 1169:Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockMediumBrent Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1273:Guitar, Electric, Soloist PopUplift Ev16 120
RealDrums in Song: PopPromiseEv16^1-a: Snare on 4, HiHat , b: Snare, Open HiHat

The harmonies are me.


Comments of any kind.
Have at it.

floyd

Very nice writing about a tough subject we all have had happen at least once in our lives.

BD is nice and strong and the harm's are very nice.


Be careful what you wish for it's a long way down!



DA...

You always put out a great sounding song. Simple but effective lyrics and excellent vocal. I like the wall-of-guitar sound. How do you get that drum sound?

Floyd,

Very nice job. I like everything about it except one thing... There's something about the way the guitar solo is sitting in the mix... don't know if it's too hot or maybe a little too dry, it's just not sitting as well as everything else is. It could just be me! Other than that I think this is outstanding. The drums sound fantabulous!

Greg

Hi there Floyd,

Cool song, and very nice vocal harmonies. We like the drive in this song. Both soloist tracks work very well, so does the acoustic rhythm guitar.
We haven't tried the High-Strung Acoustic, Rhythm yet, but it's a great addition.

Regards,
R & AM

Hi Floyd. I think the lyrics and the voice are magnificent.
( sticks neck out ). Oooops.
Would like to hear a more intimate / folky / basic country version.
Cheers.

DA - thanks, man... somehow, I knew you would like that kick...


Sonny - Thanks... the kick sound is part RT, part processing. PopPromiseEv16 has a very strong kick to begin with. I hit the entire track with a preset in Studio One designed for a single track drum group (what RealDrums are). That includes a Multiband Dynamic (compressor) and an EQ (fairly standard drums settings). I added a little reverb to it...



Greg - So nice to see you! Where ya been??? Thanks for the suggestion. There was something about the lead that was bugging me. I added some reverb and just uploaded that... if you happen back this way, let me know if that helped... always opened to worthwhile suggestions...

Rob and Anne-Marie - nice of you to drop by... one of the great things about the Showcase is getting ideas from what people are putting into their song. I think this may be the first time I've used the HighStrung... Oh...btw...one of the solo RT tracks, I used just for its holds - they provide the basis of the chorus sound - so it's not used as a solo at all...



Richard - it is interesting that you say that. I did first production of this that was more acoustic - more of a "songwriter production" - I was doing it while the discussion about the "modern Country sound" was going on, so I decided to go that direction....

Perhaps, I'll add a link to the other production (if I still have it)..
So check back later...

New mix sounds sweet!

When ever I have an issue with something not listen to me I use a "LA 76" and we see eye to eye after that.



Keep jammin Bro..



DA...

Nice song, vocals and harmonies. I enjoyed the song and think the new mix tightened things up.

Regards,

Charlie

OK...


Richard, this is for you... and anyone else who might be interested.
I did a "simpler" production of this at first. Fairly standard fair...
Very predictable...

It does show how the same song can be done in different ways to give totally different feels...


THE WIRE - version 1...


..and the "other" band...

RealTracks in style: ~519:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 120
RealTracks in song: ~1677:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1175:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm PopCalypso Ev 100
RealTracks in style: 408:Guitar, Resonator, Background Allis Ev 120
RealDrums in Song: NashvilleBrushesEasyBluegrass: a: Sidestick,

I played an acoustic guitar track...

I really like this one to, very touching and intimate.

it's not her fault... she deserved the best
i let her down.. i really must confess
and she turned away... finally had enough, i guess

I could have sworn I heard the words "I'd say' for "i guess"


Hey it getting late!



DA...

Hi Floyd,

Alan here .. Di's been sleeping for hours!

I listened to both versions and like them equally well. it would depend on the intended audience/project that would sway me one way or the other.

On the full production, the song stopped playing just as the lead was coming in. Reloaded and refreshed, etc., but never could get it to go beyond that point. Can't tell you the time as your "play bar" disappeared, too.

