Members Beakybird Posted May 2, 2009 Members Share Posted May 2, 2009 You know, the Beatles are a major influence for me. I was born in '62, so I was also influenced by a lot of other '70's and '80's pop music. With most of my songs, you can hear some Beatle's influence, but in a '70ish early '80's context. I just finished a song that I'm a little embarrassed about because the verses are so unabashedly Beatlesque and because of the rather trite psychodelic lyrics in the verses (See lyrics below). It's called "Beyond The Winds of Time." www.reverbnation.com/larrylevin Maybe someone could help me with the lyrics so it won't be as "flower power" trite. Or at the least you can tell me if anything makes you go ouch. There are some other influences you'll hear. There's some Chris Isaak kind of low Western guitar, some Pete Townshend lead, Zombies Organ, even a piano run in the chorus that I borrowed from Elvis Costello. I don't mind the song being a tribute, I just don't want it to be a caricature. Thanks for any suggestions. Beakybird BEYOND THE WINDS OF TIME All that is love The sweetest love Is beyond the winds of time All that is bliss Soft as a kiss Is beyond the winds of time All that is pure It will endure Beyond the winds of time All that you yearn Someday you'll learn It's beyond the winds of time Chorus: Be be the beauty you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bodyguard2112 Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I'm a big Beatle fan, and I think this is original enough not to be a ripoff. Influences, sure, but not a ripoff. Nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eclepto Funk Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 i think your song inhabits the time-period and the mood very well without ripping off anything very well done in fact, it reminds me of REM in their "Green" phase a lot more than it does the Beatles very nice, again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beakybird Posted May 3, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I got some good critiques on another forum for arranger keyboardists. Some critiques that I wasn't expecting: 1. Too many fills (from three people)2. That I should use real drum samples instead of the keyboard to generate the drums (from two people)3. Timing issues on guitar solo and some of the vocals (from a few people).4. That since I didn't start out with a good vocal track that I had noticeable artifacts from the pitch correction software.5. A few just didn't like the song. Screw those idiots!@! I am rewriting some of the lyrics, and I think that when I make these other changes, I'll have a good song. I'm still open to more ideas. Beakybird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speierg Posted May 4, 2009 Members Share Posted May 4, 2009 Yeah, I heard a couple of vocal artifacts (one was pretty obvious...the rest, not sure I would have picked up on if you hadn't mentioned it). The drum sounds could be a bit more authentic. I didn't have a problem with the number of fills as much as there were a couple of fills that were a bit over the top. I'd try to simplify some of the more complex fills. I didn't notice any major timing issues (only listened once though and wasn't really focusing on that). Overall, I think this is the best effort I've heard from you so far. I really enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddybow Posted May 4, 2009 Members Share Posted May 4, 2009 I liked it but the song starts too abruptly, needs an "opening" imho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted May 4, 2009 Members Share Posted May 4, 2009 You know, the Beatles are a major influence for me. I was born in '62, so I was also influenced by a lot of other '70's and '80's pop music. With most of my songs, you can hear some Beatle's influence, but in a '70ish early '80's context. Good song. I got more of a Badfinger/ELO vibe than the Beatles themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matximus Posted May 4, 2009 Members Share Posted May 4, 2009 Good song. I got more of a Badfinger/ELO vibe than the Beatles themselves. Yeah. Or maybe at best solo-Era George Harrison, especially your voice. Your voice has warbliness similar to George's. That guitar run too... But yeah - stop sweating it either way. Beatles rip-off has been well-respected genre of pop in its own right for years, decades even. (I think Beatlesque is even in the dictionary). Monkees Satanic Majesties-era Stones. Oasis. Beulah. Michael Penn. Jellyfish. The La's. The Posies. The Bangles. XTC. Til Tuesday. Badfinger. Panic at the Disco. Ween. Elliott Smith. The Pillows. Many many more and now... Larry Levin..... Point is I don't think you can ever sound too much like the Beatles. Nice joint, by the way. Although it sounds like you're saying "Beep Beep," at one point, which is kind of distracting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beakybird Posted May 4, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2009 Hey, that's be be. Not beep beep! Anyway, I'm changing a few of the lyrics. The last words will go: We cling to goldWe cannot holdBeyond the winds of timeWe cling to thoughtsThat can't be broughtBeyond the winds of time Just love that's pureWill still endureBeyond the winds of timeThis story endsAnd starts againBeyond the winds of time. Thank you for telling me I'm not a shameless copycat. I'll have a finished product soon. Beakybird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RiseNewCreature Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Haha! Be be, not beep beep. Well there you have it! :thumbsup: Those are some cool lyrics! I wouldn't call it a Beatles rip-off; and anyway, who the hell haven't the boys influenced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 I like the song. It does have a certain '60s folkish type feel to it, but I didn't hear any obvious Beatles influence. I think the drums were impressive for the most part, but there were a couple fills toward the end of the track that were way too over-the-top for a song like this. Sometimes less is more. The vocal-tuning artifacts were somewhat noticeable, but particularly obvious in the background vocals. I would probably work on that. Watch out for synth sounds that are a bit too fake sounding, unless that's your intent. The synth strings made the track sound a bit cheesy. If you're going to use that sound, maybe find a way to make it a bit more subtle. The main issue I noticed with the track is that their were some major timing problems, both with the vocals and the instrumentation. I would work on tightening everything up a bit. Don't go nuts with quantization (if you're working with MIDI, sometimes the temptation is to go overboard with it), but maybe try tigheting up the performances. But I really have no issues with the song itself. Solid work all around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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