Something For Everyone [5 Of Them]

Yes, something for everyone.

I'm going for it, trying to break out of the mold where I'm most

comfortable singing those certain Peter G songs but at the same

time not forgetting where I started from (if that makes sense?)

So Ive been working on my unfinished material and I don't want to

spoil them so I'm waiting for the right time to release them, hoping to

have an album finished and complete as soon as I have 10 solid songs

to put down...

Here are 5 new songs posted, 2 of them covers from

Cash and Peter Gabriel...I did them a bit different (I think)

I worked on the instrumentation long time trying to find

*my own sound* while keeping the integrity of the sound as a whole.

Confession: The reason why I don't complete songs is because I

don't want to bore the living snot out of you, the listener, which is why

I abruptly stop, and start something new:facepalm:

I hope you like what you hear and please let me know in any way

possible what you like and what could be worked on, because

as always I value your input immensely!!!

* Book Of Love....Zero Reverb on the verse! I used some strings

and tried my best to make them sound like a quartet. No drums, or bass, just strings and me *dry*

* Hurt Cover I dug deep to turn this song into a bluesy feel while

hopefully keeping the song's emotionality intact.

* I've Seen What You Are This is sorta like modern rock.

* Sick N Tired This one is raw, rough and has one profanity word.

* Wonderin Where You Are? This one I have to admit

makes my heart skip a beat whenever I hear it. I'm writing more

to this one because it just takes me to a dark place where I'm

unfortunately all to comfortable with...

I focused on layering some strumming, electric guitar

acoustic guitar, some telecaster in there to beef up the background.

My goal was to infuse a bluesy type feeling inspired by our very own members who are already aces at doing that!

I got a new drum-set and I'm hoping it adds more depth.

Oh, I also added some stuff to LonelyMe a while back and synced

the voice with the tempo, edited the rough parts...

Thank you in advance and can't wait to see what you think (or feel)

COOOL...I don't have time to listen to 'em all now, but I'm listening to Wonderin Where You Are...

It reminds me of a cross between a good Journey song...and right at the beginning for some insane reason it had Frank Zappa qualities to me...but I am odd, so take that with a grain of salt. lol

I really like it...all your stuff is just SO professional-sounding. *envious*

I'll comment more tomorrow, ok? Promise.

And also, I too do songs but then don't finish them...I have about 60 or something "concepts" and unfinished song "bits". Ugh. lol

yes! distortion! overdrive!!!!!! NIN!!!!!

* Book Of Love....

Love the chorus as it really sounds good with the vocals and synth playing the same melody. Nicely done vocally and musically. Mix wise I'd take the verse vocals down a tad. The chorus vocals sit better in the mix. It works for me with just you and keys.

* Hurt Cover

Very nice - the vibe is much better than the original Cash version. I also prefer your vocals. You hit that low key right on key. I could never hit that low! The drums are excellent and give it the right vibe at different times the diferent parts. Guitar is a little trebly towards the end but is well played as is keys. I'm not sure which is my favorite...!

* I've Seen What You Are

There's a little disconnect vocally after the "I Know" part. It may be volume of the harmony. The harmonies overall sound great though. Nice idea to introduce the chorus right up front. Excellent!

* Sick N Tired

I'm not a big fan of profanity. To me it restricts the ability of the song to reach all audiences and keeps it hidden form view. It used to be more popular on the rap radio but seems to have tapered off which for me is good.

The profanity also doesn't seem to have a good "sound" to it - It doesn't flow well in this case. Enough of this...

The singing here is my favorite so far of the songs. Your upper range shines brightly here. The vocals for all these songs have impressed also because they sound different - not monotonous and boring. Keeps me listening for sure. The rock style is great here too. The drums do the job by making these songs really rock. Big difference from canned drums if you are lucky enough to have them.....

Wonderin where you are. Snare might be a tiny bit loud. Piano is super. Vocals and tune remind me of that Sunglasses at night guy - Corey Hart. Again a vocal performance that sounds equally great but different from the last. Nice ballad!

Ok, I'm back for a proper listen now...

Sick N Tired - wow...this is different from your normal stuff. lol. I like it in terms of the overall sound and as always, the professionalism...I don't think the "profanity" is a big deal. It's a lesser "bad word", and not a jarring thing to hear. Even Kate Bush used that word in one of her later songs!! LOL

I oersonally don't find that kind of tune INTERESTING though...but that's JUST my own personal tastes in the kinds of songs and melodies I like to hear...not at all a reflection on the song itself. (I did feel a BIT of a heavy later Fleetwood Mac type vibe in one brief section though, which I definitely liked)

I've Seen What U Are - I like this one a lot better, even though it's still got those big drums and a more "heavy" sound...the harmonies I think I like, but I sort of get what Ido1957 is saying about the slight disconnect...

Blues version of Lonely Me - this sounds like it's on the radio now already. lol. This one's a winner I think. REALLY like it a LOT. You should definitely pursue this one in some way...

Hurt - HOLY SH!T!!!!! That VOICE!!! LOL Who is this song by originally? Are you imitating whoever it is? It reminds me of Nick Cave (but more tuneful) and...someone else...not sure who. WOW! SO different. I like it...I'm trying to "forget" how I know you usually sound so I can view this objectively instead of only focusing on the difference between the 2 singing/voice styles...

Book of Love - Another voice again at first...but more like your own voice, except lower-set...then later on your own voice again. Cool. This is a really GORGEOUS song. Who's it by?

Just to confirm yet again - I LOVE your voice.

Book of Love - This is nice. Really like the tender vibe in this song. Your voice sounds good in it.

Hurt - To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the voice you were using to sing it. I couldn't get into the song because of it.

I've Seen What You Are - This sounded pretty nice, but it was so short. Can't really tell much from it. I kind of want to hear more of it. The harmonies were nice.

Sick n Tired - This is very good. Your voice sounds great here. There was a spot beginning around 0:18 - 0:19 where I thought your pitch could have been a little stronger, but maybe that's just the style of the song that you're singing.

Wonderin Where You Are - I love this. I want to hear more. It's a great start for a song.

Lonely Me (added blues) - Your voice sounds great here. Very emotive and sad sounding. I also like the rich texture in your tone here.

I want to hear some of these songs developed further into more complete songs! My favorites were Book of Love, Wonderin Where You Are, and Lonely Me.

Hey Johnny, have you put any of your songs in the Songwriter's section of this forum? They're really nice there...they'll give you more feedback.

Hey Johnny,

More excellent stuff! Keep it up.

The one area I thought needed a little work are the AAHs in Book of Love. FWIW, I have the same problem--there's something about AAHs (especially when descending in pitch) that makes my voice a little unstable.

Sick and Tired had a nice 80s pop/metal sound (more like Steve Perry than Peter Gabriel on this one!).

I wanted to reply to everyone's helpful critiques so here we go...

ido1957

You're right on the snare! My favorite headphones broke so I am using these

really bad Sony MDR headphones which ironically are shot to hell but they work!

I'm not too much into profanity, honest. Sometimes I get Sick N Tired

of stuff if you know what I mean? I'm working on rewriting that one

because that's what came to mind:facepalm: at the time.

Book Of love is a Peter Gabriel tune, and see I thought the dry vocals

were perfect (I reworked them) even brought up the violins and still...

it was too loud! You've good ears! Confession: That octave Cash sings

at is a pain to sing. IN fact I had to augment my voice a touch to register

certain parts. The guitar is a little trebly so I totally need to work that out.

This really helps because sometimes I'm, not sure and this reaffirms my suspicions so Thank you!

K, I've seen what you are: Another song where the vocals

don't match the song, and this wasn't by accident. I didn't know what to

write and this is what it is like being me! Some come naturally others don't.

I will probably scrap the melody and find the right one, lyrics too.

Thanks for the compliments in addition to the comments.

The drums I've been working on adding some processing elements

as opposed to the untouched drums on previous recordings but I did use the older drums on Sick N Tired. I will try those out too.

In the end I am trying to maximise the dynamics without clipping,

but trying to get as close as I can to 0db. Book of love was a testament

that I can mix somewhat well enough to get the song louder without sacrificing dynamics and I hope I continue with that.

In the end...Thank you so much for everything:thu:

Invaluable input!

Grace Slick

I really love Wonderin Where U Are...

I have a harmony planned right where I say again: ooo-oooo-oooo

I can't wait to finish this one first.

Sick N Tired is way different stuff for sure!

I'm shooting for variety, you know something for everyone.

