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.

It's called "Beyond The Winds of Time." www.reverbnation.com/larrylevin

I would love it if someone could listen and tell me what, if anything, makes you go ouch. I probably have to rewrite a few of the lyrics.

There are some other influences you'll hear. There's some Chris Isaak kind of low Western guitar, some Pete Townshend-like lead, Zombies style Organ, even a piano run in the chorus that I borrowed from an Elvis Costello song.

I don't mind the song being a tribute, I just don't want it to be a caricature. Thanks for any suggestions.

Beakybird

My last comment on anyones music.....I'll leave it up to all you experts. If you don't think the harmonies in the begining are "rushed" & off time and the organ solo later are a bit off then you better listen again.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-03-2009).]

I don't know how anyone could make a statement like this about a tune they've never heard. How could you know if the timing was off or not? Maybe you'd prefer a different phrasing, but for me Larry is the only one who knows how the timing goes right now being that it's a new tune.

I found the timing fine. It would fit with a Beatles type song.

I liked the guitar and organ solo idea.

I like your other Beatle type tune a lot better. IMHO

Yeah... (yeah, yeah )

I had no issues with the timing... Same issues with the fills (un-drummer-like, in places) and once again, the first part of the guitar solo sat ahead of the pocket quite a bit. Relax a bit more, Larry, and crank those drums while you play... it will help you sit better.

Overall, though, I thought this one was stretching the chords a bit hard... Not sure how to fix it, but I felt there might have been one too many modulations...

Another thing is, I'm starting to hear the Melodyne in places. The trick is to work as hard as you can to get a GREAT vocal performance first, and THEN apply the pitch correction. There's a temptation to go 'OK, I can fix that in the mix', but it only goes so far, and then you start to hear artifacts.

Finally, Larry... Trust me... go and listen to EZ Drummer. Those dull, lifeless drum sounds are holding the track back. There's no dynamics, no sense of realism. The same MIDI file, played through EZ Drummer will make the track come alive (although the fills still need work)...

You know, if I were you, I'd be trying to hook up with some kind of film music production company. Retro music like this, strongly Beatles but with no Beatles royalties issues, is often needed for film and TV work...

Best of luck.

Listened to this three times...Random thoughts...

The song seems "fill happy"...

Nothing timing wise stood out to me in a bad way...

Construction wise, I'm hearing a bit of REM without the edge...

I wonder what this song would sound like, cleaned out, with a frenetic Early era Elvis Costello beat?

With the admittedly dated song writing style this tune doesn't work for me. Too much sugary sweetness, harmonies, background stuff...It's like a connection of cliches...

You're good at chord progressions. The changes aren't always what I expect.

What's the end game? What are your goals
with these tunes?




------------------
Bill in Dayton

Larry,

Your music reminds me of the tunes in the movie, That Thing You Do!.

This one is nice, although I must agree that there are too many fills (just a few, you didn't kill it with fills), but otherwise this is a very well crafted song.

Stay true to yourself. My dad used to say, "There's a home for every pup."

Diki's statement/suggestion, "You know, if I were you, I'd be trying to hook up with some kind of film music production company. Retro music like this, strongly Beatles but with no Beatles royalties issues, is often needed for film and TV work..." makes a lot of sense.

Ian

Initially, I was tempted to listen to this a few times but, in the way that producers do (I'm not one, by the way), the first listen, and in most cases not even all of it, should be the make or break on a straight-up pop song. Mentioning The Beatles, I think we all recall that most of their big singles had you hooked in the first 30 seconds.

This didn't grab me, I'm afraid. I found that the chord progesssion, while interesting, was awkward in too many places. You know, the story (not literally) doesn't flow off the page, so to speak. No timing issues, a tad fill-heavy maybe but not obtrusively. Plainly put, the vocals need work. The mix was decent enough in general, good enough for most intents and purposes.

Thanks for putting it up, and I will have a listen to your other songs.

Interesting tune. First off..., Scott what world do you live in where it's not possible for a singers vocal timing to be off on their own music? You can hear a song for the FIRST time and tell if the vocals timing is off from the backing. You don't have to know the song to pick up on that.

Beakybird.., I think it's an interesting tune. I would agree about the drums though. Seem to be a little fill happy As Diki pointed out that guitar solo is a tad off, but could easily be brought into place.

I think it's the start of a good tune to be honest. It needs to be polished a bit more.., but it's not a bad song. I'd go with another route on the drums for sure.

I am confident Beakybird knows if his timing is right or not by the talent I've seen come from him. Diki who also does this type of thing for a living has also given his professional opinion.



[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 05-03-2009).]

Yea.., deal with it Scott. I disagreed with your view point. Boo freakin hoo.., welcome to the real world. I don't agree with your position..., that's LIFE.

I disagreed with it before and I still do. I don't care who the musician is. You don't need to KNOW a song to tell if the timing is off. Any reasonable musician who can clap his hands together can pick up on timing issues from songs they've NEVER heard before.

I noticed a few timing issues myself.., but not just in the vocals. Other's pointed it out as well.

So what if Donny pointed out vocal timing issues. Some of you guys just f---n blow my mind. You ask for honest opinion and then when people give honest opinions that aren't served with cotton balls and butterflies it's boo hoo city. Some of you guys need to do some freakin push ups and toughen up a bit.

Go back and read your post Scott. That response should insult any musician who has the capability to clap on 2 and 4.