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Songwriter Forum => Feedback on Finished songs => Topic started by: Neil C on January 03, 2020, 03:28:46 PM

Title: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: Neil C on January 03, 2020, 03:28:46 PM
Hi,

Here's ode to a one of a kind who died last year. Well he certainly lived a life and was a fun to write lyrically.

Hope you like it and look forward to your feedback.

 :) neil

https://soundcloud.com/neilconnor-2/quarter-to-midnight (https://soundcloud.com/neilconnor-2/quarter-to-midnight)

Its quarter to midnight
The blackest white man I knew
I’ve been hoodooed baby
And been taken down so low

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

Dr John weren’t his real name
Not that that mattered that much
He nearly lost a finger
He never lost lost his touch

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

Furs and voodoo, charms and feathers
Champion Jack and Big Joe Turner
Playing knock ‘em down and drag ‘em out juke joints
And tragic magic busts

Its quarter to midnight
Money’s flowing like fine French wine
But the tables ain’t for turning
What’s your’s sure ain’t mine

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

Lawyers bogarting my money
Doing what I had to make them rich
Rhythm and strumming, kept ripping and running
I just couldn’t call it quits

Its quarter to midnight
When I heard the news
Gone to meet his maker
Mac Rebennack sure paid his dues

No more night tripping, no voodoo charms
Or stride piano or big easy slides
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

c N Connor 2019


 
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: Grubstar on January 03, 2020, 04:37:26 PM
Hi
I really enjoyed this track I cant believe how professional and great sounding the production is and as for the guitars and vocals; fantastic, What a great and fitting tribute track.
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: pompeyjazz on January 03, 2020, 06:08:32 PM
Great bluesy vibe @Neil C (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18856) This one really rocked. Superb playing and your voice suits the blues for sure. Love the harp in there as well. Top dollar  :)
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: Bostonfan2 on January 04, 2020, 12:41:30 AM
Sounds great Neil, I'm digging the bass line with the great sounding guitars &
your voice does the blues well. for a blues groove the flow of the lyrics is so
important and these lyrics & phrasing are right on, well done Neil!
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: MidnightCoffee on January 04, 2020, 09:18:35 PM
Hello
I think this song is great, it's groovy and the sound is very good.
The harp kicks ass seriously !
The two guitars tracks fit well together, we can heard them very clearly and it's not a an easy things to do.
The chorus ad lib at the end is very good

If you want some things to do just a little better, just as a personnal taste :
- the voice a bit too loud and above the instruments, especially at the end
- maybe too much lyrics for blues, maybe delete one verse for a real solo
- the organ at the end is good, maybe make it louder

Congratulations again, it was good
Bye
(sry for my english)
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: cowparsleyman on January 05, 2020, 11:16:52 AM
Instantly recognise you style @Neil C (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18856) - oozes feeling, and the harp and B3 makes it super cool.

Lovely playing and solid drum programming. I could imagine this one live, would go down a storm near the end of a gig.

Glad you kept the 'Yeah' in at the end.
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: LostBoy on January 05, 2020, 12:19:49 PM
Great vibe on this Neil mate. Musically it's awesome. Lyrics are great...."nearly lost his finger..never lost his touch!" Is my fave line. 😁👍🏻 the vocal melody if I'm being honest didnt really float my boat...a bit safe perhaps. I did like how u pushed your voice at "quarter to midnight!!" though. Good stuff man.
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: mickyplankton on January 07, 2020, 08:14:14 AM
This is really good Neil. Very cool lyrics and a very well put together bluesy arrangement. Reminds me a bit of Gary Moore which takes me back a bit. Love the mouth organ. Are you playing that live? If so keep it up. It sounds great. Cheers Micky
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: MichaelA on January 07, 2020, 07:02:22 PM
Seems an effortless production, just rolling along and all fitting together so well. Great separation and clarity in all the instruments, and a very cool blues song that is totally accessible from start to finish. Enjoyed very much!  :D
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: MonnoDB on January 07, 2020, 09:43:31 PM
Lovely bluesy number @Neil C (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18856). Harmonica is the star for me - the whole thing sounds very polished and true to the style. Great lyrics!!
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: adamfarr on January 08, 2020, 01:56:27 PM
I have to confess I'm not familiar with the work of the great man - but this style really seems to suit you. Nice playful lyrics and great harmonica work!
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: Jamie on January 08, 2020, 04:11:29 PM
Hi Neil, great vocal on this. Love the harp and the whole blues feel of it (Not really my thing, but I can hear the authenticity).Great production too Neil! Nice bit of hammond as well.
Really polished
Nice one!
Cheers
Jamie
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: pnb99 on January 08, 2020, 07:31:48 PM
I’ve listened to this song about 5-6 times.

I really enjoyed this.

I think the balance of instruments and vocals is very good. A nice, warm sounding mix. I never thought a “bluesy” style was really my thing….I’d certainly make an exception for this track.

Loved the harmonica…just superb.

There are some great lyrics “nearly lost his fingers, but never lost his touch” :-)

The vocal kind of reminded me of Paul Weller during his Wildwood phase..That is a genuine, sincere compliment.

I had a couple of thoughts that you may want to consider (or indeed completely ignore)

1. I thought that some backing vocals slightly earlier in the track might be a good thing
2. The second lyric line “triggered” me…not that it offended me (and who cares if it did?)..it just got me thinking that if you inverted that line, it would most probably be considered an insult. That got me thinking about how we use these characterisations and how, in the search for equality etc., we can be guilty of exchanging one set of generalised prejudices for another set. Anyhow, I’m sure that wasn’t your intention, but it did trigger an interesting internal dialogue.

Overall, I enjoyed the song very much indeed. It was a real surprise to me that I did.

Thank you for sharing your music with me.

Hope this helps,

Paul
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: montydog on January 11, 2020, 02:12:29 PM
Hi Neil,

A musician scholar is in the house! Very clever tribute to Mac with some lovely harmonica, keyboard and lead guitar work. Confident vocal but could have maybe brought the double tracked vocal in earlier in the song. As usual, production and musical setting perfectly judged. You make it all sound so easy  >:(

M
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: Inanité_sonore on January 11, 2020, 08:45:16 PM
Hey,
Good guitar, good bass, good voice ! It's a very good song  :).
The only thing I regret is that the harmonica only expresses itself at the same time as the voice, but that's a detail, and a matter of personal taste, not a criticism.
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: digger72 on January 12, 2020, 11:29:43 AM
Hi Neil,

This sounds great.
One of your best vocals I think - big and bold.

The playing and production is really good.
Guitar work is top notch and throws in some tasty licks.

Loving the harmonica.

Digger
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: CaliaMoko on January 15, 2020, 10:26:21 PM
Well, I missed this (yeah, I know...I've missed a lot of them, but it looks everybody missed this one...) one. I'm going to comment as I listen, to save time and hope I don't get interrupted, because I get interrupted a lot and then I lose my train of thought.

Okay, comments:

1. I love the bluesy shuffle/swing feel to this. I'm partial to this type of music, so that's not surprising.

2. The second line in your printed lyric says, "The blackest white man I knew," but you sing, "The blackest white man that I knew." I always like to remove the word "that" whenever possible and I think it would be very effective if you held the word "man" with a little emphasis here, and leave out "that".

3. Interestingly, your lyric, a little later, says, "That old Mac had died", but you sing "Old Mac had died". I think the way you sing it works much better than trying to fit in that "that". :D

4. You also replaced one of three (count'em...three repetitions of "that" in "Not that that it mattered that much," with "it"...a good choice, in my opinion. In fact, you could even get rid of the last "that", maybe replace it with "too". Just a thought.

5. I suggest using "a", as you've written, instead of "his", when he loses a/his finger. Now, I realize no one will be confused by it as it is, AND I'm much too unnecessarily strict, but "his finger" sort of implies he only has one finger to lose.  :P ::)

6. Prosody: The money flowing like wine line. I think you could keep your intention and improve the rhythm of the syllables if you sang, "Money flows like fine French wine." It's still in present tense; a bit of a different feel, so maybe you won't like it, but the flow of the line would be better. In my opinion, of course.

That's all my criticisms. I really like the song, nice swingy rhythm and catchy. And I apparently didn't totally miss it earlier, because I recognized it as soon as I started listening and I see I already marked it "Like" on SoundCloud....  Just didn't get any further at the time.

Vicki
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: Yodasdad on January 19, 2020, 11:03:44 AM
Awesomely authentic blues, really well put together.

Some incredibly proficient playing and the harmonica was sublime.

Enjoyed the Hammond style organ poking through towards the end.

This all fits together spot on for me.

Yodasdad
Title: Re: Quarter to Midnight
Post by: PaulAds on January 27, 2020, 09:55:12 PM
Great sounds and super playing.

Loved the lyrics...you're tip top in that department too.

Super stuff, Neil!