[Wicked Deeds]

Good evening,

I'm on my hols at the moment and so I have found the perfect opportunity to produce a song called "Last Thing At Night" for my dear friend Andy Cruise @Kafla.
Andy sent me this several weeks ago (acoustic guitar and vocal) and then I found myself in the middle of a house move.  Unfortunately, I  had to have surgery too, which has required some recovery time.  Andy sent a guitar/vocal recording and gave me permission to steer this song in any direction.  He was happy for me to co write and so I added a brief middle section.  I sometimes think that helps to breath new life into a song.  Upon listening, it's quite obvious which section I have written but I still regard this as Andy's song.  Andy is a great songwriter.  He would say he plays several instruments though none of them well.  How good do you need to be?  What is obvious, is that he is a fine tunesmith.  I would struggle to invest my time in producing something that has been written badly.  Andy's like a producers dream.  If you know a little about production and hopefully have some songwriting ability then, you are on to a winner with his music.  Mostly, Andy is a dear, dear friend and I  would do anything to bring his songwriting to life.  This is a deeply moving and at times bitter composition.    We both love the way the song has come together. 


https://soundcloud.com/andrewcruse/last-thing-at-night-the-spirit-poets

Last thing at night

I want to know, are you happy now, in a better place?
Was the reckoning so delicate, like sand on your face.
Was your mother proud of her little girl and her little lies?
These are the thoughts that haunt me, last thing at night.
These are the thoughts that haunt me, last thing at night.

Was it on your mind for a week or two or a night with him?
Did he make you smile or is happiness just a state of mind.
You left me high and dry, broke inside, barely alive.
Was your mother proud of her little girl and her little lies?
These are the thoughts that haunt me, last thing at night.
These are the thoughts that haunt me, last thing at night.

How can I forgive you whenI lost everything.
Help me to forget.
Will I ever get over this?
Got to keep moving forwards.

High and dry, broken inside, barely alive.

These are the thoughts that haunt me, last thing at night.
These are the thoughts that haunt me, last thing at night.

Was your mother proud?

Written by Andy Cruise - with a little input from me :-)

https://soundcloud.com/andrewcruse/last-thing-at-night-the-spirit-poets

[Wicked Deeds]

I'm shanelessly bumping this song as it was posted 3 days ago and has been completely overlooked.  I don't really know why. There has been so much love and attention to detail devoted to the writing and production. It would be a great shame if it dissapeared without a single review.

Paul

[moraamarolaloba]

Hola @Wicked Deeds 

Hello
I had not heard your song until today and I liked it a lot. The arrangement and the atmosphere that the piano gives is melodious, nostalgic, very well developed and the lyrics are very good, as well as your interpretation.
I like this line a lot, it caught my attention
"Was the reckoning so delicate, like sand on your face."

Andy's composition, as you say, is moving and sometimes bitter, like life.

this song could be playing on some famous radio, it deserves it

I hope you are well now, stay well

Mora

[MonnoDB]

Not sure how I missed this when I was reviewing the other night! 👀

Anyhoo glad you bumped it @Wicked Deeds !

It’s a beautiful song - melody and words, poignant and sad, the vocal delivery completely nailed - I believe this story regardless of whether or not it’s a piece of fictional writing, the emotion - sadness, bitterness, depression are there..

Beautiful production Paul! Can’t fault it. You do the song proud!

Only thing I’d change is the second voice - it’s perfectly lovely but it broke the spell for me as it felt like it should be sung by the Andy - as it’s the same story, right? So if it were me, I’d get him to sing that, particularly the first section.

Outstanding!

K

[CaliaMoko]

I listened to it a couple days ago and I thought I left a review but I see I didn't. I do get interrupted frequently so it's hard to keep track of what I've done and what I haven't. So I'm glad you bumped it to give me another chance.

I like this song a lot. It has a very pleasant sound and the production suits it well. I really like the melody. Flows so nicely with the words. Like Karen, I would like to hear the same voice the whole way through. It was a little jarring for another voice to pop in like that. I like both voices fine, it's just that it would have better continuity with the same voice throughout.

