Tryin'

Tryin’ was one of our earliest co-writes with floyd. Five years ago he used my lyric as a template for teaching the two of us some of the songwriting techniques he had learned over the years. What was to be a bit of a learning exercise became a real musical journey for us as he also suggested the strings, developed the melody, transformed the lyric and sang harmony. Most flattering was that he recorded a guy version of the song

The forum was much smaller then and we thought newer folks might like to hear the song so we undertook a complete re-mix that consisted of all new effects on each track and a new mastering chain. We also did considerable work comping new versions of the fiddle and cello track. We doubled the vocal track with new effects to get a bit more presence as it was originally with a USB mic into GarageBand. And floyd offered some great mix counsel.

So huge thanks to floyd for then and now and thanks to those who take the time to listen and comment. We appreciate you!
Lyrics are on the SC page.

The techie stuff

Janice: lead vocal (original track doubled and stacked with differing Nectar 2 custom settings). Recorded via Blue USB mic into GarageBand.

floyd: harmony vocal / whatever the man did

Mandolin: composite of multiple generations of RTs 1875/2033 / Waves CLA Guitar

Guitar: RT 1814 / Waves CLA Unplugged

Cello: composite of multiple generations of RT 1856 / Logic Direction Mixer / Neutron 2 / EMT 140 Plate Reverb simulation

Fiddle: RT 1760 / Waves CLA Unplugged

Mix: Logic Pro X
Mastering: Waves Multi-Band Compressor (LinMB) / Ozone 8 Maximizer (limiter)

Janice, Bud & floyd

Well that was simply gorgeous.
Where to start - The vocals and harmony were simply top class (as expected - your voices mesh so well),
beautiful melody, a nice set of lyrics and a wonderful mix. The mandolin was lovely, and all the band sounds great and the overall sound and production was superb.
Master craftsmen at work.

Peter

Great song, great sound, great singer(s). Tasteful and tasty instrumentation and fills. Production in the goldilocks zone, to my ears. Very, very nice.

Peter, those kind remarks are much appreciated. Makes us feel like the revisit was a worthwhile project. Thank you!

J&B

The two voices sound perfect together.
Sweet song and sweet arrangement.

Loving it here - everything about this is so beautifully done.

Thanks for the repost, I was here back then but wasn't very active so missed it the first time.

First of all a very good song.

And man, those vocals sound fabulous! Two great singers of course, but the vocal treatment is superb. Are you using a bit more reverb than you normally do? I couldn't imagine them possibly sounding better, well done.

Killer job on the production and mix, one of your best IMHO.

Thank you! This was a fun project then and now. Glad you liked it!

J&B

That`s such a good melody! Janice & Floyd`s voices are both very " present" so whatever you did on the vocal processing is just right.
I enjoyed everything about this... the combination of cello with country fiddle is unusual and you made it work.
Another gem well worth the new shine you`ve all given it!

Robert

Thanks Ray! They have blended well since day one.

Bud

Wow, this is a very nice piece of music. Wonderful vocals - and the mixing of the music is outstanding good.

Really, really enjoyed this!

Will

Gorgeous song guys, top pro vocals!
Those multiple takes of the mandolin surely worked out!

Rob

Great to hear from you! Thanks for the nice words.

J&B

Thanks Dave. I doubled the track and stacked the two. The top track has my usual amount of reverb while the bottom track amongst other things (one being a little "tape" saturation) adds a bit of delay. Something I've been experimenting with this year. All is added via Nectar 2.

Very glad you liked the production!!

J&B

Fantastic, so nice to hear a perfect arrangement/mix, so simple but still very lush and the cello is distinguishable & nicely panned, something to chase after. Superb vocals. Has modern Irish folk feeling, reminds me of the Corrs.

Janne

Another very nice song from you folks! A tip of the hat to everyone involved! Such a beautiful sound with crystal clear audio quality which is something you always seem to accomplish great performances also! Thanks, T

Loved your lyric idea, using the idea of trying, so imaginative, and common to everyone...and how you used the repeat of "I'm tryin'" melodically, very, very nice.

I noticed how you kept the chord chart very simple so that all the other elements--melody, vocal, instrumentation, could step forward and not be complicated by tricky changes...a real hallmark of sound composition judgement!

Everything about the track is top-notch! Congrats on a real jewel!

What a great sound! Am I talking about any one instrument, all of the instruments, or vocals? YES! It's clean and GREAT warmth.

I really like the variety of effects which, to me, makes things stand out while maintaining blend! What?! YES! Thank you for "going there" with the effects mix.

I did not hear the original; but I loved what I heard with this.

I will admit, when I first saw that you didn't include the lyrics I was a little bummed that you maybe forgot. Then in listening I was actually made aware of two things.

