[PeteS]

The Nearly Man is a lyric Neil wrote much earlier in the year but I struggled with it for ages and filed it away.  A few months later I revisited it and this is the result.  He is, of course, a fictional character by the name of Billy McGann but I guess we all know someone like him.

It's slightly more poppy than some of our stuff but I think it fit's in well.


Verse 1

Billy McGann, he’s late again
He moans about, how he missed his train
His life is built of buts and ifs
He talks and talks of his near miss

He sits at home, he’s all alone
He's waiting by, the telephone
For the call that never comes his way
Still he's sure, one day he'll have his say 

The Nearly Man waits until he's really sure
He doesn't know just what he's living for

The nearly man does all he can
He never knows when to play his hand
The nearly man he’s an also ran
And he’s living with his head in the sand 

The nearly man does all he can
He never knows when to play his hand
The nearly man he’s an also ran
And he’s living with his head in the sand

And all his hopes are built of Plasticine
Never real and never seen
He lives through dreams, it’s such a waste
But none of us claim to know his face

He’s in us all, when we’re alone
Can’t always see, his life’s our own 
Where there’s a mirror reflect the man
Staring back, the face, Billy McGann

The Nearly Man waits until he's really sure
He doesn't know just what he's living for

The nearly man does all he can
He never knows when to play his hand
The nearly man he’s an also ran
And he’s living with his head in the sand

The nearly man does all he can
He never knows when to play his hand
The nearly man he’s an also ran
And he’s living with his head in the sand

One day he’ll look back and regret
Being nearly he won’t forget
No second chance comes round again
No second chance, he should have done it then!

The nearly man does all he can
He never knows when to play his hand
The nearly man he's an also ran
And he’s living with his head in the sand

The nearly man does all he can
He never knows when to play his hand
The nearly man he's an also ran
And he’s living with his head in the sand

 

 

[pompeyjazz]

Hi @PeteS and Neil. Got a bit of a REM vibe from the introduction. This is delicious slice of melodic indie pop. The melody is very strong and you've got a singalong chorus again. Good on you  I thought that the whole thing was put together extremely well, great arrangement and production. A big thumbs up from me

[PeteS]

@pompeyjazz.  Thanks John, I’m really glad you liked it.  if you listen closely to my stuff there is a definite REM influence but you are the first one to notice it on a song that I don’t think had much of that influence showing.    I pretty much gave up on music and guitar in the 80s.  A combination of marriage, kids, work and waaaaay too many synths really made me lose interest.

In 1987 I heard my first REM tracks from Document.  In 1988 I spent a year working in the US and fully discovered the first 4 albums.   When I got home, the cheap Les Paul copy came out of the cupboard and my love of guitar was rekindled!  Peter Buck is without doubt the biggest influence on my playing, there are others (especially Frank Turner ) but he’s the most important!

[MichaelA]

An enjoyable tune @PeteS, with a memorable chorus and solid musicianship throughout. But I immediately picked up the REM influence, plus a bit of ‘Light Never Goes Out’ Smiths style guitaring. You guys are at least as good as me, if not probably better, so I will share with you this old  tale.

Many years ago I was in a band that almost made it. One night at a quite famous festival at the time in Leeds, the promoter of that literally got hold of me by the throat. He said we were great musicians (not really) but we sounded like this x band and that y band. He said, very wisely, that the bands that really make it are unique. They don’t sound like anybody at the time, until lots of other bands start copying them. I wish I had taken his advice more seriously all those years ago.

I am only having this rare little rant in your thread because I think you guys could potentially make something that is not only pleasing on the ear, but that is far more original without giving away your favourite bands. If I owned a record company I would definitely sign you to go away and make something that sounded completely original, because I know that is what is your potential suggests you are capable of.

Just a thought, sorry. But yeah, I did really enjoy this despite the soap box intervention!

[MonnoDB]

Another REM ref here - I swear before I'd read the other reviews.. Clever lyrical hook. As an aside, I've always loved REM, but it's amazing how lean their lyrics are in many songs.. not so here..

It is extremely catchy!! That chorus is fantastic.. Great production - playing, writing and the rest...

Big thumbs up from me!

K

[jacksimmons]

This has an awesome 80s indie vibe. The rhythm section is perfect. Love the muscular drums. And those electric guitars are dreamy. I understand the REM and Marr references above. I can hear the influence definitely but I DID read the comments beforehand and may have had that on my mind.

You have a catchy chorus and they are like gold dust. Really hooky and cool. I think the all of the backing has come together brilliantly but if I was nitpicking I'd like the harmonies up, or maybe thinned a little so they cut through the guitars more. I am a bit of a harmony hound though...

@MichaelA makes a good point. I don't think there is anything wrong with wearing your influences on your sleeve at all (David Bowie once referred to himself as a tasteful thief). I think for so many it all comes down to the vocals - those artists that we all think of as being original usually have something new, fresh, eccentric or down right weird about their vocals. I mention this because I think you could give these vocals another pass. Right now they are doing a job, they are telling me the words and the tune, but they sound a little...bored? I only say this because I think you have a corker of a song here.

It's a great tune. (And a great title!)

[PeteS]

Well, it seems like i might regret admitting to my influence  .  To be fair, the Peter Buck influence manifests itself in the use of sus chords and picky jangly leads rather that roaring solos (definitely not my thing!).  However my songwriting is more likely to be influence by the artists I listen regularly to now like Frank Turner, Frightened Rabbit, Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, Metric, Gerry Cinnamon or Green Day.  Those guys make up a large percentage of my playlists and REM are rarely on them these days.

I think if you listen to all my songs back to back they don't sound like any one of my 'influences' and I really try to make sure that I haven't been influenced by anything I am currently listening to.  In recent weeks we have been trying to select 12 of our songs to put an album on Spotify and it's really interesting going through them all, which ones do we like most but more importantly, which ones feel like Echo Dogs and how we would want the band to sound if we played them live.  Even had to re-record some and certainly re-mix them.  This one is currently on that list and the debate was more around whether it was poppier than the others rather than the sound.

Anyway, is it the the acoustic guitar with a capo on 5 that makes it maybe sound a bit mandolinish? I don't really hear any REM on it, but I guess I wouldn't .

@MichaelA Thanks Michael, I really appreciate the compliments

@MonnoDB Thanks Karen.  You're right, Neil isn't an REM fan so there will never be a lyrical influence there 

@jacksimmons Thanks Jack, I'll take a look at those harmonies because they were a big part of what I was trying to do there even adding some horns to mimic one of the vocal parts,, to the extent you probably can't hear that particular vocal part any more.  On the vocals, most of you have reviewed my songs and know it's the main area that I feel I struggle with.  In this case, it's really me trying to show some restraint in the performance and not belting it out. Listening back to some of my earlier songs,  just felt that I shouted them out too much.  It's a long journey!

[PaulAds]

Another quality song from you two.

Lyrics are great...funnily enough, it's quite similar to a thing I started writing a couple of years ago, but never got round to...that'll be heading for the bin, now!

Nice, bright and jangly feel to it. I didn't get that much of an REM thing from it...definite hints, but I'm not really into them at all...so what would I know about it!

I thought it was perhaps a slightly more workmanlike song than your more inspired stuff, to be totally honest...and there's nothing at all wrong with that. It just perhaps pricked my conscience in that I have often feel that I've written songs in the past simply because I have the means to do so and feel like I ought to because I'm on a songwriter forum. Maybe there's a tiny hint of that in this...or maybe I just picked it up wrong as it's little more middle of the road than most of your other stuff (all of which is top quality)

It's not easy to get a catchy chorus together when your music has a bit of attitude in it...and although this chorus is catchy...it's maybe just a tiny bit too "safe" or something for a cynical miserable bastard like me.

I think you've got a great voice, write really good songs and Neil writes quality lyrics too...so please take everything I say with a pinch of salt.

This is absolutely a good song...I think you've just inadvertently spoilt me with loads of better ones that are more to my taste previously.

[Neil C]

@PeteS
Hi,
Love the jangly verse and light touch and then it lifts when the chorus joins.
Good pop tune.
Got a touch of the Lightning Seeds.
:-)
neil

[PeteS]

@PaulAds Thanks Paul, I don't know about workmanlike, I just think we struggled the way everyone here is inasmuch as it's more poppy and middle of the road for us.  Didn't intend it to be, just that as it developed, it became a jaunty little pop song rather than the more rocky or edgy stuff we normally do.  It also went through a bit of a transition with the capo.  It was initially too low so I moved it up the fretboard and I think that changed the feel of it.  I'm not surprised at what you've said because we had smilar feelings about it ourselves.

@Neil C Thanks Neil.  Lightning Seeds is probably a better comparison for me.  Cheers.

[Kafla]

Hey mate ,

Sometimes it’s hard to pick areas to improve because I don’t like doing it lol and it sounds like I didn’t like the song....

Anyway there is still bits of the delivery sound strange to me - and he’s living with his head in the sand to my ears should be and he lives with his head in the sand...and something about the melody notes don’t quite match the chords underneath...I also think some ambience on your vocals would work magic...

I think when you write lyrics for someone else the syllable count needs to be bang on...think Bernie Taupin...when you write and sing your own lyrics you can hear all the nuances in your own mind so get away with more...

That being said I absolutely love this...honestly listened a few times now and it’s a proper head bobber... and it moves triumphantly and has a glorious chorus...

I also love the arrangement and the guitars in particular sail effortlessly...

Another top class effort 😍

[PeteS]

@kafla Thanks Andy.  We debate the syllable count on a regular basis and I do edit the lyrics as required for that very reason.  I think one of the reasons we went with this was despite our initial reservations, I do think it is a head boomer as you say.  The more I played it, the more I liked it again. Cheers.

[moraamarolaloba]

Hola @PeteS

An injection of joviality never feels bad !!! Good feeling and good description of the Nerley man
Very catchy and festive.

I think that lately many of us can recognize ourselves in this phrase
"The nearly man he’s an also ran
And he's living with his head in the sand" hahaha

Stay safe

Mora

Hmmm

[adamfarr]

Very nice sounds - bass and jangly guitars are great, a little bit Smiths but a lot Echo Dogs. The chorus gets a nice lift from addition of keyboards. And the breakdowns work well too.

I quite like the laid back delivery for the theme - I but I probably agree that it doesn't arouse as strong feelings as it perhaps could. But that's often the way with songs where downbeat lyrics contrast with an upbeat feel.

Good writing and smooth production here - though I did wonder if there could be an opportunity to make it less specific and more universal by explicitly challenging the listener to think that maybe we are more like Billy than we should be...

[Jamie]

@PeteS
HI, great guitar sounds and nice bass support. I thought the drums were a bit quiet and the vocals a bit too dry, but great harmonies and a melody. I got touches of all the previously mentioned references, but (again?) I thought I heard a touch of Ray Davies in there.
God song well played guys!

Cheers

Jamie