My latest production for my client Matt. All comments welcome as always 
I think you’ve done a great job of orchestrating, mixing and recording. I’ll bet the client is quite satisfied. There’s just one thing that bothered me, about 1:04 in the right channel, what is that, a gourd, or a guiro or something?
nice easy listening piece, lyrics are close to the heart I’m sure. mix sounds fine here, and with some orchestrated adds it floats along
I commented one time on this forum about someone’s lyrics, that they are way to direct and not poetic?
Was that about the same Matt?
There are some classic arrangments in this piece that gives me this jesus christ superstar vibe.
Did you do the mix or also some musical input?
Anyway, Matt should make a rock opera, if he didn’t already. A one hour story about a topic that concerns the world like the war on terrorism, global enviroment or whatever. Because he’s the 2012 equivalent of the medieval minstrel and needs to right down his view of history for the future generation to hear!
Greetz Dylan.
Cheers! And yeah… that’s a guiro. Don’t like it eh? I was actually feeling quite chuffed when I added that into the arrangement, I thought it sounded quite cool 
Yeah, I think Matt has written this based on the experiences of a family he knows personally. Thanks!
Yup, same guy.
The song is Matt’s and he contributed vocals & acoustic guitars (sent via internet) to the arrangement. So, piano, orchestration, drums, and other parts of the arrangement plus mix etc etc was done in my wee studio.
Anyway, Matt should make a rock opera, if he didn’t already. A one hour story about a topic that concerns the world like the war on terrorism, global environment or whatever. Because he’s the 2012 equivalent of the medieval minstrel and needs to right down his view of history for the future generation to hear!
I’ll pass that on! 
Thanks for your thoughts and comments.
Just had a thought that maybe it’s because the guiro is hard right and barely audible, so at first it’s like there’s some sort of problem with my right channel. Anyway, you’re providing this fellow a great producer service!
Hi Ian
I think what you have done here sounds good, both arrangement and mix. I did have some problems with understanding some of Matt’s singing without reading the lyrics but that may be out of your control and it might be my knackered ears. 
Cheers
Cheers Dave…
An accent thing maybe? Matt is an Aussie, though I don’t have any problem or really hear any accent in the singing myself, maybe to your English ears its a different story? Probably not though, thinking about it - Jet has an Aussie accent too and I assume you always understood and heard his lyrics ok?
I was positive I had commented on this one. I know I’ve heard it before
I like it, but the drums just seem kind of dull and set back. I don’t think they need volume necessarily, just more brightness
Can I make a constructive suggestion? I think you need to do some investigating etc on how to get your soundfield to come off as a cohesive whole, that is to say, such that all the instruments seem to be in the same space
Great production Ian, one of your best.
I think the piano break overshadows the song in that middle bit.
I can’t understand a lot of the lyrics/singing. And that’s not just coz
Matt thinks my music sux. 
Nope! Maybe what you’re really saying is all his songs sound the same! 
I like it, but the drums just seem kind of dull and set back. I don’t think they need volume necessarily, just more brightness
Hmm… Steve Slate SSD4 processed they way I always process them…oh, yeah, ok…THAT could be the issue…
Can I make a constructive suggestion? I think you need to do some investigating etc on how to get your soundfield to come off as a cohesive whole, that is to say, such that all the instruments seem to be in the same space
I have my ‘band’ play in the same ‘room’ on all my mixes. Which instruments sound like they’re elsewhere to you?
Thanks
I think the piano break overshadows the song in that middle bit.
This section was the subject of numerous email exchanges. In the end… the customer is always right…
I can’t understand a lot of the lyrics/singing.
Well, that’s really interesting. I know the lyrics so I don’t have an issue but it is curious to learn others have difficulty. Is it the vocal mix? The singer?
And that’s not just coz Matt thinks my music sux. >
Two Sydney boys with a mutual dislike for each others work! Yeah, I was quite surprised by that. Recently he shared a song with me (not his) that he really loved, thought I’d really like it too. As it happens it was probably the most insipid, puerile, cheesy, country song I’ve heard in a VERY long time. I made it to the first chorus but the pain was so great I just had to stop it and immediately get myself a very big glass of muscle relaxant/sedative.
There’s just no accounting for taste!
I can’t understand a lot of the lyrics/singing.
Well, that’s really interesting. I know the lyrics so I don’t have an issue but it is curious to learn others have difficulty. Is it the vocal mix? The singer?
From my point of view it was the singing/lack of definition or clarity of the consonants. Might be the singing or the recording. The only thing I could suggest yo could try at this point is automating volume rides for the beginning of words. If you have used compression on the vocal the perhaps a slower attack time might help. You could also add some extra presence and/or try ducking any delays or reverb. Recording again would be the best solution probably but that may not be possible.
Cheers
This issue really highlights the value in having a 3rd set of ears, ones that are completely unfamiliar with the work. Of course my challenge will be to hear a ‘fix’ i.e. a better vocal mix, when I can’t actually hear the ‘flaw’ in the first place! 
Come back to it fresh in a few weeks?
Well, it’s not fair to say we have a mutual dislike. I’m apathetic, not hostile.
My comments were meant to reinforce my objective opinion
about the vocal clarity.
Listening under cans now (and ignoring the printed words) I’d like to hear the
vocal with any de-essing/top EQ/filtering minimized or removed. A lot of
sibilant sounds and tight consonants are almost missing in places.
Stream sounds clear. Go figure.
I was perhaps a bit brutal with the top-end pruning I must admit, its just that without it the vocal sounded somewhat harsh to me. I don’t often use de-essers though… I prefer to deal to excessive ‘sss’ manually.
Anyway… I’ll let the customer decide where to go next with this.