Here's a faux master of the latest collaboration between Torrey and I - along with Greg Loyacano.
[Link no longer valid]
Here's the mastered version...
TLMIE MASTERED
Written by Bliss/Cochrane
The drums are BIAB as usual. I had almost no trouble sitting them in the mix this time.
Torrey Bliss wrote the melody, sang lead, backing and harmony vocals plus edited the lyrics.
Greg Loyacano played the three guitar tracks - Les Paul into Marshalls.
James Dodd did the solo on his Crimson custom into a Blackstar.
My end of the task was done in BIAB 11 and then in Reaper with native Reaper plugins, (comp & EQ plus a combo of those two to create a de-esser and 1 instance each of reverb and delay). The only non Reaper VST was PSP Vintage Warmer 2 which was used on the the vocal bus (semi driven tape), the guitar bus (semi driven tape) and the rhythm bus (light driven tape). I do have a squillion VST/plugs but have slowly moved away from using them.
I played bass.
The narrative is, basically, a biographical essay of one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
I will be sending this for mastering but know you folks would probably like to comment, suggest or review the track and this version is fairly compliant with the forum's preferences.
Here're the lyrics...
The Last Man In Europe.

The last man in Europe struck a match
Another chain smoker in a Spanish trench
Front line Sietamo: copped one in the throat
Fascist’s bullets - no antidote

Even in the darkness was seen between the shots
“England’s brighter blue between the chimney pots “
Doss house, tea, bread, margarine
Beggars, mine workers: sights can’t be unseen.

The last man in Europe struck a match
Huddled but not cowered, sewed another patch
Matches, cigarette, an unbroken chain
Up to Wigan Pier and back again

A home guard rifle underneath the bed
Grenades on the mantelpiece better than being dead
Wife, death, the boy in nanny’s lap
Rumours, replace tumours, war filled the gap

Sanatorium isolation, type writer, cigarette
Smokey paraffin fire, can’t hold the boy yet
Politics of art, art’s politics
Economy, conformity, a gentler fascist.

The last man in Europe struck a match
Sucked in the air: each breath he could snatch
Nicotine, blood stains, colour teeth and lips
Death draws each breath in bloody sips


Please feel free to comment on any and all aspects.

Really well done! A great groove, and nicely catchy too. Definitely an earworm, and I found the vocals to be really memorable. Reminds me of rock music that was coming out in the 80's almost. I can't help but imagine how good this would sound live.

Thanks for sharing

ray...Torrey...

Rockin'!

The tracks sound really good. Drums and bass and guitars really Pop!

The solo is nice. I thought it could come up in volume slightly.

The vocals are excellent. They have the kind of "dramatic immediacy" that characterize Elvis Costello or Joe Jackson - a good match for the song/style.
I thought they could have come up just slightly - to "sit even" with the guitars (they seem "a bit back" from them).

The song is well written, interesting... though many of the references elude me - haven't read that much Orwell.

Good stuff, y'all.

fj

Well...
You forced me to some research... you tricky-little devil
Fortunately your lyrics then made more sense to me...
You guys have produced a great sounding composition...
And I imagine it will sound even better after you polish it up with the mastering process.

A heady lyric ( a few gritty lines zapped me as they went by and made me curious to learn about some references).
I like the driving sound ... and hearing Torrey sing a hard rock tune!
I guess I`ve missed your other collaborations with the Blissman
The guitar solo sounds excellent -maybe a bit buried in the mix.

Robert

Hey ray, fantastic choice of instrumentation on this. Excellent mixdown on all of this and the vibe is very appealing. The bass sounds wonderful. Well done!

Can't comment much on mixes. Extra-fine lyric and delivery of same. Kind of a cross between Ian Anderson and Metallica. Looking forward to the power from a "louder" master.

Sounded great, I heard The Clash in it, maybe because of the political lyrics. Great job getting all those words to flow naturally in the melody. Very impressive all the way around, listened several times.

We have a long standing interest in history so your lyric drove us both quickly to google as we have both read a bit of Orwell but never anything biographical.

That is a brilliant write and it was worth the price of admission alone just to try and find the events in Orwell's life from which you drew your references. The imagery is remarkably vivid.

Then the song iced the cake with the absolutely in the pocket performances -- vocals, guitars and bass. Guitar effects are mostly above my pay grade but the rhythm guitars on all your productions seem to have something with the distortion that sets them apart from the pack...in a good way.

Great collab y'all!!!

J&B

PS And thanks for the history lesson...

Ray, Torrey & Greg
When the gala / wine event for Album release will take place?

Very strong collaboration! Listens very smoothly, no painful points or such (to my ears), kept me entertained all the way. Grungy uplifting Lyrics are a bit coded, but with help of mr.Google I was able to get a sense of the story.

Thank you for sharing and congrats to all who participated!

Misha.

Ray / Torrey,

This song is a very cool production - great lyrics and the mix is awesome!

The real standout for me though is Torrey's performance. I think he is an outstanding singer, but this is a really inspired vocal - one of his all time best.

Loved it!

Bob

Very good song and production!

I need to revisit Orwell to fully understand the lyrics... it is at least 25 years ago I read his books and I know too little about his life. This song is great inspiration to look up information about him again.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Will

Really awesome vocals! Overall the song is great. Thanks for sharing.

Deryk,
thanks and YES, Torrey does a fantastic job and wrote an excellent melody to hang the words on.

FJ,
Thank you very much. You picked it was Orwell so you did well. The majority of references are biographical and I doubt many folk have read about the man. Clearly I've read a few of the biogs as well as all of his works.
I'll have a listen to the vocal & solo levels later today - thanks.

Torrey and I decided not to write a song but to prepare an assignment for the forum.
It's the "chalkie" in me, sorry.
On another level - THANKS for the generous assessment.
You've passed the assignment.

Thanks Robert,
Torrey's chops are top shelf aren't they?
"gritty" is good I assume.

Thanks Joe,
It almost mixed itself.

Tangmo,
Thanks - the delivery of the lines is really fine.
Interesting concept for a MashUp you've proposed.

TM,
The guitarist is a BIG Clash fan and the bvox have a bit of that in them too.
Torrey did a fine, fine job making the words fit the mouth.