Regardless, what I heard of the full production was great, as was the "simple" singer-songwriter version. You always put up nothing but the very best of material. We always know we're in for a treat when we click onto one of your songs. Kudos on both tracks!

Alan (Di, too!)

Hey Floyd. What a lovely suprise. The simpler version speaks more directly to me. The focus is more on the lyrics, the heartfelt geniune delivery and the phrasing feels more natural to me.

Shirley-Louise likes both versions equally and wants you to come to New Zealand!
Thanks.
Cheers.

floyd, Another beautifully crafted song. I listened yesterday and and I thought the same thing as Greg about the lead. It sits in there now. My vote goes to the full production. I especially like the transition from the holds. You continue to inspire and show us what can be done with these real tracks when in the hands of an expert. Great mix ,choice of instruments,vocals. The arrangement may be the best part of another outstanding creation. Tom

Nice work....

The production on this is really well done. Going from acoustic based to full band and back to acoustic and finally ending with acoustic guitar.

I really like the choice of drums. I've been using the "promise" style tracks quite a bit too since they are not just standard "keep the beat" stuff. I love crossing genre's.

The guitars sound good. Although, the solo did have a few aspects to it that made it not quite set as well as it should have into the mix, as someone else observed as well. Nothing glaringly obvious..... just a subtle thing.

Very good job overall.

"I'd walk it like I'm not afraid to fall" - love that Floyd. Sounds great here.

Josie

I like both versions too. Nice to be able to hear how you added instruments to the original Version 1 arrangement to give it that uptown modern country sound and feel showing that a melody and lyrics this good can work in many musical settings. I can hear a "one man and his guitar" version, and a female version with the appropriate words changed.

P.S. Thanks for the tips about the drums.

Hi Floyd,

I like both versions but prefer the 'full version'. I'd like to quote Tom: Great mix, choice of instruments, vocals. The arrangement may be the best part of another outstanding creation."
You gave me some great listens.

Guenter

Really nice work....again!!! Love the way the instruments work. Love the feel of the song. Love the message and spirit. The one thing I would change is resolving the chorus on the one chord instead of the five. In the second chorus, I think you could sing the last line finishing on the 5 first, and then finish on the one on the repeat of the final phrase. Just a thought. Great work as usual! Take care. Greg

Hi, Floyd !:))


I really hope you´ll get
that other chance.........
I love your tunes, so
wonderfully sung and produced !
This is one of my favorite
Floyd tunes henceforth !:))

Take care
Dani

Hi Floyd.

I listened to the simpler arrangement first (a couple of times in fact). Straight off the bat I must say I think I do prefer the simpler one. The other one is definitely growing on me though.

Interesting to see how the same song with the same melody can come out so different with different arrangements. Take home lesson for me is to be more adventurous with my arrangements.

I really like both versions, but I do prefer the full production over the simple one.

The boys in the shed are already bootlegging this one.

The production on the "electric" version is beyond reproach, but the acoustic version suits the lyrics better to me.

Well done!

Yep, winners!

You can tell how much we enjoy the song because both versions get a thumbs up...from me too. The drums in the original version are fantastic.

Your vocals are righteous, love the lyrics of the chorus Floyd.

DA - thanks for the revisit and the re-eval - appreciate that...

Charlie - thanks for that...

Alan - thanks for the listen... it does, of course, depend on your intent what type instrumentation or feel you give a particular song. And it seems, from the comments, that this one shows that different types of treatment can be appreciated in different ways... hope Di is feeling better...

Richard - I'm glad you "stuck your neck out" - it has been interesting to get feedback on two different versions. Tell Shirley-Louise that when I get to New Zealand, I'm coming to see her!


Tom - thanks for all of that. this one was sort of all about the arrangement - after having done the first version and feeling like I wanted "something different" it was a very conscious effort to lay that one out...


Herb - thanks. glad you like it.


Josie - thanks for the listen. it was all built around that line from the start...

