A new original song which is influenced by many traditional folk ditties which tell of tragedy at sea.

Apart from the vocals, guitar solo & the waves at the end, everything else is a Realtrack. Enjoy.

RCKWLZM.STY:

RealDrums
778 - Ac Bass
861 - Elec Guitar
858 - Elec Guitar
856 - 12st Guitar

POPWLZLZ2.STY:

1188 - Ac Piano
1179 - Fiddle

RCKWALTZ.STY:

860 - Elec Guitar

BZSLWLZ.STY:

RT2214 - Bouzouki

https://soundcloud.com/andyshearer-1/the-maidens-tale

Great job, and so true to the genre. I liked everything about this--vocal harmonies were real nice, and well-placed. Excellent solo. In your lyric, the interior rhyming (within any given line) worked so well. Overall a top-notch composition and production. Thanks for putting this out there. Enjoyed it all.

EXCELLENT.
There's an occasional war between the vocal and the snare triggered reverb.
Your vocals are a treat.
There are some points where the vocal is quite aggressive - beginning of phrases mainly - that could use a little automation to address or a faster compressor.
The solo is ace but seems to be in a different room from the song...mismatch of reverb? Too much wet delay?
No matter - this is a cracker.
Cool.

Thanks for the positive feedback, rayc.
I take your point about mismatch of reverb for the guitar solo and it maybe because of the echo effect I added using Audacity. I may spend a bit of time tweaking the live tracks at a later date. I'll reduce the echo on the guitar and take some reverb off the snare. Glad to hear you liked the song.

Haunting. Great example of the musical simplicity of the genre with well-chosen embellishments to enhance to mood.
A tragic tale well told, particularly the last verse -- she still sees her lover, yet not quite.

Thanks for listening. Glad you liked it.
I meant to make the last verse ambiguous. Maybe she's a ghost who reappears whenever there is a storm ?

I confess I missed the ambiguity. Must listen to it again.

Terrific job, I listen to a lot of music played at renaissance faires and this would fit right in. Liked the solo, and everything else about this one.

Excellent choice of orchestration, and the choice of material is perfect to further demonstrate the enormous power that this program can deliver in the right hands.

Fantastic lyrics - no question, and the guitar break slots in just so well.

Great job, really great - start to finish, especially liked the waves at the end.

Brilliant. Really enjoyed the song. Lyrics, melody, backing and harmony just perfect

A good tale well written in a style I enjoy. I like your vocal timbre and phrasing ( though not completely convinced the double vocal, which I think goes throughout, wouldn`t be better used on just the refrain).
An excellent instrumental choice- the guitar solo especially well suited ( ok, I agree with RayC the reverb needs a tweak to make it gel.)
Excellent work - there`s not enough trad. folk on the forum - its good to hear someone who has a feel for the genre.

Robert

Excellent. Everything in this is consistently high quality, nothing to detract from the perfectly captured traditional folk feel. It has a very nice feel, beginning, middle and end, and the waves were definitely a nice touch. The guitar solo was excellent, and as noted, just at the right place. Great work, and outstanding use of BIAB.

Many thanks for the positive comments including the constructive critiques. All of them are helpful and are much appreciated. So much so that I may come back to this song at a later date and have a bash at tackling one or two of the points that were highlighted. I felt good about this song while I was recording it as I'm quite fond and familiar with the genre, but as is always the case, there are always improvements to be made which don't reveal themselves immediately.
I think that I might even try writing more songs in this style in the future.

Really well done, Andy. I like when hearing a song when I can close my eyes and see the performers on stage. Really well sung and that solo is absolutely perfect.

Thanks Marty. Glad you liked the guitar solo. Until BIAB came along, I was much better known as a guitarist than a singer or a songwriter. It's definitely helped me to develop some other skills.

Andy,
very, VERY good composition, lyrics, vocals, everything! One of the best "new" folk theme tunes I have heard in long time. Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Andy,

Very well done. Seldom hear anyone truly capture the genre so well.
A solid write, true to the style.
The backing tracks are appropriate, as well.
And surprising how well that solo guitar fit in.

Nice vocals and harmonies.

Cool ending.

fj

You put those "many traditional ditties" influences to great use.

The excellent vocals and image rich write are backed up by an
outstanding selection of RealTracks.

Did you put any additional processing on the guitar solos?
They fit in really well.

Also the fiddle ... it seems to have just a hint of overdrive on it.
In a good way.

It's likley just the cool way it all fits together in the mix or my aging ears

Really nice!

J&B

Andy, this is really great work! It's like I've stumbled across a missing Gordon Lightfoot cut! Great job on that guitar solo also! Thanks, Torrey

Many thanks J&B.

I used the 'Sweet Lead' effect from my 8-Track Boss BR-864 Digital Studio for the guitar solo, which was played on my Strat Plus DX. I chose that effect because I wanted it to really stand out, and I think the reason that worked so well was because it has a completely different reverb setting to the Realtracks. I also added a slight echo effect to the Strat solo using Audacity to add an extra dimension to the sound.
I used a Boss VE-20 for the main vocal and the harmony with a modest amount of echo for the majority of the song, but I then added more echo using Audacity for certain words or phrases (eg. "Now he's gone" and "Now she's gone" at the end of each verse).
The Boss VE-20 is a pretty low end piece of kit, and I don't always use it, but I guess it's okay for certain songs.