I personally like all genres so I want to convey that in an album

where everyone can like 2-3 songs each, this is the issue with me!

I can do instrumental, jazz, rnb, and want to nail rock, sorta like GnR.

LonelyMe is almost finished and Can't wait for this one

to be done. I hope for it to have a happy ending.

Hurt Cover-Johnny Cash is the OG singer on it.

He uses acoustic guitar and piano. I wanted to beef it up

a bit, but seriously the low notes aren't easy to hit. In order for me

to hit those low notes I use the vocal fry method slightly then I

have to accentuate the notes, which is why you hear what you hear, lol.

I could try to sing it an octave higher, if you think it would rock more?

Book of Love: Guess who?

Yup, Peter Gabriel.

If you really like it I will finish it so you can hear the other verses.

I really like this one too.

As always thanks for listening and giving your time

to listening to some unfinished beats of mine, greatly appreciated!

beach1

I really like Book of Love too.

It's a sentimental song and well, I never sing dry so I wanted to

see what you all thought of my voice unprocessed with reverb.

Hurt-lol I wish I could say "what are you talking about willis?"

But I get what you're saying. Low octave range isn't my thing.

I've seen- ran out of lyrical steam but I will probably add a telephone

style effect and do a rap in the beginning. When I upload one of my oldies

it will make sense. I'll let you know.

Sick N Tired-yeah, breathe support was lacking on that part.

Wonderin-Thanks man! I want this one done first.

I know, I need to develop these tunes.

You'd literally say WTF? if you saw all of my 100's of unfinished

tracks just lying on my hard drive!

Thanks for taking the time bro!

Check back for updates whenever you can.

I am hoping to grow from all of these comments and critiques.

Hey Johnny, More excellent stuff! Keep it up. The one area I thought needed a little work are the AAHs in Book of Love . FWIW, I have the same problem--there's something about AAHs (especially when descending in pitch) that makes my voice a little unstable. Sick and Tired had a nice 80s pop/metal sound (more like Steve Perry than Peter Gabriel on this one!).

Hey Jack, how are you:wave:

The funny thing is those aahs are supposed to be I's as in

I----I love it when you read to me!

I agree with you on that one though.

Sometimes I have an accent, lol and I can't esplain it.

Someone told me that my vocals sound too flat, or one dimensional.

Do you feel that is the case? I mean I do not have stereo mic'ing going on.

Just one mic, inserted via a mono track.

Do you feel I would be better off

-creating two mono tracks

-pan the L one all the way to 0

-pan the R one all the way to 127?

Would this be better than one mono at 64 (Centered) ?

If anyone knows I'd love to know as well.

Thanks again Jack for listening.

I'm aiming towards finishing what I start but its weird.

Sometimes these other tunes come to me and I feel I have to get

them down before they're gone.

I will definitely try that section as well, thanks Grace.

I downloaded the book in one of the threads located here so

I hope it will help me!

beach1 I really like Book of Love too. It's a sentimental song and well, I never sing dry so I wanted to see what you all thought of my voice unprocessed with reverb. Hurt-lol I wish I could say "what are you talking about willis?" But I get what you're saying. Low octave range isn't my thing. I've seen- ran out of lyrical steam but I will probably add a telephone style effect and do a rap in the beginning. When I upload one of my oldies it will make sense. I'll let you know. Sick N Tired-yeah, breathe support was lacking on that part. Wonderin-Thanks man! I want this one done first. I know, I need to develop these tunes. You'd literally say WTF? if you saw all of my 100's of unfinished tracks just lying on my hard drive! Thanks for taking the time bro! Check back for updates whenever you can. I am hoping to grow from all of these comments and critiques.

Yup! It's always great listening to your stuff since I enjoy it and it's so good.

I don't think your vocals sound flat or one dimensional...I think MINE do though. Maybe it's just something certain people hear and others don't, eh?

Well, thanks. I was told this by a uh *pro* engineer so I dunno?

Anyway I've developed a writer's block so what I plan to do is

sing and record a medley of Pearl Jam and Cornell and use the

method of doubling the vocals and panning them hard left (for L) and

hard right (for R) and see if this helps?

Well, thanks. I was told this by a uh *pro* engineer so I dunno? Anyway I've developed a writer's block so what I plan to do is sing and record a medley of Pearl Jam and Cornell and use the method of doubling the vocals and panning them hard left (for L) and hard right (for R) and see if this helps?

