I created this, this morning, as an homage to the incomparable Joni Mitchell. I have agonised over the mix, and would be happy for any suggestions to improve it - I am at my wits' end with it. All comments (about the mix and anything else to do with the song) very welcome - thanks for listening!

https://audiomack.com/jamesdelsono/song/joni-mitchell


JONI MITCHELL

When Joni Mitchell writes a song
It seems that nothing, nothing can go wrong
I'd sit and listen all day long
When Joni Mitchell writes a song.

When Joni Mitchell sings a melody,
I feel she sings just to you and me
When Joni Mitchell bares her soul,
I feel that I'm no longer so alone.

I only just have heard her, my first time, yesterday;
And therefore I wonder ... have you heard her, I pray?
I hope that you can tell me the way she makes you feel,
For me, the way she sings just makes it a little bit more real.

It's coming on Christmas, they've cut down the trees,
But her stunning music has moved mountains and seas;
And if you have found, at last, the river of your dreams,
I hope you'll let me listen ... and skate, perhaps, with me.


****** Song Summary *************
Title: 8 December 2021 - B
File:8 December 2021 - B.SGU
Key=C , Tempo 60, Length (m:s)=3:04
No intro. 42 bar chorus, from bar 1 to bar 42. Repeat x1 chorus
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Style is _DONT_GO.STY (Don't Go Vintage 12-8 Pop Ballad)

RealTracks in style: 2938:Bass, Fretless Electric Slow12-8Rene Sw 065
RealTracks in style: ~2052:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Sw 065
RealTracks in style: 3884:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm VintagePopArpSlow128 Sw 060
RealTracks in style: 3778:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm VintagePopArpSlow128 Sw 060
RealDrums [in style:AmericanaSlow128^01-a:Kick Sidestick, b:Kick Snare

*******************


Mixed, with various effects, in Mixcraft Pro Studio 9.

James,

A clever "tribute". (I'm a huge JM fan, too)

There is a good deal of sibliance to the vocal and (for my tastes) too much reverb (makes it a bit hard to catch the lyrics at first - but it's okay once your ears adjust).

When you sing "Joni Mitchell" (each time), you rush a bit to get all the syllables in. I think the song would be effective if you simply sang "Joni" (no Mitchell). Most listeners will know the reference, it would add a touch of "mystery" and it would sing much better.

fj

Wonderful, James. Quite a beautiful tribute. I, too, am a big Joni fan. At 18 I found myself homeless for awhile, and only had a stereo and 6 albums --3 were hers because that's all she had then (I also had a bass). As for the mix, I couldn't agree more with Floyd. As soon as you start singing, the sibilance starts, and it probably is because of the added reverb. Still, it doesn't detract from your marvelous singing/speaking voice, and the lyrics are delivered with clarity despite the occasional sibilant distractions. I particularly like the bg humming, and think it adds a special touch. I also think that Floyd was right in dropping the Mitchell. BiaB has a pretty good Joni STY, but I like this tribute that doesn't attempt to imitate her.

I like the song just as it is with whatever issues it may have.

Joni is one of those people I will never forget. That is a function of the times when I listen to her.

Sometimes the "message" is much more important than the endless search for a better "mix".

Good stuff,

Billy

Hi James,

well, that's a very fine tribute to a truely great musician and writer. Haven't listened to my old JM LPs, not CDs) for many years, and now I think it's about time to dive into the shelf.

Thanks for very nice lyrics and a lot of unusual chord progressions.

All the best,

Stefan

floyd: thank you so much. As you know, sometimes one (at least, I) can get really bogged down in a song, if I've worked on it for too long, and can't see the wood for the trees any longer. So thank you for your perspective on it ... I will work on it at the weekend, I think (sadly, no time before then ... argh).

Marty: thanks so much. Kind, as always. I've added far too much reverb, both on the spoken track as well as on the hummed track - so perhaps that's why the sibilance is there, as you say. I remember a certain singer rehearsing with his band, when the piano player made a major error. He profusely apologised to the singer, and the singer just said: "No worries ... that's why we have rehearsal". That stuck with me ... so, basically, that's why we have this board, thankfully ... to bounce ideas off one another and hopefully improve the "end product" (I hate that phrase, haha). So: THANKS for helping me along! :-)

Billy: thank you. I want to keep a certain bit of "human error" in the song, i.e. an audible breath here and there, but perhaps it still needs some work, so that it's not TOO much? haha. Regardless, thank you for your amazing words - and yes, I agree with you ... sometimes, just sometimes, the message is so much more important than (as you say) the endless search for a better mix.