1-I couldn't read ahead of the melody...which is really nice; and actually pretty natural to how you normally might experience a song.

2-When it's mixed and performed really well, they aren't needed. You can simply understand every word! What a concept.

Vocals...I've got nothin' to say. They speak for themselves. (REALLY great!)

The instrumentation is what I love to hear. VERY present; never in the way. It's orchestrated, arranged and executed well. A really nice job in knowing "when to" and "when not to." It really makes all the difference.

I will stop gushing now.

Tryin'? Ah...no. Succeeded!

What cool intro. Such a pretty vocal and harmony. Super collaboration. Production is first class. Just a lovely song...

Thank you Robert. We also appreciate you mentioning the fiddle. I had originally something with more of a formal violin sound but could get it to work.

J&B

J&B,

Absolutely wonderful throughout!

I would like permission to submit it for airplay in London and New Zealand. If you agree, just PM me with a mp3 copy.

They are playing my far less professional-sounding stuff. There is no money involved but the exposure is priceless.

The queue is quite long, probably 3-4 weeks to schedule it. I'll be sure to tell you when it is scheduled. It will stream in FM.

Thank you Will!

J&B

Janice & Bud,

I'm glad you re-posted this jewel. I love every part of it, but I again have to mention, that, Janice, you got a heck of a voice. A very well-written song, sung and played with so much feeling. Just great !

Thanks for letting me join in on this!

Y'all are the best.



The new mix sounds awesome.

super write!

gorgeous melody and awesome vocals

a great collab from 3 of the best,

Kenny

Thanks Rob...glad you liked the vocals and the mando!!

J&B

Thanks Janne. We appreciate your comments about the mix and the vocals. We'll check out the Corrs.

J&B

We appreciate you mentioning both the production and the performance!

It was a fun revisit.

J&B



Thank you for the nice review. And, yes, we are typically all about simplicity in our productions. The result can be either boring or effective and we are happy that you felt it worked!

J&B

So well written and sung. Languid, melancholy and overflowing with heart.


And the production fit it perfectly.


So glad you brought this beautiful song back!

The cello was a wonderful touch.

Thanks to all who mentioned those things I was involved in...

And again, thanks to J&B - for being who they are...

Hello,

I've been far for some months and when I return....here's a great song from J&B & Floyd.
Excellent music and melody as usual. Great feeling in the sound.

Super listening.
Sergio

Beautiful song!! Don't remember hearing it..maybe before I was on the forum? Really nice, well-constructed, mixed,and of course sung. THanks for posting again!! Take care. Greg

Janice and Bud,

This is superb listening. I love the clarity of the mix and how everything shines and sparkles with the sound of professional.

When I first heard it, I immediately made a note because this is a mix that I will be revisiting when I want get ideas on how to add production quality to my own work.

This is a terrific song that the both of you and floyd have created. And when Janice sings it's impossible to hit 'stop' until it finishes.

I enjoyed this a great deal.

Regards,
Noel

Man!

I swear I remember writing something on this weeks ago! What happened?

Maybe a hurricane or something.

Anyway, this is great, I love this y'all. Just in time for another hurricane I guess.



Wonderful production.

Dang man, you make us feel like we know what we are doing! Something we frequently doubt

Not only are we very grateful for the wonderful review but also for you taking the time to respond in detail. That means a lot!

"Clean and warm" is our goal on this type of production and we much appreciate you noting it. Sometimes things seem to fall into place with objective...but not always. It's that notion of improving by having nothing left to take away rather than nothing left to add.

Thanks!!!

J&B

Thanks Scott!

J&B



Thanks for your kind words and having enough confidence in our production to submit it. We appreciate it!

J&B



Thanks! I very much appreciate you saying that about my vocal. That makes it all the more fun!

Janice




Thanks Kenny...we love your new one!

J&B



Your description was very meaningful to us. Makes it all worthwhile! Heart and soul is what we strive for.

J&B

Thanks Don! The Waves CLA Unplugged really warmed it up.



Thanks Sergio and we're glad you are back!

J&B



Thank you Greg!

J&B






We appreciate you David!

J&B

Janice, Bud & Floyd,

This is stunning and beautiful...

A great song and vocal by Janice - the clarity of the mix is astounding.

Yes, I can absolutely hear this coming through my car radio...

Bob

Thank you Bob and we appreciate you mentioning the mix!

J&B

Janice, Bud & floyd,

Beautiful song!
Very melodic.
Vocals and harmonies are superb.
I love this mandolin a lot.
The cover photo, the mixing and mastering are very nice.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Cool everything! This just so cool any way you want to look at it. I'm still mesmerized and don't want to leave there, It's a damned good song! Many kudos to all concerned.

Alan