[Whiskey Club]

It’s been a while since I had a new song finished. I’m still writing songs frequently but choosing the one to focus on and then the process of making it reality is taking longer.  So I’ve taken the pressure off myself to stick to release timelines, hopefully in the interests of quality?  Hope you find time to give it a listen and, as ever, don’t sugar-coat the feedback.  I’m here to learn.

Cheers - John.

https://whiskey-club.co.uk/track-6

You’ll Never Fool Yourself

I don’t know what’s going through my head
I have two of everything I need
Rich indeed
Lying in my nine foot, six inch bed
Thumbing through my first edition reads
Concience freed

But along with my possessions
My one hundred inch TV
Comes the spectre of depression
And my insecurity
The voice says stop the speculation
Leave your ego on the shelf
You can fool the population
But you’ll never fool yourself

I don’t need your reassurance
I’m quite happy up here on my own
All alone
In my tower of abundance
With all its riches and its throne
That I own

Just remember all their sayings
Leave your grade outside the room
You’ll never hear the tune that’s playing
Far outside the corporate womb
A voice says stop the speculation
Leave your ego on the shelf
You can fool the population
But you’ll never fool yourself

And when my ego takes a beating
I just think about the great unwashed
Not so posh
Choosing heating over eating
Mais Qu’ils mangent de la brioche
Fancy nosh

But along with my possessions
My one hundred inch TV
Comes the spectre of depression
And my insecurity
The voice says stop the speculation
Leave your ego on the shelf
You can fool the population
But you’ll never fool yourself

You can fool the population
But you’ll never fool yourself

[Nick Ryder]

Hi @Whiskey Club John.

Nice song / track.

It has a great feel and I suspect the lyrics are great too, bu,t confession time - I rarely take note of lyrics unless they're awful....

Arrangement wise there's a lot I'd change here. Firstly, the drum pattern is pretty much the same throughout. By making subtle (and sometime not is subtly changes) to the carious sections you can add dynamic and make it sound more interesting for the listener.

On that note, where you sing the word 'stop' (and I know this is a cliche), I would literally cut everything from the arrangement and bring it back half way through the word 'speculation' on the 'lation' part of the word.

'I don't need your reassurance' - I'd get the piano to play that melody straight after you sing that line.

'you'll never hear the tune that's playing' - bring some strings or a synth pad and a shaker into that section to differentiate it from the previous section.

I'd dial the reverb up on the sax sound in the solo and also record some hand claps low in the mix, again with loads of river panned hard right and left. I usually record about 16 hand claps and pan 8 left and 8 right.

I'd also consider losing the bass for the first half of the final verse.

So sorry, but you did ask Its just how my mind works!!

Just a few small changes I think which would elevate the production quite a bit.

[Whiskey Club]

@Nick Ryder  Brilliant!  Thank you.  I’m starting to realise that it isn’t the technical aspects of production that I need to focus on so much as ‘Imagination’.  Appreciate your listening so closely.

Cheers - John.

[Nick Ryder]

You're welcome.

Incidentally, I've just started listening to the band Ocean Colour Scene. I've found a Spotify playlist and they're amazing. I'd highly recommend having a listen because some of their production techniques and sounds are excellent.

They've actually inspired me to aim hight. Much higher.

I had planned to take a break but now now......

[Elvis Nash]

its a bit of a bright melody for such a poignant subject
probably a good idea then dark , which would be obvious
Nick has some great ideas , good job my man !!!!

[Whiskey Club]

You're welcome.

Incidentally, I've just started listening to the band Ocean Colour Scene. I've found a Spotify playlist and they're amazing. I'd highly recommend having a listen because some of their production techniques and sounds are excellent.

They've actually inspired me to aim hight. Much higher.

I had planned to take a break but now now......

Have downloaded loaded their last album.

Cheers - John.

[Whiskey Club]

its a bit of a bright melody for such a poignant subject
probably a good idea then dark , which would be obvious
Nick has some great ideas , good job my man !!!!

Thanks for the listen man!  Oh, if it were possible to explain the real story behind those lyrics and the choice of genre to put them to, you’d be shocked at how wicked my naughty little demons are sometimes :-)

Cheers - John.

[rightly]

Well written intelligent lyrics
Thought provoking content
It has a good even flow

It seem just a little short of dynamic.

We listen to tracks and each of us would do it differently
I like the diversity on the forum.
Thanks for sharing your work  👍

[CorkingCrackBand]

Hi @Whiskey Club

   I heard this one over on SoundCloud only earlier today. 
   I really like the melody on this one. The rhythm is nicely funky - with that guitar it sounds a bit 'Supertramp' which is no bad thing.
 
   I think the sax and drums are the No1 thing I'd look at to improvement myself. Just to aid with the dynamics (drums) and the sax is just a little too 'man with keyboard' at the moment, possibly a touch more reverb (maybe a slight delay to help blur the edges?) and bring the level down a touch. Just my (ignorant) opinion. On the drums - if you add some fills and possibly change the rhythm a little more, you may find it opens up a new section, or way of differentiating one verse (and chorus etc) from another a little clearer. 

Oh poo - I've just read the other comments and seen I've been beaten to it lol. Oh well.

The lyrics are really good and the overall feel of the song is cool - just perhaps a tweak or two away from *chefs kiss*. 

All the best,

CCB

[PeteS]

That's probably not the best place to start John, their 90's stuff is what they're famous for.

On to the song!  Nick covers so much it's hard to add much, but my overall feeling was a lack of dynamics, Nick's suggestions will go al log way to address that.  For me, the sax solo is too loud and the end doesn't feel right.  I think it needs to continue and either fade out or preferably reach a natural point to stop.

Good song though!

 

You're welcome.

Incidentally, I've just started listening to the band Ocean Colour Scene. I've found a Spotify playlist and they're amazing. I'd highly recommend having a listen because some of their production techniques and sounds are excellent.

They've actually inspired me to aim hight. Much higher.

I had planned to take a break but now now......

Have downloaded loaded their last album.

Cheers - John.

[ChrisPrice]

A great track. I'd agree with the Supertramp comparison. Yes, like CCB, some of my thoughts have already been covered too, so I won't go there. It's a really good song as it is. Take on board one or two of those suggestions and you have a winner.

[Whiskey Club]

@rightly @CorkingCrackBand @PeteS @ChrisPrice

Thanks for the feedback.  Much appreciated!

Cheers - John.