Let It Go Or Give In, Take 2

This is a wicked rough, one take demo of one of the seven songs I will be recording with a full band for my EP. I would love to hear about what you think.

I actually posted the original version of this song quite a while back. It's since been changed relatively radically -- the chorus fleshed out, half of a verse removed, a bridge added.

I recorded this all very quickly and without a mind to making them sound pretty. These songs have been arranged, and I will have a second guitarist, keys, a bassist, a drummer, violin, a backup singer -- horns if I want 'em. Pretty much any instrument I'd like to have I can have. My producer and I have plans, but I'd love to hear what you think. What would you add? What would you change?

I have some more I'd like to post for feedback.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by pazazygeek (3 comments total)

Hey, great voice, and I can definitely see the potential of the song. Sounds like you've got grand plans!

I could hear some lazy banjo-picking on this one. During the interludes where the guitar goes through some changes (between verses or whatever), maybe the violin could come in? And I'd have the background singer double certain parts to really lift said parts and create contrast in the song.

Otherwise I'd just cut the length significantly. Not because it's not good, but because you want to leave the listener wanting to hear more. For a song to be 6:40 long I think it needs to take you on a musical journey with some surprising turns in the arrangement and probably even in the song structure itself (think Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" -- that song is shorter than this, yet has several distinct sections that are pretty wildly different from each other). There certainly are exceptions -- Gillian Welch's "Revelator" is also about this length, it stays on one path, yet holds my attention. Same for just about every song on Songs:Ohia's "Didn't it rain" album. But pulling it off is really hard, in my opinion.
posted by edlundart at 9:40 PM on October 13

I'm SO glad you mentioned the length. I rearranged this song and my producer and I added that long instrumental bridge (for which I have very grand plans -- a little choral breakdown, an awesome buildo-guitar line, but still). When I ripped the demo to my hard drive, my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the song length. Worrisome. I actually went through my music library and picked out songs that were approximately the same length, and yes -- they go through more landscapes. How to shorten -- well I have no earthly clue, but I'm really glad you mentioned that. I actually pulled one stanza out of a verse in this recording. It's going to be tricky!

Thank you so much for your feedback!
posted by pazazygeek at 12:19 PM on October 14

My pleasure, I'll try to chime in if you post more songs. I like this kind of "workshopping" on here. As for the length, who knows -- maybe your arrangement ideas will carry it!
posted by edlundart at 9:43 PM on October 14