That pro engineer is full of baloney AFAIC

Everyone hears things differently. Even pro engineers. That's why pro bands and artists select their engineers very carefully. They don't like all of 'em. They're all different. You gotta find the one for you (if you're a band or whatever of course). You find a match? They'll hear your voice the way it matches with how YOU hear it, and what you WANT to be.

that's why pro-engineers are not singers...maybe frustreaded singers...JK!

You sound good and I like the songs and the quality of the recording.

Rod

Hi, John,

Sorry I waited all this time to review your songs, but I wanted to get a chance to listen to everything very carefully in order to give you a complete and sincere opinion.

Your voice is beautiful and moving.

I prefer your orignal songs to covers, but I nearly always do, unless the cover is turned into something completely different compared to the original. Your Peter Gabriel is beautiful enough, but it’s hard to beat the perfection of Peter Gabriel. One possibility could be to do something very different with the trumpets or the kazoo.

But I don’t blame you for singing covers, as it can be so gratifying. The audience usually loves it in concerts as they adore hearing things they recognise. I’ve done it myself a number of times.

Turning to your songs, there are just a couple of things I want to mention. First of all the samples are sometimes a little too short to be enjoyable I think. And second of all I was wondering how you go about your recording. Do you simply use a single track and keep it entirely or do you record several tracks and choose the best one? Or do you edit several tracks to get the perfect result?

You got me wondering when I listened to «Lonely me». Everything sounded fantastic, but then suddenly, when you sing «Just like me», it’s out of tune. It’s a shame as the rest of your singing is really beautiful. I believe you would have had a better result if you had sung that part separately and edited it. I don’t think there are many singers who don’t reedit what they have recorded in studio. It’s nearly impossible to be a hundred percent what you want to give and interpret in one single go. Believe me, I know. I have listened to so many versions of what I’ve done and the more you listen, the more it’s difficult to choose the best version and to edit. But it’s really worth doing, as studio work is a different story to live performances, where tiny imperfections are completely acceptable. My guitar player is even more demanding than I am with these things, and although it’s hard work, I’m always thankful to him afterwards.

You’re not singing a kind of low fi indie pop where everything is allowed. You sing a kind of music where everything has to be perfect the way I see it. Those little corrections can make the difference between being good and being great. And you’re good.

Another song which has problems of the same kind is «Just bean and cheese», but others are good the way they are like «Lonely one».

There’s a similar problem with the drums, which are slightly out of rythm sometimes, like in «Wondering where you are» where it only took two little mistakes to take the good feel out of the song. Such a pity on a good song!

I agree with Grace that you have a very nice voice and it’s a big plus that you have your own songs. You should consider posting them in songwriters’ forums to get more feedback. I’m doing it myself and I find it really helpful.

I hope I could be of some assistance and let me finish by congratulating you on your work.

I was really looking forward to hearing your "Book Of Love" but my slooooow-ass internet thinks that its not the time.

I like "I've seen what you are," your voice is cool. Full of expression but I feel they need something. Reverb or compression (whatever that is, i just see other people type it)

oooooooooh!!! The bluesy "lonely me" has completely dodged my usual distaste for bluesy kind of music. It's great. Definitely something I could listen to over....and over.....and over again, on the radio.

"The book of love"......my first Peter G song. It was good. An accent showed through a little too, where're you from?? You're aaaaah was a little wavy, my guess is you moved away from the mic??

I really really like the simplicity of the accompanyment in "Just beans and cheese." It's fun that you paired some thing that would usually call for more sophicated lyrics with a ballad to a useless waiter/waitress.

* Book Of Love A little rough in the beginning - this is a bit lower than your natural register yes? - pretty good after that.

* Hurt Cover - Great job

* I've Seen What You Are - Interesting. Has potential but I would like to hear more... I would like to hear the lyric without the harmony?

* Sick N Tired - Opening lines (song title lyric) are great- I really like your voice in this range... BUT it loses some power and is a bit pitchy in the verse lines

* Wonderin Where You Are? - Very nice. Seems to be a little drum beat issue around :30 but I am sure you knew that

BTW Regarding "Hurt": Just so some folks are clear; Johnny Cash's version is brilliant but he is not the original recording artist. Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor) is. Of Cash's cover Reznor has said:

(From the song's wiki page)