Clinton Charlton - Parade

[Mathieu Benoit]

Been listening to it all day. So I thought I'd go song by song and give this great album the full review it deserves. These are simply my opinions and observations for whatever they're worth. I'd welcome Clinton or Chris Fudge to reply and fill us in on some of the methods and thoughts that culminated to certain results. This review will touch on the artistic merit of the project of course, but this being an Audio Engineering forum, I'll also share my observations of the production as well.

I really hope that Malcolm can get a copy to give his thoughts too. Oh and Andrew if you want in on this I can send you of one the copies I bought. I'd just really like to hear your thoughts.



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Bee In October

Love this tune, loved it the first time I heard him do it live. It's upbeat, catchy and simple. Performances are really good, they really capture the essence of what Clinton was doing solo. Adam's parts on the organ really suit the song in particular, not in your face enough to distract from the vocals but present enough to really stand on it's own if Clinton had to tie his shoelaces or something.

The only thing about this song is that sonically it just doesn't grab me. The best way I can describe it is that I feel like reach into my speakers and pull the music closer. It just seems distant to me. I think the reason I say that is that it doesn't have much punch as it seems lacking the support from the low end of things. The lead vocals also have a delay that's present enough to give the me the sense that he's back further and I want to pull him closer to my ears. Maybe it's a delay effect or maybe I'm just hearing the room a lot more than I'd like, and it sounds like a delay. For lead vocals I tend to want to use a delay to fatten the vocal track to give it more presence, using a really tight delay (say 60-80ms as a starting point) and to mix it in a way that's more felt than heard. This delay here seems to be giving me the opposite result where the delay is very apparent. I'm thinking that if the vocals we're more forward with a little more low-mid support that might also do the trick. Then again there may be artistic reasons why things turned out this way, it's too noticeable to really be an oversight. I'd just have wanted to start the album with a bigger kick. The song could easily deliver that kick, it's got the right feel and energy, it just feels like you have to fish for it a bit.


Til We Both Said Goodbye

Woah... sonic turning point. Now we're talking! This is what I heard in my head the first time I heard Clinton perform this song. Before getting to the technical merits. There's a lot of guest performances on here that should be addressed. Notably Jessica Rhaye singing harmony adds a gorgeous touch to Clinton's voice, they really work well together and I hope to see more of this collaboration. Right out the gate though is Chris Braydon with some really beautiful slide work. He's a real gem of a player and adds a lot to this piece. Adam gets props once again for some really tasty keyboard work, this time on the electric piano. The guitar solo is great in this. Who played it? Adam I take it? Well done at any rate.

As far as the technical end of things, this is some really nice work on the part of Chris. I'm still missing some of the richness of Clinton's voice in the lower frequencies. The only reason I say that is that I've heard Clinton perform and I know it's there, it just didn't translate to the final mix as much as I'd like. It might help with the overall presence of his voice in the mix. It's close though. Still just the same this song is really well done. Might I ask about your signal chain and any processing used on the lead vocal track Chris? I'm just a tad curious, for my own education.


Angels Of Canterbury Street

I'll admit I did not predict where this was going when the snare drum kicked in. It was always such a soft song when I heard Clinton sing it that I never expected it to kick off with a 140bpm train beat with brushes on a snare. Especially since the delayed guitar notes at the beginning allude to a slower tempo. The neat thing is that there's a contrast to what the snare is doing and what the rest of the band is doing. The snare is the only thing rushing, everything else (especially the lead vocals) is really settled in it's place that really makes this arrangement work for me. I'll admit I had to think about it at first but now I couldn't picture it any other way. Nothing that really stands out in terms of performances here, everyone just supports the song well as well as need be.

The music sounds good in this. I find the organ a bit thin, but the rest of the music sounds good and the mix is nice and clear, I can hear everything very well. Vocals seem a bit distant, but overall I like this.


All The Damage Done

This is definitely one of my favorites of Clinton's songs. Lyrically I love songs that are directed to someone in particular. It's a very honest song lyrically and the choice of the simple production reflects that. The arrangement is the same as if he were performing it solo. Just his voice, his guitar and a harmonica. A couple of pitch issues vocally in this, and my perfectionist tendencies say that I'd have fixed them, but at the same time it coincides with the honesty of the song and the overall production, so I say it's fine just like that.

