Subject: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Well, MP3 seems to be getting more efficient and two of the entries are posted, with Steve Biederman's sure to be there within another day or two.
For those interested...
www.mp3.com/KvinneslandPirone, and scroll towards the bottom.
Feel free to comment.
My thoughts are as follows, and keep in mind that despite the pros and cons, final awards are still undecided, although one will readily discern which way I'm leaning.
Also keep in mind that these are soley my opinions, and I still retain the utmost regard for all of the participants and their talents, regardless of what I may or may not like about certain parts of these particular renditions.
Whatever prizes are awarded are strictly a show of honor in the fray and respect, and couldn't possibly begin to repay the artists for the time they put in...
(DUE TO RESTRAINTS OF MESSAGE LENGTH, ANOTHER POST WILL HAVE TO BE MADE TO CONTAIN THE ENTIRETY OF MY REVIEW OF THE ENTRIES.)
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Rodney Gene's Demo:
Pro: This guy is truly a race apart from the rest of us. In one word "chops". Musical chops, vocal chops, studio chops.
More chops than a Kosher butcher the week of Thanksgiving... more chops than a low-budget martial arts flick... more chops... well you get the idea.
Did I mention "chops"?
He did 'warn' that he would put his own spin, his personal interpretation on the song, and we of course said "go for it".
And indeed he did. While the result is quite different in tempo and feel from the rough demo I provided, he took it up to that rarified atmosphere in which the true artist dwells.
Rather than straight rock/pop, he put an alternative spin on things and in effect, 'contemporized' it to be more attuned to todays market.
What impresses most (and is infinitely more important when making a demo of any material) is that one can hear the emotion and emotional content in every measure, even beyond the stellar craftsmanship (which in itself is nothing to dismiss lightly, emotion or no).
Although it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, Rich and I were so impressed with Mr. Gene's artistry that we immediately contracted him to redemo The Heart Craves for us (which is also up on the site now, so give it a listen).
Con: As mentioned, many a liberty was taken with tempo and singer's melody, and the 'demo' could be considered almost 'too good' when attempting to convey the song to any other artists except those of the alternative genre (and they'd probably be intimidated by the current rendition).
If one were pitching Rodney Gene, the artist, then this recording would definitely be part of the package. But I'm not sure it will be as useful in pitching the song itself, except to the aforementioned narrowly-defined genre (a genre which, by the way, is notoriously closed in that the artists all write their own material and/or fall back on 'classics' penned by previous folk/rock giants).
(SAME THING WITH MESSAGE LENGTH - CONTINUED ON NEXT POST)
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
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The Wendel's Demo
Pro: From the start my intention was to somehow get the Wendels to demo this song after hearing the first-class material on their site (and I heartily recommend everyone run, not walk, over to their site and listen to several of their songs - the link can be found at our MP3 page under Links).
Basically, their Rembrandts-cum-retro vocal stylings and energetic guitars is what I heard in my head as the perfect match for the song, and from the start I felt that this contest was theirs to win for the asking (as a matter of fact, I believe Vegas odds had them as the 8 to 5 favorite).
And when I got the demo in the mail and threw the CD into the player, at the first strains of the driving guitar intro, I already started reaching for my checkbook.
They nailed, and I mean outright NAILED, the musical rendition. But...
Con: then I heard the vocals. While competent, I think they totally lack any conveyance of energy, certainly not to match the drive of the for-all-intents perfect music track, and it's this lack of conviction that sinks the whole works as a pitchable demo (which truly pains me because I just love what they did with the music).
Exacerbating the problem was the complete absence of background harmonies a la what I included in my original demo to add interest.
I'm still trying to figure out what happened here, especially after the great vocals I heard on their site in songs like Perpetual Motion. It's almost as if they put all they had into the music, and then lost interest and merely phoned-in the vocals.
I have known great disappointments in my life, from choking in the Hot Seat to watching Mariano Rivera throw away the 7th game of the World Series. While this demo does not quite match the pain of the those let-downs, it does indeed secure the Bronze medal of broken hearts.
