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#412339 - 05/14/17 06:55 PM [User Showcase] Little White Crosses
Registered: 12/30/14
Posts: 12
Loc: Florida
Jamie Archer Offline
Newbie

Registered: 12/30/14
Posts: 12
Loc: Florida
https://soundcloud.com/user-679049224/little-white-crosses

I've been working on this song for a while now. I was inspired by those little white crosses you see on the roadsides, where people mark the location of tragic accidents. I used a real band style: CROK12S.STY Classic Rock with 12 string Acoustic Guitar. I didn't use the organ track, but I used all the others. I played an acoustic guitar track, and used a couple of vocal tracks. This song was pretty hard to come up with the harmony for... I drove around listening to it for days ( I run a rural mail route, so I can listen all I want) trying to come up with parts. I finally just settled with something simple and let it go at that. I also used pushes in this song, and I didn't like the way it sounded with the drums, so I brought them down in the mix at those points. I also did some pretty high sustained notes singing the bridge and I'm not sure whether I like the way it sounds. I have a loud voice sometimes... I do not have any vocal processors outside of what is in Logic Pro 9. So, here it is... any suggestions would be welcomed.
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#412345 - 05/14/17 08:00 PM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 04/07/13
Posts: 7625
Loc: South Carolina
Charlie Fogle Offline
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Registered: 04/07/13
Posts: 7625
Loc: South Carolina
Very poignant lyrics and nice backing tracks. You've written a very engaging story that pulls the listener in. Excellent vocals and harmonies.

I enjoyed my listen.


Charlie
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#412404 - 05/14/17 10:49 PM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 12/29/12
Posts: 6370
Loc: Originally Missouri ... Now Al...
Happy Birthday Al-David Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/29/12
Posts: 6370
Loc: Originally Missouri ... Now Al...
HI Jamie,

We are all too familiar with this subject of this song. Our middle son was killed in an auto accident in Tennessee (33 years old). There was a cross there for quite a few years.

You've captured the essence of this tragedy so very well in your lyric. And your vocal is so good. The harmony is great. You did a terrific jo0b on this, both musically and in the story. Great job in every way.

Wishing you the best.

Alan & Di
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#413295 - 05/15/17 07:27 AM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 12/08/11
Posts: 7074
Loc: Edmonton, Ab, Canada
Scott C Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/08/11
Posts: 7074
Loc: Edmonton, Ab, Canada
Yes the markers on the highway are sad reminders of lives taken to soon. Very nice tribute song

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#413306 - 05/15/17 07:34 AM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 04/20/10
Posts: 5139
Loc: Florida
90 dB Offline
Veteran

Registered: 04/20/10
Posts: 5139
Loc: Florida
Jamie,

This is beautiful.


Regards,

Bob

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#413343 - 05/15/17 01:52 PM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 01/18/16
Posts: 1664
Joe -PG Music Offline
PG Music Staff

Registered: 01/18/16
Posts: 1664
Hi Jamie Archer, Wonderful tune you wrote! I was captivated by the lyrics and progression. Well done! smile
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#413360 - 05/15/17 04:19 PM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 06/09/16
Posts: 3338
Robertkc Offline
Veteran

Registered: 06/09/16
Posts: 3338
Jamie,

Your song handles a difficult subject well and you sing beautifully ( nice harmonies too).I enjoyed listening.
Its fun to play with things like Nectar to hear your voice differently and no doubt you could have done something on the bridge to smooth out that change in volume- but then you might lose some of the power in your voice. I`m always impressed with how little processing the best singers on this forum apply to their vocals.

Robert

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#413685 - 05/16/17 05:38 AM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 05/22/11
Posts: 3810
Loc: Florida
tommyad Offline
Veteran

Registered: 05/22/11
Posts: 3810
Loc: Florida
Jamie, I liked the song a lot. Beautifully written and sung. I didn't like the pushes so much. But it's all subjective. Your vocals sound really good. If you're so inclined check out Izotope's Nectar2. A lot of us here use it and it works really well. I very much enjoyed my listen. Tom

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#413719 - 05/16/17 09:58 AM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 12/21/13
Posts: 6737
Loc: Davis, CA
Greg Johnson Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/21/13
Posts: 6737
Loc: Davis, CA
Really nicely written! Everything about this works well. At a corner about a mile from my house is a cross and a bike put up over a decade ago for a young lady who was run over by a semi hauling produce. I live in a college town where students ride all over the place. Someone maintains this roadside shrine pretty meticulously. I knew the young lady very casually. Very sad story. I've thought about writing a song about it myself. Really enjoyed your song!! Take care. Greg

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#413760 - 05/16/17 06:13 PM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 07/11/15
Posts: 4828
Loc: United States
Torrey Bliss Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/11/15
Posts: 4828
Loc: United States
Jamie, you have done well here! Your vocal is great and your choice of instrumentation totally works. You are putting some good material up for us to listen to. Thanks, Torrey
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#413860 - 05/17/17 06:08 AM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 04/03/09
Posts: 8636
Guitarhacker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 04/03/09
Posts: 8636
Cool song and a sad tale to tell.

There are several of those that are around this area and I pass them on a regular basis.

Regarding the song and production:

Good song and nice production.

I'm not a big fan of the pushes. They don't sound all that natural.

Regarding voice and vocals. Less is better when it comes to using effects. A bit of reverb, some EQ as needed and a touch of compression to smooth things out. Much of the quality in a vocal comes from proper singing and mic technique. I don't often put a lot of credence in to what I hear on my computer monitors and especially knowing I'm likely listening to a 128kbs MP3. That said, the overall vox sounded like it had a very slightly rolled off high end but in the bridge was kind of brittle in a few places, especially on those held high notes. That could have been from mic overloading by singing too close and too loud. That's where mic technique saves you.

Anyway, that's my take on the 2 things that stood out to me.

This has a really nice 60's country folk vibe to it. Good job.
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Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.


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#413863 - 05/17/17 06:44 AM [User Showcase] Re: Little White Crosses [Re: Jamie Archer]
Registered: 06/05/12
Posts: 16541
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
AudioTrack Offline
Veteran

Registered: 06/05/12
Posts: 16541
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
Excellent write and production Jamie.

As other have mentioned, you've chosen a sensitive and engaging subject, and have done great justice to it.

The vocals and harmonies are particularly nice.

A great contribution in more ways than one.
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