Sonically the song is very simple not much to try to mesh together and the guitar sounds good but I'm having a hard time with the vocals again. I'm starting to wonder if my earlier observation of a delay was accurate at all, what I feel like I'm hearing now more and more is the room. it feels like the guitar is right in front of my and Clinton's 10 feet back. I don't mean in terms of volume, the levels are alright it's just that I hear a lot of space between me and him, and I feel as though his vocals should slap me in the face a bit more. It could be just because most of the stuff that I listen to has very prominent vocals and maybe you guys were going for something else. I just think that the main selling point for this record is the really great tone to his voice, and I feel like I'm missing that a bit. What can you tell me about the room the mic was placed in, and Clinton's proximity to the mic, Chris? Maybe more experienced ears could tell what exactly is going on, but I'll probably need it spelled out...lol


Braver Than Most

This is the first song so far that I'm not at all familiar with. Which means I have no pre-conceived ideas about what it should sound like. I really like the overall arrangement. The mandolin is great in this. It's a nice upbeat tune. The main electric guitar melody is at once catchy and tonally very interesting. It reminds me of the guitar tone from the old James Bond theme. Who's playing snare drum in this? Actually I'm kind of curious as as to which tunes are Clinton, which are Alex, and which if any are Chris. All in all this tune is fun, and I like it. Who's singing backup on this?

In terms of production, I really like the mix in this. Again, great job on the guitar tone, it's really nice. Snare's nice and rich too. This song has a really good balance overall.


Words

Hand claps! Yes, I like where this is going. Very 50s/60s rock n roll. This song is is really quite catchy. Love the bass line in this song, it sticks in my head. Who's doing the doubling with the lead vocals? It's a bit off in pitch from time to time that can be a tad distrating. I like where you guys were going with it it's though, very early Beatles-ish. It's a real head-boppin' number. I've got nothing else to say, I like it.

Production-wise, the first thing that hits me is the drums. Really good drum sound, very authentic to the 50s/60s RnR that you seem to be paying homage to. Bass is nice and present and the guitar tone is really nice. Really well done overall for what I think you guys were trying to accomplish.


Braver Than Most (Reprise)

Hehe... Okay, I'm not really going to review this one. I'll just ask what the story was behind it. Who's idea was it? Where was it recorded and how was it recorded?
(For those of you wondering that haven't heard the CD yet, it sounds like the band was jamming on the song in a pub. It's only about a minute long.)

***EDIT: I just re-read your previous post concerning this track. Well, you fooled me! It sounded real. Now I have to listen back to hear the rutabagas...lol


Because Of A Girl

I heard this one before I think. I like it, it's very simple. The only regret with this song is that it's so short that i don't feel as though I have the chance to really get all the I want out of it. Arrangement is nice and simple again, and it basically sounds like Clinton playing solo at Pepper's or somewhere.

Really like the sound of the acoustic on this one. Maybe we can take this time to discuss your overall acoustic technique for this album. I'm curious as to miking technique, what guitar was used. As well as the signal chain in general. Chris can you expand on this a bit? In general, but of course I'm curious about this specific song.


Call It What You Want

I like a good false start, it shows that you don't take yourself to seriously. I don't think I've heard this one before. I like it though, the chorus with all the back up singers is very catchy. I think that's it's because it's so simple. Can't say enough good things about simple, catchy hooks like these. Was this recorded off the floor? It's got that kind of feel. I also like a lot of the acoustic licks being played in the background. Who's doing that stuff?

Sonically I really like this one. I like it on par with "Til We Both Said Goodbye" almost. It has a nice balance and clarity to it. Everything has it's own space and nothing feels like it's competing for attention. Good use of your stereo field in this. I still need work on my stereo image in some of my mixes, so I can appreciate someone that does it well.


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Well........

.... that's my two cents! (maybe more, maybe like 20 cents.) I hope that my writing this will prompt people to go out and buy it, to hear what I'm talking about. It's really worth the $10. We need to really get behind and support the local talent that truly deserves to be supported and Clinton is definitely in that bracket. This is a really good effort with a lot of great collaborations.

Overall, this album was made by people that put a lot of time and passion into it, that much is obvious when you listen to it. I may have done things differently in some places sure, but it's all subjective. In the end it's a good record, and you should go buy it.

You can catch the CD release party at the Blue Olive this coming Thursday as well. Tickets are only $5 advance/$7 at the door. Worth coming out. I already have my tickets.