It's funny that you should mention the apparent overdrive on the fiddle because I wondered where that had come from myself at first. I found it particularly noticeable in the section between the end of the 2nd verse and the guitar solo, but then I realised that it is because I had increased the volume of it ever so slightly to cut through the Realtracks gritty rhythm guitar which comes in during the build up to the solo. At first I thought that I'd exceeded peak amplitude, but the volume meters didn't go into the red so I decided to leave it as it is.

I was also very happy with the transition from the relatively powerful solo section and the last verse which begins softly with just piano and bouzouki, but the most satisfying part is the point where the acoustic bass and percussion are re-introduced during the second line of the last verse.
When I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised how something that seemed so insignificant could have such a dramatic effect.
The ability to get good results by being creative and experimenting with different styles and Realtracks is a constant source of inspiration for me using BIAB.

Haha, thanks Torrey. Raising The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

This is tops, Andy. Quite a captivating song.

Good singing. Engaging melody!

Very nice folk song with traditional feel and lyrics, reminds me of Christy Moore. The solo melody played with modern sound fits perfectly the mood.

Janne

Thanks Janne. I'm glad that I decided to keep the modern-sounding solo. It does fit the mood quite well.
I was initially tempted to try something more intricate with two acoustic guitars playing in harmony.

Hi Andyman,

WOW! Such imagery you have composed into your lyrics. Please excuse me, I have to go and wipe that cold salty water off me... Really good music fit to your lyrics and nicely done vocals/harmony.
Thanks for posting it...

Thank you for listening. Where I live, the North Sea is particularly cold at all times of the year.

Hey, thanks for the info regarding the fiddle and your guitar. I don’t play electric but like to diddle around with direct input RTs and amp sims - Logic Pro has a LOT of them with cabinet and mic choices. I think the “extra processing” I mentioned is the echo you described. Really nice.

Bud

Nice. I like this. I was thinking I would have used a mandolin for the solo.... as much as I love a guitar, the mandolin would give a more earthy feel in the solo.

All in all though, a nice job Andy

Thanks Herb.

Funnily enough, I was talking with my son the other night about adding this song to my solo acoustic set when the lockdown ends and I finally get the chance to resume playing weekly live gigs in our local pub.
He sometimes lends a hand on guitar and vocals when needed, and I suggested that he plays guitar and I play my Irish bouzouki on this one (including the solo). It's a very similar instrument to the mandolin (which I also play), except it's an octave lower and has an elongated neck. It's often referred to as an octave mandolin, but tuned GDAD instead of GDAE.

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and support which are much appreciated.


Many thanks,
Andy

Really well done!! I LOVE the idea for the final verse, and you nailed the execution!!! The guitar solo works really well in the song too! GREAT STUFF!! Take care. Greg

Hi Andy ...

I agree with the "Edmund Fitzgerald" comment. Although the snare is fairly dominant, I think it perfectly ingratiates the intensity of the lyric ... a real nice point of accent for the genre. Your vocal is stellar! loved the ending with the sound of the sea rushing through my ears powerfully yet not overwhelming. excellent!

Wishing you the best. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi Andy
Lot of activity on the forum so only just caught up with this. A style I enjoy and a worthy addition to the tradition. Excellent vocal and guitar work. Well done.
Regards,
Leon

Thanks Greg, Alan & Leon.

As soon as this started I thought of Gordon Lightfoot also.

Everything about this song I liked. Your vocal was excellent, as was your backing tracks and mix.

You did a fantastic job on this song.

I'm pleased to announce that this song was recently nominated by Museboat Radio to be included in their competition to win an award for 'best song' played on the station over the last ten years !

If you like the song, I would be very grateful if you would click on the following link and vote for Andy Shearer - 'The Maiden's Tale'. Voting is free without any registration and you can vote as many times as you like! The winning song will be announced in a Gala Show which will be broadcast on 6th December 2020:

http://museboat.com/tenyears-nominations.html

Thank you in advance for your support.

Very nice sound.
Well written, great orchestra and terrific vocals.
Only critique I agree with is the guitar effect is disconnected from the band.

I'm pleased to announce that my song 'The Maiden's Tale' has been voted as the 10th best song in ROUND 6 of the Museboat Musies Awards 2020 competition.

http://museboat.com/tenyears-roundresults.html.

The competition includes 100 of the best songs played on Museboat Radio over the past 10 years and culminates in a Gala Music Show on 6th December announcing the winner. If I win the competition, the cash prize would contribute towards me purchasing the latest version of Band In A Box (I'm currently using the 2017 version).

THANK YOU very much to everyone who has voted for my song so far, and I would really appreciate it if you would keep on voting at:

http://museboat.com/tenyears-votes.html

(All you need to do is to click the box next to my song and then scroll down to the bottom and click on VOTE. You can vote as many times as you want and no registration is required)