"She Wants It Over" - The Stragglers

…and another 2012 ‘makeover’ for the upcoming ‘Rollin’ Dice’ CD…
She Wants It Over

If you have a few minutes to spare I’d be very grateful… :slight_smile:

Sounds good to me Ian!
I think what’s bugging me most is the timing on your vocals. They are often a little off which for me spoils the groove a bit.
The snare? Could’ve been worse :smiley:

Cool :sunglasses: Sounds great Ian, well done. Snare has just the right amount of punch for me. Groovy as :sunglasses:

Cheers
Phil

Cheers :slight_smile: Vocal timing seems to be an ongoing problem for me :confused: Jet often points out similar issues. My problem is I can rarely hear the problem areas which often makes it difficult for me to fix, but I’ve had a look and consequently made a number of adjustments. Sounds tighter now I think but unfortunate that I have to rely on my eyes to locate the problem areas!
Cheers. :slight_smile:

Cheers Phil, seems SSD4 has mostly ‘cured’ my snare issues! Phew! :smiley:

By the way… I spotted another ‘philter’ down this neck of the woods recently… :astonished:

Cool tune, Ian! Kinda has that 80s pop vibe going on (in a good way).

I couldn’t really hear the snare, though :laughing: . All kidding aside , I do prefer a little “snappier” drum sound :confused: .

But once again … who am I to judge. All I know is it’s been a minute or so since I listened and the chorus is still ringing in my ears! It’s the song that matters more than the sounds - and it’s a good song!

cool track man, it starts out like something I can’t quite put a name to. lol that pic is so perfect for the song, not that I’m a dancin guy but if I was :sunglasses: :laughing:
on 2nd listen I enjoyed the keys and the toms. 3rd listen, the expressive vocal.
good stuff stragglers

Hi Ian

I like the electric piano lines in the verses and the synth in the pre choruses. The chorus is very memorable. :slight_smile:

The band has a real Stranglers vibe to me. :sunglasses:

Now for the not so good.

The rhythm section doesn’t gel together or get my foot tapping in the first two verses. I think it might work better in the verses without the guitar to enhance those dark electric piano lines and bass. The bass could do with more definition but that might be difficult. :slight_smile: In fact, listening again, it might be the bass causing most of the trouble, especially on the lower notes.

There are a lot of untidy vocal parts. The first line of the first chorus for example and later (adding comments as listening again). Also timing between backing and lead vocals. The timing often seem to occur when you are quickly snatching a breath. Another example of vocal timing is ‘My search to be over’ is untidy in some places. Where’s Jet? :smiling_imp:

Drums lack a bit of impact. A bit over compressed?

Real good song

Cheers
Dave

Stranglers… Stragglers… hmmm… :slight_smile:

The rhythm section doesn’t gel together or get my foot tapping in the first two verses. I think it might work better in the verses without the guitar to enhance those dark electric piano lines and bass.

Dave, which guitar were you referring to? The main rhythm guitar or the one doing the accented chords?

There are a lot of untidy vocal parts… Where’s Jet?

Yeah…without specifics I’m stumped. I’ve already been over the vocal several times and nudged things around. This is as good as I can get it I’m afraid. I obviously don’t have an ear for more subtle timing issues. Or are they not that subtle? :confused:

Drums lack a bit of impact. A bit over compressed?

Possibly! Though the same configuartion as I’ve used on other recent postings using the new SSD4 kit(s).

:slight_smile:

Cheers Dave. :sunglasses:

The guitar was the accented chords but listening again I think it’s more the bass in the lower register that’s not clean/defined. It’s fine in the higher parts. I don’t think the left guitar does it any favours though. Personal opinion of course but I don’t think it’s needed at all in the song.

Vocal timing - just a few suggestions

First chorus between backing and main vox - quite a lot of it is off. ‘my search to be over’ is untidy pretty much all through the song except that the final one is good!

‘to my’ on the line ‘to my family and friends’ sounds squashed in.

'was on a deck of cards ’ is out.

Depends how much you want to be anal. :mrgreen:

As to the drums. Dare I mention the snare? It’s not so much the sound but it doesn’t quite go with the tempo/feel of the song. A bit less compressed so there is more attack and a bit less sustain, I think. :neutral_face:

I think there are others here better qualified to give better advice.

Feel free to ignore all this
Cheers

PS. It seems quite loud too. That could have something to do with the drums?

Drums have definitely improved over the years… was considering SSD4 myself… I think they sound good. Agree with comments on the bass from Dave. And I think it’s catchy too, although I was thinking more late 60’s, not 80’s. Maybe I didn’t listen so closely, but I thought the vocals sounded just fine. Whole thing has a nice punch to it, and I like the harmonic twists.

Hi Ian,

Good song, I remember working on a version with Kevin.
This is quite different, but also good. Must be a good composition! :smiley:

I agree with Dave about some untidy vocal parts. The backing vox don’t quite gel with the lead in the chorus, they’re sung with a different timing.
The backing vox are more laid back (which is better IMHO), so maybe you should try to sing the lead in the same way.

Cheers,
Wim

Sorry…did you say something?? :smiley:
Don’t worry… I’m listening… :wink:

I’m liking them! I think they’ve made a very noticeable improvement to my tunes, more so than many other upgrades I’ve made over the years that’s for sure :slight_smile:

Really? You mean you made a song using these same lyrics? I’ve done a few versions of this one actually, the first ‘significant’ attempt was in 2007, was much slower… with a different arrangement. I cringe when I hear that version now! :laughing:

Anyway, I think I’ve got all the BV’s lined up now. I went in and tidied up the lead vox but completely forgot to make corresponding adjustments to the backing vocals :confused:

The backing vox don’t quite gel with the lead in the chorus, they’re sung with a different timing.
The backing vox are more laid back (which is better IMHO), so maybe you should try to sing the lead in the same way.

The lead was originally sung with the same timing you heard in the backing vox. But I then squared up the lead… I thought that was what Dave was referring to when he said ‘untidy’ - maybe I misunderstood! :confused:

Hmmm… :neutral_face:

Yeah, I can remember that version as well, if I remember correctly Kevin used some samples of your vocals… :astonished:
I’ll have a look if I can dig up his version somewhere, it was his arrangement, with the same melody and chords. I added some Beatlesque trumpet parts in the chorus.

Ahh…well that must be a different version again. The 2007 version I’m referring to was all my own doing. I’m fascinated - hope you can find Kevin’s mix, his tunes and mixes were often quite exccentric and usually very ‘alternative’! :slight_smile:

I have to say that this chorus is extremely catchy. It’s now two days since I listened to it and it’s still in my head. :sunglasses:

I like this. In all honesty, I don’t hear any obvious timing issues. I mean, this IS rock n roll, so…

Also, the snare is just fine. I thought maybe the kick could use a bit more heft to it (although the level seems okay)

Good tune! :laughing: