[Jamie]

https://soundcloud.com/jamie1802/flood

Hi guys, a bit of a departure for me- NO PIANOS in this song!

Acoustic guitar thing I've had for a while finally pulled it all together into a little ditty!

All constructive comments welcome!

Flood

My feelings are simple but strong
Sometimes right sometimes wrong
Can't handle the thoughts in my head
Remember the words we both said

You cant kill what's already dead
It's too late for fishes and bread
I'll live with the wind and the rain
My sanity cant take the pain

The rivers flowing on its way to the sea,to the sea
The flood is coming can't you see, let me be, set me free

I set off alone in a boat
I don't know what keeps me afloat
I'm free as the wind in the trees
Or falling to earth like the leaves

The rivers flowing on its way to the sea, to the sea
The flood is coming can't you see, let me be, set me free
The rivers flowing on its way to the sea, to the sea
This isn't how it's meant to be, can’t you see, can't you see?

[hardtwistmusic]

Your songs have a "predictable excellence" to them.  I'm not saying the song is "predictable", just that the excellence is predictable. 

I love the lyric.  Simple and deep. 

I love the music, but to my "inexperienced and unreliable) ear, I'd have liked to have some more bass throughout the verses.  Not a full "line of bass" but some accent notes kind of "dropping the tone" a little. 

I'm not a musician, so feel TOTALLY free to ignore me if what I say sounds foolish.

[pompeyjazz]

Hi Jamie. I really like this. Really crisp and clean sound. Your voice soars. How do you get those high notes ? Lovely build when the drums come in and some real killer chord changes. A very professional sounding piece of work and lovely balance between having a sort of immediate hook but in the sort of way that you want to listen again real soon.

Great work

John

[Paulski]

I thought - wha? no pianos!! ?? WTF ??

But seriously - great song and performance.
Reminded me a bit of our Allan Starkie - great vocals and those chord progressions and bass lines are sth to behold. Nice to hear you unplug one Jamie. One of your best IMO.

Take a bow!
Paul

[ShinyThang]

One of the most beautiful sounds to meet my ears for a long time. Absolutely top notch songwriting, performing and recording. Every now and then this forum produces something that makes me want to be a better songwriter and very occasionally something like this comes along and leaves me wondering if I can ever reach that standard.

Any suggestions from me for change would just be messing with perfection.

[giitlesriddles]

Hey Jamie
Well, you were right, it was a departure. I was not expecting to like this when I heard the intro guitar, but the vocals kicked in, and I liked the lyrics are really eloquent. The layering in this song is a standout, I could picture some subtle piano coming in on the end, but it's fine how it is.
Cheers
~Nate!

[shadowfax]

well done with this song..good hi standard, I think if you sang it a semi tone lower it would sound a bit more comfortable on those hi notes..

good sound Jamie,

best, Kevin

[bertiescott]

The progressions of chords is really nice and melody is good, especially the chorus. Love it dude. And the way the production builds up is wicked. Definitely one of my favourites I’ve heard in the short time I’ve been on here. Nice job

[adamfarr]

I found this really touching. The naked vocal is perfect for the mood. Great storytelling through the lyrics and delivery.

Excellent decisions all round here - arrangement, progression, spaces between sections.

Stunning and beautiful.

[Wolfini]

Very nice. Seems to be the time of the year for acoustic songs. ;-)

The verse is very beautiful, and then that great chorus lifts it again to another level. I also loved that descending progression at the end of the verse / before the chorus.

Brave but very effective use of the choir synth.

Is there some autotune on the vocals? In some parts that seems a bit too much for the unplugged nature of the song (eg the "said" at the end of the first verse).

Bye Wolfi

[DevyE]

Hi, an enjoyable listen, probably just me but I'm not sure what message you are trying to convey with "The flood is coming" except for it's literal meaning although it doesn't really matter as I guess we can make up our own minds.

Nice one

[Frenchy]

Hi Jamie,

Great song, well performed, can't fault it. Just on the production side, some frequencies in the guitar sounds just need taming off a bit, IMO.

Great and really enjoyable listen.

Regards,
Frenchy

[Jamie]

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback!

Hi Verlon, I tried many versions of this song and early on I played the bass in a lower register, but I felt it gave a contrast to have the bass high in the verses and low in the chorus! .Thanks for the positive comments on the song and the lyric, that's very pleasing!

Hi John, thanks for your positive comments. I sang this song hundreds of times to try to nail the 'high' notes in a consistent fashion. Some days were better than others . Glad you liked the production, I'm still learning!

Hi Paul, cheers.....WTF? no pianos! Great comments Paul, cheers! Delighted to be mentioned in the same sentence with Allan Starkie, he's V professional! I'm bowing as we speak!

Thanks again!
Jamie

[Jamie]

Hi Guys, thanks for the feedback, it's appreciated!

Hi Geoff, you're making me blush! Thanks for the great comments, I appreciate it! Well done with your competition win, it was thoroughly deserved!

Hi Nate, thanks for the great comments, I'm pleased with the comments on the build as I worked hard on that for quite a long time!

Hi Kevin, yes it was pushing the boundaries for my voice, as I've said earlier I sang this song loads to get it that close! Cheers on the comments about the standard!

Hi Bertie, thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Cool comments!

Cheers guys
Jamie

[Jamie]

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback!

Hi Adam, great comments on the production! Happy to get good comments on the lyric too, it's not known to be an area of strength fro me . 'Stunning and beautiful'! WOW!

Hi Wolfi, thanks for the comments, yes the descending chords at the end of the verse are a favourite of mine in this song.

Hi DevyE, the flood is symbolising a force of nature which cannot be stopped, the point being that once a relationship goes wrong it's almost always inevitable it will not recover. The river flowing is a reference to a relationship running its course.

Hi Frenchy, glad you enjoyed it. Yes recording the guitars was quite hard it took me quite a few goes to try to minimise the string scraping, but couldn't eradicate it fully. Also, I'm still learning on the production side, so if anyone has any tips on recording acoustic guitars, I'm all ears! .


Cheers, lots of great comments!

Jamie