[clinton]

Wow Matt, I don't know what to say. The mere fact that you wrote as much as you did is flattering. Thank you!

I love how honest you were with this review and am really excited you shared it.

I'll try to answer what questions I can but I'll need to leave most of them for Fudge to answer.

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Bee In October

The lead vocals also have a delay that's present enough to give the me the sense that he's back further and I want to pull him closer to my ears. Maybe it's a delay effect or maybe I'm just hearing the room a lot more than I'd like, and it sounds like a delay.


**** We were able to get all of the performances live off the floor with this one including the main vocal. The only issue that brought forward was that I knew I wanted a slapback vocal effect on this one. We knew right away we wanted to keep the bed track vocal so we worked around it.


Til We Both Said Goodbye

The guitar solo is great in this. Who played it? Adam I take it? Well done at any rate.

**** Thanks, I think it's a great solo too! It was indeed Adam Kierstead who played it. I believe he used his telecaster through my Vox Cambridge for the solo. I might be wrong though. Adam?

Angels Of Canterbury Street

The music sounds good in this. I find the organ a bit thin, but the rest of the music sounds good and the mix is nice and clear, I can hear everything very well. Vocals seem a bit distant, but overall I like this.

**** This was another live off the floor track (including vocals). The only overdub is the delayed electric guitar that Adam K played.

All The Damage Done

A couple of pitch issues vocally in this, and my perfectionist tendencies say that I'd have fixed them, but at the same time it coincides with the honesty of the song and the overall production, so I say it's fine just like that.

*** Yeah we were aware of the pitch issues for sure. We had better takes but this one had the feel we liked.

Braver Than Most

This is the first song so far that I'm not at all familiar with. Which means I have no pre-conceived ideas about what it should sound like. I really like the overall arrangement. The mandolin is great in this. It's a nice upbeat tune. The main electric guitar melody is at once catchy and tonally very interesting. It reminds me of the guitar tone from the old James Bond theme. Who's playing snare drum in this? Actually I'm kind of curious as as to which tunes are Clinton, which are Alex, and which if any are Chris. All in all this tune is fun, and I like it. Who's singing backup on this?

**** Thanks Matt, my first time playing mandolin on record (I think). Alex played drums on the whole record with the exception of the reprise (which was Chris and I goofing off on a lunch break).

Words

Who's doing the doubling with the lead vocals? It's a bit off in pitch from time to time that can be a tad distrating..

****Guilty. I did the doubled vocal and Chris sings the harmony vocal. That's Mike Cusack on bass, what a great line he played on this one.

Braver Than Most (Reprise)

Hehe... Okay, I'm not really going to review this one. I'll just ask what the story was behind it. Who's idea was it? Where was it recorded and how was it recorded?

****This track makes me smile everytime I hear it.

Because Of A Girl

Really like the sound of the acoustic on this one. Maybe we can take this time to discuss your overall acoustic technique for this album. I'm curious as to miking technique, what guitar was used. As well as the signal chain in general. Chris can you expand on this a bit? In general, but of course I'm curious about this specific song.

****I only used three acoustics on this record (not like me at all!!). All of the steel string acoustic guitar parts that I play are my '79 Gibson J-45. Angels Of Canterbury Street and Because Of A Girl are my old Harmony Classical (it sounds better than it has a right to). Call It What You Want is a73 Fender 12-fret slothead silk 'n steel string.

Chris Fudge used his Martin D16GT on Braver Than Most to double up on the rhythm acoustic. I'd have to check with him, but I think he used my '54 Harmony archtop for the ending lick on Braver Than Most (I may be wrong on this)

Adam used his Epiphone SQ-180 to triple up on the rhythm as well.

Chris will have to tell you what mics he used, I am not sure. I can tell you that for All The Damage Done I used a late 70's Bill Lawrence soundhole pick up in the Gibson into my Vox Cambridge with the tremelo on.

Call It What You Want

Was this recorded off the floor? It's got that kind of feel. I also like a lot of the acoustic licks being played in the background. Who's doing that stuff?

****This was mostly recorded live off the floor. This song was recorded start to finish in about three hours and was easily the most fun we had as a group. I played the only acoustic guitar on this song but I assume you mean the licks at the end? Those are Adam on electric.


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Overall, this album was made by people that put a lot of time and passion into it, that much is obvious when you listen to it. I may have done things differently in some places sure, but it's all subjective. In the end it's a good record, and you should go buy it.


