[flossie]

Hi James,

This is really good,  you are very clever aren't you!

 I will be honest I do like the song but I am not so keen on the arrangement I think you could give it a rejig, it left me wanting more chorus! I think it should all kick off earlier too, lose the military bit sooner and build the track up a bit more quickly too.  Hope you don't mind me saying so it's just how I felt as I listened to it.  The length of it is perfect though.

Your voice has a  bit of a metaller edge - I think I can hear whathisname from Metallica I can?!

[man of simple pleasures]

fantastic this like, very sixties pychadelic, drums sound mega!

[Adam]

I really enjoyed this. Reminded me of What We Did On Our Holidays-era Fairport Convention but with a lovely citrus-y acid/psych edge on it. Uber-clarity on the audio, which is perhaps unsurprising. Some of your phrasing such as the hard 'A' sounds of 'against' and 'accuse' was unexpected. Yes indeed, lovely vibe!       

[jim morrison]

I love Tinam, her comments crack i up , Fantastic James, really off the wall, nice to see someone going against the grain, you've done it really well too, can't believe how well this song progresses , the production is ace, no further questions your honour.

Just realised i've reviewed twice lol ,oh well carlsberg makes you listen properly

[Cherd]

It has this sort of medieval folk vibe to it, and the military drum roll is a really sweet addition.  I really like it man, kind of reminiscent of "Scarborough Fair", but then at the same time a bit like 60's psychedelic folk music.  Really nice song.

[Binladeda]

 Can't really explain why....but totally unexpected.  Fascinating piece, really held my attention. Yes.... a bit on the darkside. I too picked up on the medievil/scarborough fayre feel.  More 'gravey' than 'groovy'    enjoyed listening...thanks james

[misswhiterabbit]

I love how this changes towards the end. It's really well written and I thought the production was spot on. I like the psychedelic feel, I almost want more of that in there! I like music with a dark edge so this is right up my street 

[atitlan]

Loved it.  Great 60s vibe and I like the slightly obtuse lyrics.  Using the military style snare was a great iidea, too.

I was left wanting some extra instrumentation to come in after the first chorus.  Nothing much, and I haven't decided what, but a little more to start the build of the track.

As others have hinted at, another version with the full psychedelia pallet thrown at it could be interesting 

[James Nighthawk]

Wow, Thanks for the bump "Man of simple Pleasures", a lovely way to start my Saturday!

And to everyone for the aces comments!!

Funny how some love the military drum but it grates others. But oddball stuff is always gonna be marmite, I usually prefer to go for it in these situations

RE the psychedelia, as mentioned I think in this thread originally (it has been a while!) I did hear synths and voice changes as options, but the album from which this comes had a self-imposed aesthetic; no electronic sourced sounds. This started off as a folk ditty but somehow wangled its way toward trippy, and hey, I just went with it. Sometimes the song takes control


Thanks again! Jxx

[habiTat]

I like the chorus, and the..       ..pause afterwards.. it stands out nicely from the verses and i like the way it builds near the end. Not really my sort of thing but a really nice clean recording/production.

Good job   

[vibesville]

Hi James, this is a great piece of written work... really is! I think that's how it should be, poetry!

It comes across as deep and I wonder if what your saying is lost when taken to song. It could be the fact I was distracted by the snare which never really let me in and ultimately that's what we want it to do, let the listener in to our lives/feelings if only for a short time. Lyrically you do that brilliantly. Musically it reminded me of the late sixties early seventies and psychedelic folk with a little rock thrown in at the end which lost me along the way.
I couldn't help but feel the end was an after thought or an alternative to putting in a bridge to help it move somewhere. It might be me and the way I write songs, I just don't want my lyrics to lose meaning because the melody distracted the lister.

Again, nice words James :)

[garner]

Hi James,

Loved that tambourine … those little touches really add something nice … I also really like the way the music punched up right around 3:00 … it really made the song swell with emotion … I got wrapped up in it and listened a few times … the later times I kind of wanted the drum to be put back in the mix a bit … but other than that … I think it was great … evokes a very specific time and feel

And for the record ... I’d have to say thanks very much for the production talk … for people like me who are just learning it’s helpful to hear discussions of what is and isn't going on production-wise … gives a different perspective!

[mihkay]

Was really enjoying this dude then... just when I was thinking ...nice.....Jethro Tull kicked in. Even better! 

[James Nighthawk]

Hi James, this is a great piece of written work... really is! I think that's how it should be, poetry!

It comes across as deep and I wonder if what your saying is lost when taken to song. It could be the fact I was distracted by the snare which never really let me in and ultimately that's what we want it to do, let the listener in to our lives/feelings if only for a short time. Lyrically you do that brilliantly. Musically it reminded me of the late sixties early seventies and psychedelic folk with a little rock thrown in at the end which lost me along the way.
I couldn't help but feel the end was an after thought or an alternative to putting in a bridge to help it move somewhere. It might be me and the way I write songs, I just don't want my lyrics to lose meaning because the melody distracted the lister.

Again, nice words James

Thanks for the kind words re the Lyrics. As I have mentioned (but you may well have missed as it was some time ago on this thread). The words are written from the point of view of the protagonist in Geogre Orwells 1984.

The ending was written as it is acoustically from the get go, and as soon as I had the rise starting from the Cmajor I knew I wanted it to become huge mix wise. I wanted a song that had dynamic and levels to convey the war in his head which he so wished for the proletariat to ignite. It was not an afterthought, nay, the antithesis, it was one of the aspects I was most looking forward to bringing to life in the studio. It nearly brought me to tears to hear the final drum take set the track alight!! Those moments are pure bliss 

Thank you so much for saying it is poetry, that means so very much    xxx

The snare drum is polarising. And I like that. I wanted it to be in your face, again, with the militaristic vibe of his underlying thoughts. It could have been mixed "neater" or more "pleasant", but lo, I wanted a tension - Glad it was achieved!

THANK YOU ALL so much for rekindling this thread and the kind reviews. I have new work to post so please let this drift away to the lower echelons of the forum. Time for fresh Blood 

Much Love, James  xxx