Lovely melody, evocative words, lovely production.

[Wicked Deeds]

@moraamarolaloba, thank you, I fd think this is an incredibly commercial song that Andy has written. Though unlikely, I think it deserves greater exposure.

Paul

@MonnoDB and @Caliomoko, Andy came down with Covid and so, he couldn't sing the newly written parts of this song. It was never my intention to sing those but sometimes when duty calls..... It allowed the song to be completed.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. It really is appreciated. I know that Andy @kafla will be very happy with your comments too.

Paul

[moraamarolaloba]

It usually happens, there are very good creators who can't reach a greater number of ears... Networks today are very important, a platform for contact, viewing and sharing that works, the more contacts the more the product will move, either good or bad, but in this case... It's very good @Wicked Deeds

Mora

[PaulAds]

What a great song!

Andy is such a great talent…he has one of those voices and also a presence that commands attention unobtrusively…which is perhaps a slight contradiction in terms…but shouldn’t be…as it’s perhaps the best way to be able to do it.

Lovely sentiment, sweet, heartfelt vocals and top class production.

Superb.

[pompeyjazz]

This is lovely @Kafla and @Wicked Deeds Andy's vocals always give me a kind of warm and fuzzy feeling and it all sounds so effortless but packed with feeling and emotion. Top job on the production too Paul. This is a seriously good song that deserves to be played again and again

[Skub]

I'm hearing a David Gray quality to Andy's vocals and the song itself.

It's a lovely piece of work and a fine collab.

Paul's soft vocals add a cool contrast and give the track another dimension.

[Jamie]

@Kafla @Wicked Deeds

Hi guys, lovely song, great production and arrangement. Lovely lyric with an emotional delivery.

Good stuff guys!

Jamie

[PaulyX]

Yeah that was a real treat.  You've both got great voices... I'm not familiar with Andy's so it kinda blew me away... really great emotion-packed-but-still-subtle delivery.  Production excellent too... again subtle and not overblown.  Definitely sounded like it had commercial potential.  For some reason it reminded me of The Verve.  Superb!

[Kafla]

The comments on the vocal are hugely pleasing ❤️ Thank you !

I have literally hundreds of unfinished / discarded songs on my Mac. The kontakt guitar series makes it very easy to lay down a quick demo in no time.

I think Paul’s genius here lies in his ability to quickly identify the parts of the song that work and discard the parts that don’t and rearrange the whole thing into something worth more than the sum of its parts. It’s what I believe a true producer should do….and from what I have read what the best producers do. You only need to listen to Crowded house’s original “fall at your feet” which has an awful verse until Mitchell Froom suggested swapping the verse with another songs verse.

The song was always written for you Paul….and well now it’s yours 🥰

[popitup]

Oh Yeah . . . the vocals are very well done all around ! . . . and I really like the orchestral presentation, makes everything sound bigger, and this song idea really deserves that.
Right when I was expecting a solo section, a different vocal sound, now that was unexpected, but totally works as a bridge. Only 3:09 ? . . . you could easily have indulged yourselves and gone for that acoustic guitar solo . . . but I had that great completion feeling when it was done either way, so very well written and captured in time !

PS (Still a newbie here, from Canada . . . I can't help but notice many use the word "lovely" in their responses, now that will take some getting used to

[adamfarr]

What a great colaboration - love Andy's voice and love your detailed arrangements (and strategically placed space as well).

Great song idea and lyrics - I just saw an interview with Andrew Garfield who was explaining how he sometimes felt his late mother's hand on his shoulder guiding him to be a better person - so "was your mother proud" is another great way of expressing the same thing (or lack of it) from another perspective.

Questions I had - is the ending too abrupt and could the last note be held for a while and decay away? During the first verse the stick on beat 2 made me feel a little off balance - that might be intentional but the timing seems stronger when the drums come in later.

I think you two work really well together and have different strengths which really made the sum greater than the parts. Perhaps a full duet would work well too. Lovely song.