(AGAIN WITH MESSAGE LENGTH - CONTINUED ON NEXT) |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
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Steve Biederman's Demo
Pro: Good ol' Steve, with the true Olympic attitude from the start of "it's not the winning, but the taking part."
And participate indeed he did, with a respectable entry and solid effort all around that d**mn near made him the dark horse surpise, were it not for the other-worldly capabilities of Mr. Gene.
When I listened to his rendition, I got the feeling that he put everything he had into it, talent- and equipment-wise.
His 12-string arrangement, lead vocal, and background harmonies gave me a Brian Wilson/Neil Diamonesque ambiance that certainly would make this demo bear repeated listens.
Steve would be the first to admit in taking a back seat to the likes of The Wendels and Rodney Gene, but I gotta tell ya, kids - from the progression of what I've been hearing out of his home efforts these past two years, he's quickly getting to the point of not having to play second fiddle to anyone.
What he lacks in equipment and natural "lead male" vocals he makes up for with spirit and determination - one gets a sense of just plain enjoyment when listening to him perform.
Someone once said "No matter what you do, if you light yourself with the fire of enthusiasm, people will come for miles around just to watch you burn." I can think of no better praise for Mr. Biederman.
Con: The lack of a trule "male lead" voice had been cited, and in the jungle of pitchable demos, the voice is d**mn near everything, and even when it's all perfect, success at getting cuts is still far below 1%.
Also, the overall feel of the demo is perhaps a tad 'too retro', sure to please music fans, but sometimes dismissed curtly by publishers with the dreaded 'dated' stamp.
The only suggestions I would have made is to bring more of the background harmonies that I did in my demo into this one, and pepper the drum track with a few more 'distinctive' moments.
=============================================
Anyway, there you have my opinions. Rich, I, and I'm sure all of the participants, would like to have yours.
Say I'm right, say I'm wrong - we're not here to argue the above points of my own impressions, and I won't start a debate.
I just wanted to lay my "tuchis ufen tisch", as our Yiddish friends would say.
One great learning experience that came out of this for me was the undeniable revelation that a good/great song only becomes such based upon performance.
I used to bandy about with debates about a great song being comprised of at least 65% credit to the music and perhaps 35% to the lyric.
But no matter any of that... it becomes readily apparent that the performance carries the day and 'sells' the material to the audience.
In short, it's the singer, not the song.
I understand that better now.
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Bonafide |
Rodney Gene here (In case you weren't sure of the Bonafide handle)
Well It's hard to read about yourself in that light and I don't necessarily agree about my chops.
I Think if you were to break down each instrument you would see that it is really several 'small' and 'not so chops' parts put together to make the whole. In other words, each instrument on thier own is rather simple.
From the beginning of this 'contest' I knew I couldn't lay down a version that was true to the original, however I hadn't really even thought about it that way.
The only reason I even did it was because of the lyrics. They truly had beauty, light and dark and an overall sense of life. That was the motivator. Had I know that Robert was going for a much closer version of his own version I may have stuck with the format a little more. But as he said, I did warn him and actually asked if it was even cool to do it 'my way', Though I had feared that I would be way off base.
So I approached the song with nothing but and open head and heart, I tried to convey the lyrics as best as I could within the limits of the chord progression. That was it.
As for the demo's, I listened to all 3 of them last night. (Please bear in mind that that I only have 56k dial-up and the audio for all of them was terrible, mine being the worse)
I will download them today for a better listen.
The Wendels:
First thing out of the gate I thought the same as Robert. Bam! A nice guitar driven pop/rock song, reminded me of Elvis Costello or 80's 'alt' rock. Very cool and energetic, Nicely recorded.
But: Then the same thing hit me with the vocals, I was like huh? That sounds like Exactly like the demo. Same timbre, same tone (remember I have a crappy dial-up here) same exact melody, I was a little surprised as I too have heard the Wendels material on thier site a few times. But: I didn't necessarily think it was bad, just not as dynamic as the music and not as dynamic or soulful as thier own material. I would have loved to hear more punch and guts in them personally.
Steve Biederman:
While this version may not have a lot of energy, it does possess the 'johnny cash' lay it down how it goes down vibe. I like the folky arrangement (As with all of your material Steve) and the offbeat harmonies. It does represent the song and it does sound like Steve B.
The vocals again were a little dissapointing, ONLY because they too sounded remarkably close to the original Demo. Maybe it was only me but the mono tone of the original vocal was what made it shout out for change.
(Geez, how can you guys sing so low and still project?  )
Either way, I personally have great respect for all of us who actually 'Followed through' (Better late than never uh' Skip  )
That says alot about your character and word.
Perhaps all 3 of us should colaborate and come up with the 'perfect' version? 
Anyway those are my initial thoughts and I will most like re-post after a few more listens on a better system. I will go download these right now and check them out better.
Cheers.
Rodney Gene
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Percy |
Hey Guys
I listened/downloaded the whole werks and it is quite evedent to me that all put very much work into these efforts. It was good to see Rodney change things around as in my opinion out of all the demos made here, the song, complete with music as written, is the weakest thing here. All of you guys did wonders and I am impressed and humbled. I dropped out of this contest for several reasons, the biggest one being I cringed when listening to my effort.I also found that it was difficult for me to toe the line, so to speak and do as required by the rules of this contest. Hats off to the Wendells and SteveB. as they did a great job while keeping within the rules.
If I had to vote though, Mr. "Somewhere Down The Road" wins allthough the rule thing will probably disqualify him. Way to go Bonafied.
Later
Percy |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Well, Percy, I dunno what the big hang-up with the 'rule thing' is, because obviously Rodney's not disqualified and is currently in the position to take the checkered flag.
And those who stuck closer to the original tempo and melody could have easily come away with the brass ring, if they had been gifted with Rodney's voice and/or applied the same emotional content and effort with the background harmonies.
Yes, there's a big difference between being a good artist and being a good demo studio, but that doesn't mean those two are mutally exclusive.
As far as the song being 'weak', I don't accept that for one minute. The only thing weak here was the resolve of those who at first exhuberantly threw their hat in the ring, and later backed out when things didn't come easy. I echo Rodney's feelings of respect and admiration for those with the character to follow through on their word.
My original demo being weak I fully accept and, HELLO! wasn't that the reason for having other better musicians and singers redo the song? That's the point, after all, of demoing a song before trying to pitch it.
The days of one guy on a piano or guitar (or home keyboard) playing into a cassette and successfully pitching a song thereby are over. Whatever small chance a song has for success is only attained by showing it in it's best light (namely, get REAL musicians and singers to do the recording).
But it's all really moot because, as I mentioned from the start, pitching anything nowadays besides uptempo country for female artists is an activity of negative return.
Rodney changed things around and gave it high interest within another genre other than the original intent, and that's become a good thing. One might even argue that Rodney's additions to the song deserve a co-writing credit, and I wouldn't gainsay that myself, so long as one also admitted that the changes were improvements for his artistic genre, and certainly not changes which radically changed the lyric or basic structure and predominant melodies of verse, chorus, and bridge. Hence, the material as it stood, was not 'weak'.
The Wendels, had they pepped up the lead vocal according to their usual vein, and added some background harmonies a la the example I set forth in the original demo, would have probably won. And the song, as intended in original, would have been very strong indeed.
Not to disparage any artist, but listen to Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb (an album he didn't want released, but the label at the time was looking into cashing in on what where his own home-brew demo recordings), or even Sheila Southern's Jimmy Webb Song Book, and suddenly the material of the venerable Mr. Webb appears very weak indeed.
But put the mic in front of Richard Harris, Linda Ronstadt, or Glen Campbell (coupled with studio folks at the top of their game) and the songs shine forth in their true light. And Jimmy Webb is rightfully acknowledged as one of American's true national treasures.
Not that I'm in that league, of course, but the point I made about performance selling a song remains.
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Hobes |
Okay okay...I'll redo the vocals this weekend and see if Skip will be willing to do a remix and master. I do want folks to be happy with it...
The harmony vocals are actually in there, they just aren't very high up in the mix. You have to listen real close to hear 'em...
hobes |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Percy |
Quote:| As far as the song being 'weak', I don't accept that for one minute. The only thing weak here was the resolve of those who at first exhuberantly threw their hat in the ring, and later backed out when things didn't come easy. I echo Rodney's feelings of respect and admiration for those with the character to follow through on their word. |
Didnt mean to offend you about the song being weak Robert. (still think it is).On the otherhand, if I had sent in my effort, you would have been more offended than you are now. As this was a contest..remember... with prize money yaddayadda.. I didnt feel I was obligated to you in anyway. From your comments you feel differently. But you are right, things didnt come easy for me on this tune...sorry again for not following through.
Percy |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Percy, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, after the fact, that the material is weak. But that's not what you said when you eagerly wanted to join the fray. That's only what you said after you decided not to see it through.
Nowadays, few feel obligated to follow through on anything as ephemeral as words, that goes without saying - so you're indeed right that you were under no obligation, and remain so.
But just as you felt it necessary to voice your opinion on weak material, I likewise couldn't help but mention my notice of weak resolve.
I'll let others decide which of our respective opinions carry the greater weight. Subject closed.
Hobes, while I appreciate your willingness to redo the vocals at this point, I'm afraid you may be misunderstanding what I mean about the background vocals. I can hear your background vocals in the current demo, but it sounds as if the background is merely echoing the lead vocals, and not really doing any harmonies in slightly different pitch, as per my original demo. It's background like that, and like the ones Rodney and even Steve did to a certain extent, that add the kind of interest required.
I also think that you'd have to rerecord the music in a key more suited to your forte (something I just assumed everyone was going to do) in order to generate your vocal energy as in some of the aforementioned other material that I admired.
As far as the strict confines of the contest go, I think to be fair we have to award things based upon current entries.
If, however, you guys decide to rework it a bit, I'd be happy to discuss a side deal off-line along the lines of whatever compensation you'd consider fair.
Originally you spoke of including the song on your upcoming CD, and I think if that were to come to fruition (although I sense you've changed your mind on that score), the current version certainly wouldn't suit your purposes, and you'd undoubtedly want to redo it with different vocal arrangement and pitch. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Bonafide |
Well I listened to the entries again with better audio resolution and my initial comments remaiin. However I did hear alot more going on on Steves demo. Nice work.
Question for Robert:
What is the genre of this song anyway?
It's not country or rock. Is it pop? Pop/rock? You have mentioned alternative in terms of my version, but wasn't your own version alternative?
I am simply curious as I have no idea what defines a genre these days...
Artists that I know of these days are considered alternative are Lenny Kravitz,Alanis Morisette,Blink 182, Green Day, Incubus, Matchbox 20, Sarah McLaughlin, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M.,Lit, Goo Goo Dolls, Etc.
The strange thing about these artists is that you can hear a variety of thier songs on different radio stations depending on the song.
If anything but female country type songs are dead, why re-do this one?
No flame here, I am just curious.
I wonder what the results would have been had we all did A 'country' version.
I can't buy into the idea that a demo can be too good, ever. I think that is a limiting belief and that any producer or publisher can use all the 'visual' help they can get to determine if a song is viable for a particular artist. Either way, any producer has his own vision.
Personally, I don't see that my own version is either dated nor current, perhaps that makes it 'modern' in todays market where 'retro 70's' is hip.
I have really gotton used to this song and have come to really enjoy it. It does however seem like an 'album' song and not a single. Always did in my opinion. I have heard your other songs, all of them that are posted and you and Rich are a great writing team. You do have some 'singles' , absolutely no doubt about it.
As for the rules of this contest, I think we all learned a great deal if any future contest is held. I think a clear, defined understanding of what is expected from the participants and what they can expect from you guys is a must.
I appreciate my opportunity to participate and potentially win a prize, But more importantly I have learned alot and have met a couple of really talented songwriters.
Best of luck.
Cheers. Rodney Gene |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Jt |
Guys,
This board has come of age! Wow, these three efforts are all astounding. They're so far above anything I could produce that I don't feel qualified to even begin to critique them at anything beyond a listener's perspective.
First off, the lyric is is inspired and inspiring. Great job, Robert and Rich. To be honest, I wasn't that crazy about the music when I first heard the demo - though I understood that that's exactly what it was - a demo of what you had in mind. Its fun and instructional to see where some talented musicians/artists can take something.
Steve: I really like the retro 60/70's feel you put into this. Your background harmonies gave it a Beach Boys meets the Byrds feel that I really like. Good energy.
The Wendels: Hobes, you and Skip never dissapoint. The musical treatment here is terrific. So good that the vocals are overshadowed - I found myself not listening to the words, which to me are usually the key to whether or not I give a song another listen.
Rodney: I love where you went with this. I think you stayed very true to the original intent of the song, while really giving it your own unique twist. Overall, this was my favorite rendition.
Great job by all. Sorry I'm not giving more in depth thoughts - I'm just enjoying listening. I remember when this was strictly a lyric board, with few folks putting out any really good music. The times are a 'changin'! I'd say Robert and Rich are 3 for 3 on this one. And everyone involved is a winner in my book - as are all the members of this board who've had the privilage of watching this one evolve.
Keep 'em coming.
John
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Kind words, John. As per your usual style and grace.
Yeah, there's a lot to like about each of these versions, especially with repeated listens. And it's obvious that a lot of time was spent, which is why I started out feeling a bit guilty that the participants never could be truly compensated.
Rodney, you're right to bring up the fact that genres nowadays have blurred borders. "New Country" and "Alternative", especially, can mean just about anything.
I refer to your version as "Alternative" because it reminds me of the more modern material I hear on the radio, a la groups like Smashing Pumpkins.
My original intent was something along the lines of whatever genre you want to call the current Wendel's musical rendition - guitar rock/pop with a taste of retro? Tough to call, and I usually just go to the closest logical category over on MP3 to 'pin the label', as it were.
My remarks about how tough it is to pitch material these days were not so much to gear this towards the 'most pitchable genre', certainly not country!
I only wanted to lay down the caveat from the start that even a 'wow, that's great!' rendition would probably get little if any notice from the outside world.
Although lyrically Rich and I attempt to put a little meat into things, or at least have some 'works on several levels' message, depending upon the depth of the listener (or the number of listens one is willing to endure!), musically I'm afraid I'm still a bit of a tyro, and tend to attempt to keep things accessible, a bit catchy and toe-tapping, which tends to 'dumb down' or perhaps 'retro-ize' the music towards the public's familiarity with three, four, and five-chord progressions.
This, alas, does not impress the truly musically skilled, who are often my harshest critics. Yet the 'regular folk' tend to response well, and occasionally praise (many times of the begrudging sort) comes from the higher end palates as well.
Often I get "you know, when I first heard (Such & Such), I thought 'yeah, okay, not bad but not great'. But then I found myself humming it two days later."
At this point in my development, that's about the best I can hope for, and consider it an accolade, indeed.
But Rodney's "Why redo it" is rightfully asked, and I hoped that by this time my broad hints about the uselessness of pitching most songs was taken in the spirit in which it was meant, namely, I don't want anyone else to spend more time than they already have, except for their own academic and creative satisfaction.
The reason I told the Wendels that, off-line, if they felt like redoing it and making it 'perfect', I would at least have a rendition pretty much nailed according to my view of the song and for which I'd be willing to pay a fair demo fee, not to mention that, if they were still serious about using the song themselves, they'd undoubtedly want to punch it up from it's current condition.
But there'd be no reason at this point for anyone to spend more time on the song. I'll announce the prizes early next week, and they will be in line with the original terms of the contest, and in some cases a bit more than was stated. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Sunshineboy |
| wow! i cnat beleive i just read all of those pages after listeing |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Steve_Biederman |
Haven't been around the computer since these were posted til now and was glad to be able to hear the other two versions finally. I think what we have here are three different sounding versions based on the styles of music that the various participants grew up liking and listening to and thus, the appeal of each will more than likely depend on the taste of the individual listener and their style preference. One thing that comes of this experience for me, although it was educational and a lot of fun, is that I do a whole lot better when I stick to my own material. I tried to be as true as possible to Robert's original rough demo even as to the key it was sung and played in, with the exception that I took it up one semitone based on a suggestion I made earlier to Robert in the event that he wanted to try singing it just a tad higher to see if it would suit his voice better. I may have erred a bit on the conservative side by keeping the drums simple as well as the musical arrangement. I did this mainly because if Robert ever does try to pitch this as a demo, I didn't want anything in the arrangement to take attention away from the basic melody and lyrical content. That,plus the fact entered my mind that if anyone who mattered did take an interest and want to professionally redemo the song, I seriously doubt they would try to recreate my humble attempt at musical arrangement. So, I stayed simple but tried to give it a flavor representative of my musical tastes which, in the year 2001AD, is a dead giveaway of the fact that Little Stevie B. is, musically as in other aspects, a fossil of a long bygone era, eh? Actually, the first rough take I did was a bit more involved. I initially described it to Robert as a quasi-Brian Wilson production with three distinct layers of counter harmonies compliments The Beach Boys, a fairly convincing horn arrangement reminiscent of Early Chicago or The Grass Roots, an electric 12 string guitar groove compliments of The Byrds, and sung by a Neil Diamond wannabe. But, as I got more into the master version I was laying down, I decided to leave out the horns, two layers of backing vocals, and keep a simple, unintrusive drum track just to keep the beat. Most of all, as I mentioned above, being someone else's "baby", I wanted to stay as true to the author's version as possible while merely adding a little of my own flavor. I mentioned to Robert at the beginning that I knew I couldn't compete with either Rodney, The Wendels, or some of the others who originally expressed an interest from a technical standpoint because I don't possess the equipment or the expertise that they have at their disposal. If you had any idea of what my "studio" is comprised of you would readily understand why, lol. But, I knew that this would be an enjoyable enterprise and good for bringing some comraderie back to this board which would have to be a positive. And so, my personal kudos to Rodney and The Wendels for a job well done and I bow to you both (Oh crap!!!!!!! Now my back has gone out!!!) And also to both Robert and Rich. I hope you fellas garner something really positive from this one. Take care friends.
Little Stevie B. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Steve_Biederman |
Oh, a side note to Rodney..........A couple of months ago, on the recording side of the board, you recommended to Lianna, among other material, the free online version of the Audio Pro Home Recording Course. I tried it out and thought it to have some really good material in there, so.........I bought the complete three volume course and it is extremely good stuff. Very exhaustive in all aspects of the art of recording from start to finish. You'll all be hearing mucho improvemento in my future endeavors thanks to what I'm learning from it. I recommend it highly to everyone.......except Rodney, who doesn't appear to need much help at this point, ha ha. Rodney, I hope that someone important enough in the industry to be able to make things happen gets to hear your work really soon. You've got the talent to go far if you can get some positive breaks. I'm not alone around here in that accessment either, you can be assured, buddy. Keep it up and remember this musical dinosaur when you get where you're going. I'm not asking you for help getting a break for myself when you reach star status, I just want a backstage pass so I can meetcha in person, ok pal? Thanks again for the heads up on the Recording course.
Little Stevie B. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Skip Wendel |
Well.................................quite the little discourse on this one huh?
So many good points made (other than the one on the top of me mellon!) (Steve! are you sure you're not a Wendel? Couldn't have said it better myself!)
I have listened to The other two entries and all I have to say is Cudos to Youdos! Each version offers something unique (which I believe is due to the way each entrant perceived the rules & I think this is a good thing!). I , for one, wouldn't have it any other way cuz.....................and here's the zen part..............................nothing is ever lost! Everyone gained something from the experience be it tangable or otherwise.
I read Hobart's comment about redoing the vocals and think that the only way we can do it justice is to change the key (up! up! and ....up!) (Rodney! the answer to your question is ..............we can't push any air singing in such a low register! That's why it sounds the way it does....) I'll convince Hobart that this is the way to go AFTER we finish the stuff for the next Wendels CD.
Anyhoo.....................I really enjoyed the experience and the fact that the participants feel this community (hey is this some kind-ah hippie comune?) is tightening up as a result.
Your pal,
Skip Wendel
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Thanks, Steve - as always a class act. I echo your sentiments about Rodney's 'star potential', and myself hope to gain a backstage pass to say hello.
I must add that 'staying true to the original intent' was never meant to mean that the singer couldn't change key to suit his/her own vocal strength - that's always a given, or so I thought.
Next time I'll have to put in big letters SING THIS IN WHATEVER KEY YOU WANT, or something to that effect, and my apologies to Steve and The Wendels if they thought that that constraint was part of the bargain - obviously it hampers the energy of the lead vocal.
Anyway, here's the final results, with a hearty handclasp again to all participants - hopefully we provided some interest for the board.
Note that Rich and I looked under the sofa cushions ::) and held a neighborhood car wash  so as to come up with a little more money than was originally set
Rodney Gene - majority prize: $250 + contract for redemo of The Heart Craves.
Steve Biederman - $75 & a musical surprise in the mail, soon to be heard on one of his future works.
The Wendels - $75 & a side-offer of fair recompense should they decide to redo the vocals more akin to their strengths and the original demo's background harmonies. (By the way, fellas, I need an address to send the check to).
Thanks again, and adieu. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Steve_Biederman |
Quote:
Well.................................quite the little discourse on this one huh?
So many good points made (other than the one on the top of me mellon!) (Steve! are you sure you're not a Wendel? Couldn't have said it better myself!)
Hey Skip, didn't Hobart tell you about our (probably about a yearlong now) inside joke about me being "the fifth Wendel"?
Little Stevie B. (the fifth Wendel)
I have listened to The other two entries and all I have to say is Cudos to Youdos! Each version offers something unique (which I believe is due to the way each entrant perceived the rules & I think this is a good thing!). I , for one, wouldn't have it any other way cuz.....................and here's the zen part..............................nothing is ever lost! Everyone gained something from the experience be it tangable or otherwise.
I read Hobart's comment about redoing the vocals and think that the only way we can do it justice is to change the key (up! up! and ....up!) (Rodney! the answer to your question is ..............we can't push any air singing in such a low register! That's why it sounds the way it does....) I'll convince Hobart that this is the way to go AFTER we finish the stuff for the next Wendels CD.
Anyhoo.....................I really enjoyed the experience and the fact that the participants feel this community (hey is this some kind-ah hippie comune?) is tightening up as a result.
Your pal,
Skip Wendel
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Sunshineboy |
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: chadg |
Well,
my, my...I do have to agree with JT - music, music, music!
I listened to all three a couple days ago and though now a bit removed from them - the impressions lasted.
I'm not a musical guy so I can't really comment on the production end - but have learned a lot from reading others comments.
The lyricist's only POV:
Stevie B. You gotta love it. I happen to love Neil Diamond and I couldn't help conjure up the notion of Neil making a one song come back. Geez, U2 has done songs with just about every other icon...why not Neil? This song would be up his alley and Steve captured the basis for how I hear it in my head. Great job! P.S. - I also happen to be a big Stevie B fan.
Wendels- yah. The beat and the riffs. My toe was tapping. Personally, this was no 'Absolutely Julia' for me. It couldn't be from the get go - IMO, the Wendels and this lyric are mismatched. I totally agree that the vocals lacked conviction...there's a reason here. Otherwise, excellent!
Rodney. When I first came around these boards someone told me that you need to learn the rules before you break them. In your rendition, it's quite apparent to me that you 'know the rules'! IMO, this song begged for that departure...and you took it where it needed to go! Hats Off!
Rich and Robert,
I love the lyric! Robert has a way with words that...well, he has lyrical 'chops'!
I wasn't crazy about the original arrangement - It felt too long - it dragged and these awesome lyrics couldn't resurrect the connection lost 2/3's in.
As an observer I feel that Rodney did what needed to be done and that Steve and the Wendels (even with that great beat) had an uphill climb to truly impress me.
For the record.
I've truly enjoyed looking in on this and only hope that this inspires you all to continue more of these types of challenges/contests.
Thank you all for sharing!
chad
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Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Thanks for chiming in, Chad. Always good to hear from you.
For the record, Rich must get (at least) half of the credit for the lyric and all the credit for the initial idea.
I, however, am solely to blame for the music and rough demo arrangement. Like Steve, I guess I'm a bit of a throwback in my musical tastes and seem to focus on the 60's and 80's, with an occasional nod to musical theatre.
The interesting thing about these types of 'contests' is that each artist, regardless of how close he/she sticks to the original intent, always finds a way to put his/her respective stamp on the material.
I'm thinking that next time I'll just say: "Here's my interpretation of the material - let's hear yours, catch-as-catch-can, no-holds-barred."
Thanks again for listening. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Bonafide |
Good Morning,
Thanks to Percy, JT, Steve, Chad and Robert for your kind words of encouragement. And thanks to Robert and Rich for the opportunity to participate. Thanks for voting me the 'main' winner, it feels great!!! Though in all honesty I thought I was out of the running from the beginning. Thanks to the Wendels and Stevie B. for the great music and for participating as well.
I really appreciate the thoughts and confidence you all have been showing in my music. It is my life's goal and I hope to just release a quality CD within the next few months. It is slow going as most of you know. Wearing the hat of songwriter, instrumentalist,singer, producer and engineer can be frustratingly slow and it makes it hard to concentrate on just playing and catching a vibe so to speak. I fairly new to recording and my hat is off to all of you who do this. It's not as easy as some people let on.
I would love to colaborate with some of you great lyric writers out there and some of the stuff I read on this board is just awesome.
Again, thanks to R and R for the contest and giving me a chance to pipe in with my own version. I really have learned alot.
All the best to all of you...
Cheers. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: DanGray |
Big Congrats to all who participated, and Great Job with doling out the prizes... most generous and well thought out IMHO. I enjoyed each of the versions. I would love to "sit in" and add some vocals to the Wendel's Version (maybe I'll do that for fun sometime.  Steven and Rodney, well-done. I have to admit that I would never have heard the lyric going the direction the grand prize winner went. That's very creative. It's very hard to hear a rendition and bend it to your style and ideas. I sure wish I'd had time to put together a Duran Duran meets Tears for Fears version (maybe even a little ah-hah in there. But alas, 'twas not to be. So congrats to the entrants and as the prizes correctly point out, all entrants were winners! |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: Hobes |
Dan!!!
RK has a "music only" version on CD. If the key suits you, it would seem a simple matter to record it into your Korg and throw down your own vocals.
Now THAT would be super cool...
hobes |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: DanGray |
Sounds great man. If you can get that CD into my hands, I'll take care of the rest. The key is perfect. I would be honored to hang with the Wendels for a bit. ;D
Robert, if you'd be so kind, could you please send me a copy of the CD (If it's your only original, I can make you some copies on this end and send them back.).
Sounds like a kick. We'll lay a big eighties vocal on this baby...
Faux Wendel
out. |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
I'd be tickled pick to hear you do a vocal rendition, Dan.
E-mail me your mailing address and I'll send it out.
If it's more convenient, I can put an MP3 of it up on our page (although maybe there's too much loss between a WAV and an MP3?). |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: RobertK |
Ehhh, make that "tickled pink"  |
Subject: Re: Beyond The Blues (News & Previews, part I)
Posted by: GaryUsinger |
Hey All,
Just wanted to stop by & say how much I enjoyed listening to all three versions of this song, and am now looking forward to hearing Dan's vocal combined with the Wendels' backing track!
Kudos to all involved, and best of luck pitching it, Robert!
Gary
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