Blues at Sundown v2 (Piano Blues)

This is a sort of a fusion of blues with a gospel style. It's my first attempt at any sort of a blues piano solo in a track. I've doe my best to mix it, but I think there's a bit more work needed, so I'd appreciate any advice. I can only play what I hear, and that may be a lot different than many tastes, but all feedback good or bad is welcome.

Realtracks used:

RealTracks in style: 2938:Bass, Fretless Electric Slow12-8Rene Sw 065
RealTracks in style: 1840:Synth Pad, PopModernGrooveMellow Ev16 075
RealTracks in style: 1923:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockSlow12-8Brent Sw 060
RealTracks in style: 1924:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockSlow12-8Sol Sw 060
Loop in Song: Pop-Soul-RnB\R n B - slowly_54_a_34_c drums sw16.wav

Piano solo is played using the Sforzando plugin with a Yamaha C5 Grand Salamander Soundfont imported.

** Update 9/16 - Updated to v2 based on feedback from @rayc and Misha on the percussion. Thanks gentlemen.

(Old version)
Blues at Sundown (Piano Blues)

The loop is out of time from the get go..well, it isn't a beat or rhythm that carries the other elements.
The groove of the rest of the arrangement seems solid and the soloing seems to fit that aspect BUT it's hard to tell with the percussive stuttering the loop dominates the mix with.

Ed,
Cool, spaced out track. Unusual impro throughout. Ray beat me to the comment. I think this particular percussion is taking away from overall experience. Regardless of my opinion, interesting track. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Thanks much @rayc - I could tell there was something I didn't quite like with the backing tracks but I couldn't put my finger on it. I'll try and replace the loop with a Realtrack and see what happens.

Misha - Thanks for the comments.

Sounds good Ed, but, there is a rhythm discrepancy somewhere between the piano and other instruments, like a few milliseconds late.Probably a quick fix. Cliff

The new version has some "tension" in the groove which could very well be that you felt it that way because, in a sense, it
gives an almost foreboding feel to the tune. Your playing sounded fine to us and it also contributes to the bit of a dark
sound that we hear. Now if we are, say, 100% off base please forgive

Hope that makes a bit of sense as we did enjoy the listens!

J&B

Thanks much rayc, Misha, Cliff, Janice and Bud for your time. This is all great feedback - very helpful, and it brought my attention to a few things I had not been aware of.

Ed Z

Hello EdZ314,

Very interesting composition. The piano is well spatialized and its playing is very varied, which gives an attractive touch. The volume could be slightly decreased because soundcloud compresses it to - 12db and damages it if it is higher than this standard.

Kindly regard

Dero13
alias JaniJackFlash

Somehow smooth yet edgy at the same time.
Interesting

Lots of great emotion in the playing!! Really dig it!! Take care. Greg

Ed,
The revamped version sounds close on the timing; I like the tension J&B also heard in this and admire your sending a first piano solo out for critique... not being a pianist I `ll just say I think its still a little far forward in the mix.


Robert

My favorite genre. Loved this. Very cool backtrack and the piano was just excellent as well

Hi Ed.
As a 12 bar blues it works well, like your sitting in a bar listening, and I love that.

To be really picky, I noticed 2 timing issues between the piano and guitar hits.
One at 00:49 and one at 1:25. Maybe you could slide into place in your DAW.

Vic

Thanks all for the latest batch of comments. The feedback has been very helpful, and the notes about the timing and other details is welcome. After stepping back a bit and listening with a more critical ear, I can hear there's lot that can be improved.

Well, this composition covers all the bases for gospel-influenced blues that I can think of: a nice, slow drag tempo...a sinuous, subterranean bass line...hot-lickin' electric guitar strumming, and two handfuls of properly despairing cries for help on the keyboard, ha, ha . Should age pretty well in a bottle, too.

I think it's too dense, esp at the beginning. You need to let the piano establish itself as the primary/lead instrument, but everything else tends to drown it out. It reminded me a little bit of competing bandstand musicians in an extremely noisy bar--everyone playing too loud.

That it's a first attempt at working with piano makes it a bit more understandable, esp if you are principally a guitarist. If you were the "real" pianist on this track, you'd probably ask the other players to quiet down so that you could properly set the tone.

Hi EdZ314,

You might want to contact a guy named Tommy Sledge "Stand-Up Detective". Your music would fit right in his act:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb9UF_sQVhw

This is a nice, cool blues piece. I enjoyed listening, thanks for posting!