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Dancing With the Bottle - Phase 1 recording


Lee Knight

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Here's phase 1 of Dancing With the Bottle. I suspect the "mastering" is a little soft. My ears are fried and I'm not so sure. So... yeah, my attempt at Modern Country. All input is welcome. The lead vocal was a total scratch that I bent in Melodyne to try some different melodies. I think I should probably warm up and recut it. Yeah? Any and all input, yadda yadda...

 

https://soundcloud.com/albert-s-j-lee-knight-3/dancing-with-the-bottle

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I like it a lot. Great country licks and a cool change in the middle, love the piano there to the end.

 

It feels a little sparse (in V2 and in the transition to the key change) for the target you are going for and 10 seconds into "The Good Thing" it is obvious that this is more of a demo than a master, but you are definitely on the right track.  Even the sparseness could probably be taken care off with a brighter coat of polish.

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Lee Knight wrote:

 

 

Here's phase 1 of Dancing With the Bottle. I suspect the "mastering" is a little soft. My ears are fried and I'm not so sure. So... yeah, my attempt at Modern Country. All input is welcome. The lead vocal was a total scratch that I bent in Melodyne to try some different melodies. I think I should probably warm up and recut it. Yeah? Any and all input, yadda yadda...


 

I like the track. A lot. I just think it's a little too long. I also think the story lacks an important reference point: how did he get to this point? I don't want to throw you off or anything, but I think you might need to start with the precipitating event.

Maybe something like:

 

I was all set

for a night on the town

with my sweet brunette

in her [hand-me-down] gown.

When I looked 'cross the floor

she was holding him tight.

Guess I'm dancin' with the bottle tonight.

 

I'd also like to see a double meaning attached to the idea of dancing with the bottle, as in a guy who's prone to drinking too much, has been trying to cut down, and now he's dancing with the bottle again.

Maybe even change the title to "Dancing With the Bottle Again."

Just some ideas. They may not be helpful at all...

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LCK wrote:

 

 

 I also think the story lacks an important reference point: how did he get to this point? I don't want to throw you off or anything, but I think you might need to start with the precipitating event.

 

I understand the point you are making, and I doubt that the type of change you are suggesting would be to the detriment of the song in any way. I do however support Lee K's approach in that without a set up explanation it becomes everybody's song. Anybody can sing it no matter what circumstances led up to them dancing with the bottle. It's an approach I like to take myself with lyrics - not always to have a clear  narrative bookended between a set up and a conclusion. I think an open-ended approach works for many kinds of songs.

Anyway - that's my POV for what it's worth.

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Thank you guys, great stuff so far. My wife just listened and she is a big pop music fan. She makes a great point as O did about condensing all the dead air to really make it snap from section to section with no downtime, a bar here or there even to just to tighten the whole thing up.

 

Lee and Phil, interesting opposing points of view. I like what you're saying, it's an interesting way to bring us into it. I get that point. I'll have to digest that perspective a bit and see if it works or not for me. But very good input guys I appreciate it. Thank you.

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A solid example of the genre. +1 on tightening up the transitions. Might be my speakers (and might be Mumford fatigue) but the banjo was a little overly prominent. Try the vocals again - it sounds ok, but it didn't sound like the Nashville faux-drawl that I expect for this type for material.

 

Not my hot cuppa, but obviously well executed.

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Thanks Stick.

 

Yeah, that's what I do. The issue is that after cuts and shifts on the grid, but before cross fading, I need to make I'm not snipping out a cool fill. All of the edits occur right at spots where there were things happening. Even though they are dead air sections, there tends to a cool little stutter in the bass or a drum fill. So I go through each track and trim either left or right if needed to leave the cool bits uncovered. And it all has to work together to drive the tune forward.

 

I almost finished them last night.

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