**** You're a good man Matt, thanks for the support!

[roachie]

Picking up the album today, provided Matt remembers to sell me one of the many copies he bought....

[Mathieu Benoit]

Okay, I'll sell you one but that means I need more CDs Clinton.

BTW, Clinton, I'll reply to your reply when I have a minute.

[macrae11]

I'd love to have a listen to this record Matt, and I'll definitely buy a copy off you when next we meet.

-Clinton, we've never met, but I've heard a bunch of your stuff on myspace, and various places online, and I really dig it. I was really hoping to get out to see you and Jessica Rhaye when you were here in Fredericton a couple of weeks ago, but alas I happened to be in Toronto that weekend. Non refundable tickets and what not.
Are you playing up this way again any time soon?

[Mathieu Benoit]

I'd love to have a listen to this record Matt, and I'll definitely buy a copy off you when next we meet.

I can mail one to you just as easily. You'd have it by Wednesday probably.

[macrae11]

I'd love to have a listen to this record Matt, and I'll definitely buy a copy off you when next we meet.

I can mail one to you just as easily. You'd have it by Wednesday probably.

Hey that would be great. I wonder if there's a place I could buy it locally though, save you the trouble. Either way I'll PM you my address.

[clinton]

hey gents....CD's are available at Backstreets Records.

[macrae11]

Cool cool. I'll be downtown tomorrow, so I'll pick one up then. Thanks anyways Matt.

[Mathieu Benoit]

Cool cool. I'll be downtown tomorrow, so I'll pick one up then. Thanks anyways Matt.

There's a Backstreet Records in Fredericton? Learn something new every day.

[clinton]

oh shit, sorry....I meant Backstreet in SJ. There will be CD's in Freddy, but not this week.

[Mathieu Benoit]

I'll send you one in the mail on my lunch break Andrew.

[Mathieu Benoit]

Bee In October

**** We were able to get all of the performances live off the floor with this one including the main vocal. The only issue that brought forward was that I knew I wanted a slapback vocal effect on this one. We knew right away we wanted to keep the bed track vocal so we worked around it.

Fair enough, but I'm still missing the richness in your voice and the "slapback" (delay) that you wanted seems to make you sound further away than I'd want a central instrument like your voice to sound. The main problem here is that I'm familiar enough with your voice to know what I wanted it to sound like. I realize that is subjective but it's the impression I got as soon as I heard the first few words.

Til We Both Said Goodbye

**** Thanks, I think it's a great solo too! It was indeed Adam Kierstead who played it. I believe he used his telecaster through my Vox Cambridge for the solo. I might be wrong though. Adam?

Now that I've had the chance to familiarize myself with Adam, I must say he's a very talented musician. As a side note, his bass tone when he plays with Penny Blacks is really good. I'm not just talking about gear, I mean his technique.

Angels Of Canterbury Street

**** This was another live off the floor track (including vocals). The only overdub is the delayed electric guitar that Adam K played.

Impressive that you were able to pull most of this stuff off the floor, it's really hard to do. It's a lot harder to get things sonically where you want them when you have to worry about 10 things at once.

All The Damage Done

*** Yeah we were aware of the pitch issues for sure. We had better takes but this one had the feel we liked.

*cough* Melodyne *cough*

Braver Than Most

**** Thanks Matt, my first time playing mandolin on record (I think). Alex played drums on the whole record with the exception of the reprise (which was Chris and I goofing off on a lunch break).

I remember Alex from way back in the beginning of Happy Medium days, he's always been a pretty solid drummer.

Words

****Guilty. I did the doubled vocal and Chris sings the harmony vocal. That's Mike Cusack on bass, what a great line he played on this one.

Drumwaiter wrote: *cough* Melodyne *cough*

Great bass line, still humming it in my head this morning while at work.

Braver Than Most (Reprise)

****This track makes me smile everytime I hear it.

No doubt. Me too actually...

Because Of A Girl

****I only used three acoustics on this record (not like me at all!!). All of the steel string acoustic guitar parts that I play are my '79 Gibson J-45. Angels Of Canterbury Street and Because Of A Girl are my old Harmony Classical (it sounds better than it has a right to). Call It What You Want is a73 Fender 12-fret slothead silk 'n steel string.

Chris Fudge used his Martin D16GT on Braver Than Most to double up on the rhythm acoustic. I'd have to check with him, but I think he used my '54 Harmony archtop for the ending lick on Braver Than Most (I may be wrong on this)

Adam used his Epiphone SQ-180 to triple up on the rhythm as well.

Chris will have to tell you what mics he used, I am not sure. I can tell you that for All The Damage Done I used a late 70's Bill Lawrence soundhole pick up in the Gibson into my Vox Cambridge with the tremelo on.

You have more guitars than I have drum kits...haha. What's the acoustic you usually play live? That'a gorgeous sounding guitar.

Call It What You Want

****This was mostly recorded live off the floor. This song was recorded start to finish in about three hours and was easily the most fun we had as a group. I played the only acoustic guitar on this song but I assume you mean the licks at the end? Those are Adam on electric.

Listening back you are right, I'm retarded. That is an electric and not an acoustic. Adam really helps make this album for me more than any other person besides you.


*********************

**** You're a good man Matt, thanks for the support!

Invoice is in the mail...

[clinton]

Melodyne....NEVER! THis is where I'm at baby, next one will be even better.

My "stage" guitar that I've been using for the past year or so is a Takamine clone of a Guild D-55. It's a beautiful guitar that plays great and is as loud as any other I've played. I use an LR Baggs M1 passive pick up in it and usually run straight into the PA (sometimes I'll use an EQ for boost).

Often times I'll use the Gibson live and for a change from time to time I'll use my La Patrie Etude classical with it's stock Quantum 1 on-board pick up.

Soon I'll be using a Gomez J-200 clone with a Dearmond Thumbwheel pick-up though, can't wait to unvail that bad boy. My latest find...

[Mathieu Benoit]

Melodyne....NEVER! THis is where I'm at baby, next one will be even better.

Purists... When will you ever learn!

Honestly though, I respect our differences. I would have fixed it, you would not have. Doesn't mean we can't be friends.

[adam]

Matt, thanks so much for the kind words, both about the record and my being awesome (which I of course am). Means a lot to hear, especially coming from a fellow musician! And you clearly know the fastest way to my heart is through my tone. Heh. I think I have license to be a bit wordy here, or at least precedent, but forgive me nonetheless...

I wish I could say I personally put a lot of work into this record but I'd be lying outright if I did. I had a blast recording it though! Clinton, Chris, Mike and Alex were all a joy to work with and I'm happy the result is as much fun as the experience was.

One thing I will say right off is that I agree with you about Words for a number of reasons: Mike's bassline is catchy as all get out, and the doubled vocals are not... uh, good. What's a more euphemistic way to say 'not good'? "Not realized to their full potential"? That works.

I can tell you about most of my guitars, if you are interested. Much of the album was recorded with my Fender Esquire through an Epiphone Valve Jr., mic'd with a Beta 57A. The Valve Jr. makes for a great little recording amp, although I've since sold it in favour of a slightly more powerful head with some EQ onboard. "Call It What You Want" was a Squier Jagmaster (which is a fantastic little guitar-- mine's an older MIJ model, although it's since been usurped by a proper Jazzmaster) through a 60s Garnet 2x6V6 amp, mic'd with a 421, except for the solo which was the Esquire again. The cab was a 4x8 Fender PA column from the mid 70s (don't laugh! It sounds great and keeps things pretty directional, which is awesome for recording live off the floor like this). And the twangy lead in "Braver than Most" was what Clinton said. I think I had a condenser on it-- likely a Rode NT-1. I copped that equally from Peter Buck and "Mary Provost" by Nick Lowe, for what it's worth. Only effects I used on the record were a Diamond Drive, a TS808 and a Boss DM-2 (this was basically on all the time-- fattened up my signal nicely without bringing too much of a presence to the delay, as my digital delays tend to), except for the echoey wash in "Angels of Canterbury St" which was done mostly with my Akai Headrush (the DM-2 provided the oscillating and modulation noises). And as far as I know not much was done in post to the guitars save for some compression (I am "dynamic" to a fault in my playing sometimes, ie., I miss a lot of notes).

All the keys were done with a Roland RD700SX into the Epiphone/Fender rig above.

Clinton's guitar tones are probably my favourite thing about the record sonically. There are still some mix-related idiosyncracies I don't completely agree with (the doubled vocal on "Words" being at the top of that list and I could overall do with a bit more presence in the bass, both low end & the instrument) but I like the sound of the record as a whole quite a lot. The foibles you mentioned, to me, lend it an air of live warmth and I'm so happy we got so much of it off the floor to add to that further. Not everything is perfect-- hell, nothing's really perfect on this record-- but that makes it seem more genuine to me. And Clinton's songs are really, really good.

