I was searching for a vocalist for a new song. I listened here & everywhere for a voice that suited the track.
Heaps of excellent vocalists around but I also needed someone with a keen sense of power popish melodies and that focused my mind more.
Clearly Torrey was someone I considered from the beginning but I was a little nervous about proposing a collaboration as he is the complete package on his own.
I stumped up some courage and asked him and he very kindly and politely agreed to have a listen.
Just a couple of weeks later Torrey had completed and forwarded a SET of vocals for the song all based on a melody of his devising.
After I remembered to properly check my messages I found his message and links. It VERY short order the song was mixed, Torrey's approval for said mix, (he is, after all, the co-writer and I believe I had to ensure he was happy with the results), I sent it to the UK for mastering. The M.E. offered two slightly different mastering jobs and, as yet, neither Torrey nor I can decide which is the better.
The progression, lyrics and structure were done by me in 1978, (in some respects VERY much the words of a callow youth but I decided to leave them unamended). I found the sheet of paper I'd written it on just a month or so ago. I recorded a draft backing from that. I played it for an excellent drummer/guitarist in Texas, Greg Loyacano, and he offered to do some guitars. Torrey came on board and whammo! With BIAB RealDrums as the very base of this song and BIAB as the means of testing the structure this is a true hybrid of technology and raw, expressive vocals and guitar.
Lyrically simple and, for me, typically cynical here is Don't Come To Me a Bliss/cochrane song under the banner of Pygmy Beat Extended.
Warning - it's a little loud.

https://soundcloud.com/rayc/mst-dont-come-to-me-1
and
https://soundcloud.com/rayc/mst-dont-come-to-me-2

This is a completed track but we would appreciate any feedback for future mixing as well as an idea of which version is THE ONE.

Don’t Come (To Me) 1978/2019

Refugees of unknown emotions
Hiding, going through the motions
Surrogates of love’s devotions

Don’t come running to me
Don’t come running to me
No, don’t come running to me

Dislocated sex perversions
Sundry other bored diversions
Occasional street excursions

Don’t come crying to me
Don’t come crying to me
No, don’t come crying to me

Living with a pain aversion
To potential thought immersion
You could tell a better version

Don’t come lying to me
Don’t come lying to me
No, don’t come lying to me

Don’t come running to me
Don’t come crying to me
No, don’t come lying to me

ray/Torrey,

A lot of raw power in this. It has a a good Power Pop vibe to it. Sort of a Joe-Jackson-goes-Green-Day thing . Very catchy sound.

The guitars sound really good. Bass, too. Both are clear and punchy. They are Loud on my speakers. Overpowering the vocal to the point that I could not understand any of the lyric. I listened to both version without reading the lyric and could not catch much in either version. The drums seem a bit low for the overall power of the song (to my ear - an opinion).

Torrey's vocal fits the song nicely.

I listened again while reading the lyric. They are well done and work well for the style.

Overall, I would choose the 2nd version (with the above caveats).

fj

Thanks FJ,
I had a LOT of trouble with the drums in this one.
As a wav file they cut through a bit better but MP3 freq limitations and then Soundcloud mangling seem to have wiped off some bottom end.
Vocal levels, I do have a tendency to have them lower in the mix - my psychedelic past catching up.
Thanks for the comments.
I've copied and pasted them into my notes for the session and will use them when I'm at it again.

Ray...
All I can say is that this is a great sounding song...
Kudos to you & Torrey Bliss & Greg Loyacano on a terrific collaboration!
Aren't you glad you "stumped up some courage" to put this team together.

Makes me wanna go and boost the gain a bit on our current post. Whoa...that gets your attention.

"Dislocated sex perversions
Sundry other bored diversions
Occasional street excursions"

Now there are some cool rhymes!

Can't say we have a preference of one master over the other. They are both in you face good

Australia, the UK and the US. The power of the net. And more so when in talented hands like this.

And, man, did Torrey and Greg ever deliver! Seems like they fell right into your intended groove with the write.

An international collab that COOKS!

J&B


PS: "As a wav file they cut through a bit better but MP3 freq limitations and then Soundcloud mangling seem to have wiped off some bottom end."
You don't upload wav files to SC?

Hi Ray,

I prefer the second version more than the first. But it was a close call.
It has to do with the power of the song was more in the second version. And the instruments sounded clearer. The way they followed the vocals(in the chorus I think)I liked more.
But as I said, a close call.

Hans

Ray / Torrey,

Torrey was a great choice for this song... He understands the groove and really gets inside the tune...

Too many good things about this one to list, so I'll just say it is EXCELLENT!

Loved it.

Bob

I rather liked both versions. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Ray, although it was a close call I liked the second version the best. Very powerful rock song that was done exceptionally well. I liked everything about this with the exception of the drums. I thought that they should be more in your face.

Overall all of you should be very proud of this song.

PS - NEVER send SoundCloud a MP3. ALWAYS send them a wav. That way the song only gets compressed once, thus it will sound better on SC.

Ray & Torrey and Greg,
Nice groovy ska!

Torrey, I am glad Ray awoken punk in you
This was an exiting listen. Cool to see talents join. Well done beyond any critique I can possibly have. Ray, excellent resurrection! Torrey done amazing work in the style I have not heard from him before! Guitar playing is perfect for this tune too. Ray, the only mystery part for me is, did you play bass on this or it is BIAB? On the personal level, I liked #2 better.

Great showcase of one of great uses of the program--sketchpad and track producer. Great song. Loved the progression and the melody Torrey wrung out of it. I don't have the ears to tell you which version of the mix I preferred and why.