Sonny - thanks for the return trip. it has been fun to see how the two different versions play against each other... it's nice to have a tool (BIAB) that allows you to do that...


Guenter - thanks... appreciate that...


Greg - Thanks for "all the love".... finishing on the 5 was because of where the song began - as more a plaintive songwriter song as opposed to a resolute singer's song - which the bigger production became. Had it started there, it likely would have gone back to the 1...

<my$.02>

Musically, I much prefer the more upbeat version.

Specifically, I liked the strong beat (thanks for telling how you created the sound), the choice of instruments, and I thought the guitar solo you put together sounded like something a guitar player would put to this song. Good job on that! I know you put a lot of effort into crafting those parts.

But I thought the simpler version suited the lyrics better. To me the lyrics came across as the kind of introspective thoughts that one normally ponders when things are quiet.. maybe late in the day when a little tired mournfulness creeps into the thought processes.

The more upbeat version didn't fit the frame of mind *I* would be in if I were thinking thoughts as portrayed by those lyrics.

There is an upbeat aspect to the lyrics in the form of a desire to recreate the past and get it right this time... but it's an unrealized success.. considered, but not fulfilled in the course of the song. A driving beat like that suggests something good happening NOW. REALLY good... testosterone good.

The two versions are different enough to just go ahead and say they're different songs. That way you could keep the simpler song with the reflective lyrics, and for the upbeat song write new lyrics that are dripping with fresh adrenaline and sweat

</my$.02>

Dani - you crack me up! thanks for the listen...


Joanne - thanks for dropping by! It has been interesting to see the different reactions to the two versions...


Bob - you're such a big-production-kind-of-guy!!! So... are they putting BOTH version on???????


Lawrence - thanks for the listen (and the "vote") ...


Scott - appreciate all that... I'm on a drum crusade, ya know...

Pat -

I am quite pleased that you came by for a listen and a comment... for 2 reasons... you are always so perceptive... and you are "to blame" for this...

I was working on the 1st version of this when you started the "songwriting" discussion - which led to discussions about "the current trends" in Country music.

I never really finished that first version (never intended to post it).
I was never satisfied with the sound of the acoustic guitars in it...
As the "current sound" discussion progressed, I decided to switch gears... How would this be done by "the producer" as opposed to how would this be done as a "songwriter's demo". Since almost everything gets that "big" thing applied these days, I went down that path...

And that often happens. If you happen to hear the writer do their version at the Bluebird, it is often a very different song than what ended up on the radio...

And... in fact, I wrote this in "one of those moments" that you describe...

"...the kind of introspective thoughts that one normally ponders when things are quiet.. maybe late in the day when a little tired mournfulness creeps into the thought processes."

It started looking back on something very specific that I "would have done different if I could do it all again". And it had that "pensive, mournful" attitude to it. I turned it into a "lost love" song, because, in the end, everything has to be about love....

So... Thanks! for all of that!... I enjoyed the journey (and I may just try out the idea of writing a new lyric to the bigger production...)

floyd

Hey Floyd.

After all that's been said, do you really need me to wade in at the end? Well, you got it anyway!

Generally great, as usual. Listened to both versions and definitely came down on the side of those who preferred the full backing. Everything about the production and performance is polished and professional, as are all your tracks these days and the lyrics are excellent.

So why only "generally" great? One or two people picked up on the solo - Gregg and Herb I think - and that's the only aspect which I thought was suspect. For me, it wasn't so much the reverb, or the guitar sound, as the phrasing. Whilst I've become a great fan of RTs recently, I think one has to be very careful that solos, particularly guitar, don't have phrasing which sounds unnatural for the instrument. In this case I found it hard to imagine anyone playing that solo. It still had the feel of several solos spliced together to fit the chords and some of the transitions appeared a bit uneasy.

It's rare for me to find anything to criticise in your tracks, so I hope you'll forgive me this time!

Still waiting for the Rock Ballad!

ROG.

Floyd,

I think that's considerably better... maybe a little delay (250-300ms) would help as well.

My summer yard-work business is in full swing, so that cuts my songwriting and my BIAB time way back. However...I'll be back in full force come Fall/Winter time.

I'll be checking in periodically just to see what ya all been doing.

Take Care,

Greg

well, since you weighed in with exactly the opposite opinion as I did, a slight rebuttal seems in order.

I agree that the guitar passage Floyd assembled is not "standard fare"... but that's exactly what I like about it. I've been listening to a couple of bands whose guitar players somehow manage to avoid the standard guitar cliches and play something that fits, yet is different... and it is in that context that I said it sounded like something a guitar player would play... maybe not MOST guitar players.. but I can easily imagine a real guitar player playing that passage.

Floyd,

I hope you already know how much I enjoy all of your songs.. you have it all, everything I could ever aspire to is already firmly in your possession and polished beyond anything I could ever hope to achieve.

But even more than the music itself, I love to hear your thoughts behind the choices you make with each new song.

I can't wait to hear whatever lyrics you appropriate to the upbeat song... I have a feeling that I'll need a chin pad to keep it from getting bruised when it hits the floor

Hey Pat.

It was only an opinion, an alternative view if you wish and was in no way intended as a challenge to your own opinion. It would be a dull world if we all shared the same one. No offence intended.

ROG.

no offense taken!

Rog, you are one of my favorite people on the forum... I didn't take your observations as anything but a differing point of view.. and certainly not as a challenge... BUT...

when I see a diametrically opposing point of view from somebody whose opinion I respect and whose opinions usually line up with mine, it does cause me to step back and reconsider my reasoning.

My followup post was probably just an exercise in insecurity on my part. If that's the dumbest thing I do today, then life is good! Thanks for all the goodwill and musical wisdom you bring to this forum! Please never change!


(sorry for hijacking your thread Floyd... now we resume with the regularly scheduled programming...)

Greg - thanks for the 2nd look - and the delay setting - it's not something that I am familiar with (an acoustic guy...) so that gives me a place to start...

ROG and Pat - I am enjoying this discussion, too (ROG - no need to ever apologize for a critique - I welcome them - and I will let you know if I disagree... and hopefully you can handle that - seems there are those who can't!!!)

There was no obvious choice for the lead part to this - and so, it was a case of "building one" - also adding some Guitar Rig to what BIAB gave me, trying to get it to sit in there... often, what happens in these cases is ... at first I'm not sure if it works - and I keep tweaking and tweaking and... eventually, I think I become accustom to hearing it and it seems "okay"... it becomes familiar through multiple listens... so I guess it could always be debated if "that guy played the right thing"... you know, one of those endless college dorm room debates...or barroom debates...

It could be labeled "innovation"

I will continue to try to smooth it out....

Thanks, guys!

Things we like:

- Stellar lead vocal
- Harmony vocals
- arrangement (BOTH of them!)
- Lyric - particularly what the chorus says
- RT choice
- The "it can all be heard and sits perfectly" mix

Things we would change:

Ok, A LOT of great advice has already been given. I just have a few simple comments.

I really like this song all the way around! It's simple, which I think helps you to relate right away. From writing to lyrics, you just "get it". Don't confuse my use of "simple" as meaning not well crafted. To me, simple is often the hardest thing to do! (I think I may use that as a lyric...thanks for the inspiration!)

Now the part I am the MOST impressed with is, there is a timeless quality about this song. That you can strip it down or add to it shows the base of it is right. I could see this recorded as either classic country, or fit just as well with a current artist. Again this speaks to a well craft simple song!

Thank you so much for sharing this! It's was really great to hear!

hi Floyd jane excellent job well done mixed is fantastic vocal all spot on thanks eric

J&B - thanks, guys! I like your lists!


HearToLearn - appreciate that. Let us hear that song when you finish!


eric - thanks for stopping by....