Oh, and a quick aside: there IS a Backstreet Records in Fredericton. It's on Queen St. The staff & selection there are just as awesome as our very own Backstreet in SJ!

[Mathieu Benoit]

Matt, thanks so much for the kind words, both about the record and my being awesome (which I of course am). Means a lot to hear, especially coming from a fellow musician! And you clearly know the fastest way to my heart is through my tone. Heh. I think I have license to be a bit wordy here, or at least precedent, but forgive me nonetheless...

Be as wordy as you want, plenty of real estate... It's a big interwebbernet out there.

One thing I will say right off is that I agree with you about Words for a number of reasons: Mike's bassline is catchy as all get out, and the doubled vocals are not... uh, good. What's a more euphemistic way to say 'not good'? "Not realized to their full potential"? That works.

Indeed. But I will say this, the concept was solid. Definitely a good idea, it just didn't quite get to where it need to go. Doubling of vocals can be a very charming effect in instances like that, but it's hard to do right.

I can tell you about most of my guitars, if you are interested. Much of the album was recorded with my Fender Esquire through an Epiphone Valve Jr., mic'd with a Beta 57A. The Valve Jr. makes for a great little recording amp, although I've since sold it in favour of a slightly more powerful head with some EQ onboard. "Call It What You Want" was a Squier Jagmaster (which is a fantastic little guitar-- mine's an older MIJ model, although it's since been usurped by a proper Jazzmaster) through a 60s Garnet 2x6V6 amp, mic'd with a 421, except for the solo which was the Esquire again. The cab was a 4x8 Fender PA column from the mid 70s (don't laugh! It sounds great and keeps things pretty directional, which is awesome for recording live off the floor like this). And the twangy lead in "Braver than Most" was what Clinton said. I think I had a condenser on it-- likely a Rode NT-1. I copped that equally from Peter Buck and "Mary Provost" by Nick Lowe, for what it's worth. Only effects I used on the record were a Diamond Drive, a TS808 and a Boss DM-2 (this was basically on all the time-- fattened up my signal nicely without bringing too much of a presence to the delay, as my digital delays tend to), except for the echoey wash in "Angels of Canterbury St" which was done mostly with my Akai Headrush (the DM-2 provided the oscillating and modulation noises). And as far as I know not much was done in post to the guitars save for some compression (I am "dynamic" to a fault in my playing sometimes, ie., I miss a lot of notes).

You've got some crazy guitar selection! I very much dug the "echoey wash" at the beginning of Angels... very nice. It's good to know that most of that tone was just from the source, speaks volumes about the player and the engineer.

All the keys were done with a Roland RD700SX into the Epiphone/Fender rig above.

That's a good solid keyboard with respectable sounds. There's a reason that that is one of the first choices for backline on stages all across the world.

There are still some mix-related idiosyncracies I don't completely agree with (the doubled vocal on "Words" being at the top of that list and I could overall do with a bit more presence in the bass, both low end & the instrument) but I like the sound of the record as a whole quite a lot. The foibles you mentioned, to me, lend it an air of live warmth and I'm so happy we got so much of it off the floor to add to that further. Not everything is perfect-- hell, nothing's really perfect on this record-- but that makes it seem more genuine to me. And Clinton's songs are really, really good.

I agree with this. Overall, I'm still listening to it 3 days later, and still enjoying it. Biggest complaint now is that there's not more music on here.



Thanks for chiming in Adam. Don't be a stranger!

[clinton]

Biggest complaint now is that there's not more music on here.

it IS a short record huh...I coulda put more songs on it but none felt right for the project and I wasn't gonna cram one on there for time's sake.

[Mathieu Benoit]

I understand that... and for $10 I ain't complaining it's just that it was shorter than I had expected.

[Mathieu Benoit]

Adam,

While we were on the subject of tone. I find that a lot of people forget that tone comes from the player. I know a couple of guys who are in debt up to their eyeballs chasing "tone" but their technique is awful. Sure they have chops, but no real technique. So they seem to always chase something to help make up for it.

I don't mean you here, I have other people in mind. I just wanted to make an observation that no matter what gear/instruments you are using to record, in the end there's no substitution for good old fashion technique.