Thank you sir.
I rather like it m'self.
Yes, Torrey certainly is/was the voice of choice.

Thank you J&B,
Yes, internet collabs are great to conquer the tyranny of distance.
I've worked with Greg many times - his drumming is better than his guitar playing even.
Torrey is VERY talented which is why I was nervous.
In my neck of the woods the internet is VERY, VERY poor - sometimes an email can't get through.
I upload an MP3 on that basis and in the knowledge that there's less to compress.
Thank you for your kind words.

Thank you Hans.
I'm yet to make up my mind but the reasoning offered thus far will be influential.

Thanks Bob,
Yep, Torrey really nailed it.
Cheers for the kind words.

Mario,
thanks man,
Yes, the drums were problematic not just mixing the stereo file into the project but also determining the levels.
Most power pop is guitar driven with a solid rhythm section. I tried a stronger back line but it started veering into modern punk. Compromise was ensured by the difficultly of getting the snare high enough in the mix.
I've explained my upload issues further up the comments list - the lack of ADSL/broadband width whilst paying for it is rather annoying.

Misha,
thanks for the generous assessment.
Yep Torrey was the right person to ask - very glad I did.
My components in the performance are the bass, (my lovely 1981 made Vantage 4 string into a Behringer BDI21), and a nearly inaudible arpeggio guitar part blended in on one side.

Thanks Tangmo,
I should've also mentioned that I used the chord sheet screen from BIAB when recording into Reaper - even in my gigging days I needed a chord sheet nearby to give me the confidence to play through a complete song. I usually don't look at it but I can't cope without knowing it's there.
It's a cool tool indeed.

Hi Ray, Torrey and Greg,

This is definitely one to be proud of. Even though this is a genre that I have little experience with, you help my attention all the way through.

In relation to floyds comments about the drums, have you tried the CLA Drums plugin? It's excellent. If you don't have the CLA suite, I urge you to pick it up next time Waves have a sale (which happens regularly). I paid $59 for the whole bundle. Alongside Ozone and Nectar, the CLA plugins are 'musts' in my productions.

I enjoyed listening to this a lot.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Ray, My observations are very simular to Floyds.
I also felt that track two was better. Very enjoyable,
Rob

I would like to say a big thanks to everyone who has taken time to listen and comment on this track! I want to say right up front though that Ray deserves the vast majority of any credit on this one! He did all the heavy lifting here! As to the different comments on the mix, I would say that Ray did an excellent job with this! It seems the Rock genre invites so many different opinions on how drums, guitars etc. Should be louder or quieter. I dont necessarily agree that the vocal is buried to a level where you can't understand the lyric. After a couple of listens they become apparent. This is the same of many of the rock songs from back in the day. Country, Jazz and other genres are usually mixed with the vocal higher in the mix than a good rock song. At least to my ears. Anyway, once again thanks to all for your time to listen and to Ray for his dedication on this project!! I was honored to help!! T

Very powerful song! Cool lyrics.

Love Torrey's vocal in this, nice to hear him rock out!

Vocal is sitting perfectly in the mix for me, drums could come up a bit though IMHO.

I think I like the second version better, but it's close.

Nice collaboration!

Thanks Noel,
I don't have any Waves plugs mate as they seem to gum up my DAW & computer combo.
I appreciate the recommendation though - and I did some research as a result of it. That Drum plug doesn't seem to have a preset for a stereo drum file. I'll get there some day though.
Thanks again.

Thanks Rob,
Oddly I felt the vocals were too loud for my tastes but about right for the genre and the drums too quiet for my tastes but again about right for the style.
#2 - ta.

Thanks Torrey,
I agree - some excellent comments and a strong group of "more drums" folk as well as "more vocal" to consider as the listening audience next time.
It was a blast and the M.E. really liked the vocals.

Thanks Dave,
I knew Torrey could make this one happen.
He's a true talent.

Ray and Torrey,

Really good pop sound—reminiscent of R.E.M to me in spots . . . terrific vocal and backing, impressive guitar work in here as well. I think the drum gets a bit lost . . . where for me it should really be driving this tune a little bit more—they seem more present in the second version, but still don’t pop like they should (for my tastes at least).

Good tune—keep working it and you’ll have a killer tune right here.

All the best,

Deej

Nice old school punk song, I prefer the second version, it's brighter and vocals are clearer. I also think that it's better to have this lo-fi version than one with modern power drums, just for nostalgic reasons.
I wouldn't have recognized Torrey if asked, but he sings very well in the right style.

Janne

Good song. Well done.

I prefer #2 also. The vocal seems a little more up front perhaps, there is more clarity maybe. They are extremely close.


I sent 'Dakota' to be mastered by an engineer who offered a free demo. I was surprised at how close it was to my own. I don't think the average listener would notice, but the demo was less harsh I guess. Smoother. I assume because of some analog compression, but not positive. I went with my own version. The only other song I sent out for mastering is 'Bayou In My Blood.' On that one I could really tell the mastered version was much better and had that professional sound - whatever that is:)

WOW, killer rocker!! Great energy, and I really like the melody and alternating rhythm of the quick succession of words with those that are strung out a bit. REALLY nice job, and Torrey was GREAT!! Take care. Greg

Ray, Torrey,

Very powerful rock!
I love this guitar sound. Really nice.
Very catchy sound.
I agree with floyd.
Torrey's vocal fits the song nicely.
The drums seem a bit low for the overall power of the song also to my ears.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi