I recorded this song a while back with just myself and my guitar. This here is a recording with the entire band. Here's the breakdown.
Josh (Myself) - Lead vocals and guitar
Law - Keys and background vocals
Mel - Bass and background vocals
Juzz - Drums and background vocals
This here would be my second real attempt at mixing. Anywho... Here are the lyrics:
I went sailing over a mountain one day
Little boy was I
Found a ring
Up in a mountain cave
Twas a treasure
From my dreams
So under a rock it was stored away
Oh Sweet scent of April
I would pray
She would be my
wife one day
Won her heart and
I did promise
I’d give her a ring
Poor man
But my plan
Gave me adventure and everything
Oh been a long time
Since my many, many, many youthful hours
My father and I – take our boat
Through the clouds and the showers and then we’d sing
I went sailing over a mountain one day
I went sailing over a mountain one day
Well I
Found that ring
Under the cross drawn in crayon
It was
Tarnished to the core
But still safe and sound
Took the ring – to a jeweler
Closest one lived a thousand miles away
And I needed to make some green
So I set out to find some pay – and
I went sailing over a mountain one day
I went sailing over a mountain one day
Met a man
Said he had a plan
Could use my sailing
Make a fine fine Grand
So I
Set to fly
Around the mountains
Taking people to the castle in the sky
Through the cold and falling snow
I didn’t mean it
But souls were sold
And I grew old
I returned did I learn
April lived and loved
And she was
Packed in an urn
I went sailing
(Loving wife
Mother of five
They tell me
April lived a long happy life)
I went sailing
(Fool am I
Should have known
She couldn’t wait for me
So ‘til this day I sail away and sing)
I went sailing over a mountain one day
I went sailing over a mountain one day....
Hey Ya! (Cover)
Comments
Anime1997 Says:
Great job, i love the lyrics ^^
Also it was great singing along to it too.
SallyMusic Says:
I remember your solo version of this, love the jazzy chords and the ending is great with the chord progression being raised a notch each time - good stuff!
9inchesoffun Says:
Wow, all of you are destined for great things with fantastic material like this. This song to me was like a gumbo pot of so many cultural references of music in their most subtle but yet at the same time vibrant form. Wonderful, fantastic musical piece folks
By the way, what is your means of recording, e.g. studio, bedroom, or another form of rented facility?
Valkyrie Aries Says:
To be honest with you, I like the first version you made of this song, where it's just guitar and vocals. This one wound up sounding really busy.
Regardless, I do really love the melody, and your voice too. :)
Valkyrie Aries Says:
(Reposting because my last comment didn't get posted, SheezyART had some sort of error. Sorry if you got two messages.)
Long-winded critique comin' at you here, so... Yeah... You've been warned.
To be honest, I liked the first version of this song better, this one sounds too busy to me.
I think one of the reasons why is that both the guitar and the drums are very percussive, and since they're both doing a lot at once it's hard to really find the basic groove. (Also, I think that the first tempo you had was better than this one. The words flowed better.)
What may help with that is if you made the drum beat a lot more simple(like at 2:34 to 2:50), that way the guitar's percussion can be heard better and the both of them aren't lost in a complicated mess.
(Good example would be here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpizS9h-1Xk [That song is actually what I initially thought of when first hearing the acoustic version of "Set To Fly"])
I love the idea of the rhodes sounding keyboard, it's one of my favorite keys sound. But, in this song I think it also needs to be simplified like the drum groove. It's doing the same thing the guitar is doing for most of the time (like in the chorus), but it doesn't need to. Simple little nuances here and there in the background is all that you really need. Or maybe some sustained chords that set sort of a mood.
2:34 to 2:50 is BEAUTIFUL, very simple, the keys were lovely with just a few notes here and there in the background. The drums were laying out a very nice and simple groove. The lead guitar and vocals were doing their thing and everything fit together perfect. Try to get the same effect on the rest of the song and you'll be set.
On the chorus where you have your vocals layered, it sounds a bit chaotic. One of the things you could maybe do instead is a few close harmonies and get kind of like a choir effect. Also and/or maybe take the volume down on the extra backup vocals so there's only one set of vocals in the foreground. It's a bit too much when they're all at the same volume.
At 4:00 I really like the harmony you had with your main vocal, it's awesome. I think the background vocals should be turned down a little, and if there's a harmony to it, it needs to be redone or taken out. I'm not sure what it is, but it sounds sharp at the word "sailing". I don't think he went sharp there, but then again I don't know. Whatever it is, it kinda hurts to listen to. Rest of this part however is fantastic.
I think as far as your mixing goes, the guitar was a bit too quiet (maybe because of the drums sounding too busy?). The bass needs to be turned WAY up, I can't hear it at all. One error that most producers make is that they drown out the vocals when they mix, but you however did NOT do this and that is awesome, you are off to a good start.
Other than those things, I really love the melody, and I love your voice.
I think you guys all have a lot of talent and should keep practicing, writing, and honing your skills. Keep it up!
Sorry for practically writing an essay here in your comments, but I hope it helps all of you guys. :)