Thanks, all :-)

Stefan: thank you. It's kinda scary to write a tribute to such an incredible artist ... it can easily go wrong, so I'm so glad to hear so much positive feedback. Thank you for your kind words!

Fitting tribute to a great artist and an honest song creator. Joni always seemed to have something in the tank as she spun her musical tales until, viola, she sprung it on the listener. She must have has a complex personality.

Awesome tribute James. I am too a fan of her music. Excellent vocal and backtrack. Well done

Nice tribute!

River is an astonishingly good song.

Your song's pretty good too!

A super tribute!

However I agree with Floyd:



Clean up that vocal and you will have a winner for sure.

A fine tribute, I enjoyed it. Any imperfections are trivial (to my ear). I guess you know she just got honored at the Kennedy Center here in Washington DC.

James,

You've gotten a lot of great feedback so far, and I have nothing more to add in that regard. But wanted to note a lovely inspiration for a song, and you've done Joni proud. Well done!

All my best,

Deej

Hello James ...

what a great tribute song! To me, it sounds fine as is. It has the Delsano sound that I enjoy so much. You have a distinctive style that I enjoy and appreciate. You have way with words that I see as a well-thought-out casual easiness to it. I don't know if that makes any sense. Simply it sounds so extemporaneous yet comes across as a prepared presentation.

Regardless, I always enjoy what you have to offer. I like this a lot - a whole lot!

Take care, my friend.

Alan

James,
yes, you've slipped back into old habits with the vocals.
take a break, rest and then get back to it - you know how to deal with those issues.
Interesting lyric and tribute. The humming tells me you could sing this mate...you ought to.
As to Ms Mitchell I'm probably alone in REALLY not liking her.
I appreciate her talent and the absolute fanaticism of her admirers but she leaves me cold.

Another very interesting write.

About the mix:
- The humming in the background is a little overpowering.
My thoughts.......apply a low cut EQ and perhaps cut around 500hz to reduce the muddiness.
Maybe try some female Oohs & Aahs

-The spoken word is a bit washed out by reverb.
Here again I'd tweak the EQ in the low end and mids to brighten it up just a tad and back off the reverb a little.
Maybe add a little boost in the upper end to add some presence.

Hey, what the hell do I know, just throwing stuff against the wall.

moto

Nice tribute James....

J&B

Hi James,

The song itself is very nice.
But as you asked for some advice:
There's a bit too much reverb and sometimes one can hear you swallow. May be you can remove that.
And using a de-esser might help too.

But the song is a very nice tribute!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Yes! Complex personality or not, I feel it reflects incredibly on her songwriting, and that's what matters, right? Thanks for your kind words!



Thanks, Scott!!!



Haha. Thanks for your comments on my other two songs, too ... didn't get a chance to reply. You're right "Dance by the Fire" needs work!!! Thanks for being honest and pointing it out :-)



Thanks Mario!!! I'll be on it as soon as I get some time!

I didn't know that - didn't make the news here in the UK - thanks for letting me know! Thanks for your kind comments about the song, too!



Thank you!!!



Thanks so much, Alan. Wishing you all the very best, as always!



We all have different tastes, no worries, of course :-) Yes, I'll deal with the song as soon as I get a chance to breathe! haha. Thanks :-)

Thanks Moto. These are detailed suggestions, so I can't wait to try them out. And you know plenty - much more than me on these things, for sure! :-)



Thanks!



Yep, a de-esser was the first thing that came to mind on seeing the feedback I got on this song. The reverb drives me nuts, because I have to get the words sounding clear over the humming ... maybe I can dial down the humming a little, as Moto suggests? I'll experiment :-) Thank you for your nice and kind words!



Thanks!

Nice tribute. It reminds me of Donovan in many ways. Well written. Good one.