The same goes for engineering. Given the limitations that Chris had to work with and the desire to record everything off the floor as much as possible, I don't think I could have pulled it off. My technique isn't that developed yet, I'm still relying on gear to make up for that in some cases.

[Nick H.]

I hope to buy the CD next time I'm in town. I look forward to hearing it...

[humeurs]

Adam,

While we were on the subject of tone. I find that a lot of people forget that tone comes from the player. I know a couple of guys who are in debt up to their eyeballs chasing "tone" but their technique is awful. Sure they have chops, but no real technique. So they seem to always chase something to help make up for it.

I don't mean you here, I have other people in mind. I just wanted to make an observation that no matter what gear/instruments you are using to record, in the end there's no substitution for good old fashion technique.

The same goes for engineering. Given the limitations that Chris had to work with and the desire to record everything off the floor as much as possible, I don't think I could have pulled it off. My technique isn't that developed yet, I'm still relying on gear to make up for that in some cases.

I know your aiming for Adam here, but let me say that Adam certainly knows what he wants for tone and I personally think 80% of it is in the playing. Fortunately we got to nitpick a little if we didn't like something since most of the solos were overdubbed. Most, Adam played keys off the floor. :)

AND here in bold is a reply to some of yiour questions. Hopefully makes sense? I'm not a writer and responded throughout the day here at work on a notepad.

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Bee In October

The only thing about this song is that sonically it just doesn't grab me. The best way I can describe it is that I feel like reach into my speakers and pull the music closer. It just seems distant to me. I think the reason I say that is that it doesn't have much punch as it seems lacking the support from the low end of things. The lead vocals also have a delay that's present enough to give the me the sense that he's back further and I want to pull him closer to my ears. Maybe it's a delay effect or maybe I'm just hearing the room a lot more than I'd like, and it sounds like a delay. For lead vocals I tend to want to use a delay to fatten the vocal track to give it more presence, using a really tight delay (say 60-80ms as a starting point) and to mix it in a way that's more felt than heard. This delay here seems to be giving me the opposite result where the delay is very apparent. I'm thinking that if the vocals we're more forward with a little more low-mid support that might also do the trick. Then again there may be artistic reasons why things turned out this way, it's too noticeable to really be an oversight. I'd just have wanted to start the album with a bigger kick. The song could easily deliver that kick, it's got the right feel and energy, it just feels like you have to fish for it a bit.
I could do with a little more oommfff! as well. In hindsight. As Clinton noted, he had an idea of how he wanted to hear the vocals and we didn't get that sound off the floor. It resulted in having to try and add a delay after with a vocal that was content to stay from the live mix. We did ok considering. The perfomance has energy!

Til We Both Said Goodbye

Woah... sonic turning point. ...
....As far as the technical end of things, this is some really nice work on the part of Chris. I'm still missing some of the richness of Clinton's voice in the lower frequencies. The only reason I say that is that I've heard Clinton perform and I know it's there, it just didn't translate to the final mix as much as I'd like. It might help with the overall presence of his voice in the mix. It's close though. Still just the same this song is really well done. Might I ask about your signal chain and any processing used on the lead vocal track Chris? I'm just a tad curious, for my own education.
One thing I don't have is much of a singal chain. Mic to- soundcard to- program. In this case a Rode Nt1 to a Tascam 2 channel USB2 card. We used an Audio Technica for a stereo mic, but in the final mix it ended up pretty low to 'help' keep the overdub of Jessica's consistent sounding (who I might add was an absolute pleasure to record. A magnificent singer who took very little time to nail a part down) I used the Rode Nt1 on all of Clintons vocals since, really, it's my best mic - says alot for my gear eh? hehe...on Call It What You Want I borrowed my brother in laws MX -something or other- and I think the vocals came out best sounding on that one. Bass frequencies and whatnot.

Angels Of Canterbury Street

The music sounds good in this. I find the organ a bit thin, but the rest of the music sounds good and the mix is nice and clear, I can hear everything very well. Vocals seem a bit distant, but overall I like this.
I find the vocals a little loud compared to previous mixes of the song, not in a bad way. Just in my taste. I mixed all this with Marc G and to certain degree, Clinton, since it IS his music he had the vito power. If I had my way, this song would have had midi triggered mayem and a lyric that spoke of nuclear war on the these devilish angels

All The Damage Done

Sonically the song is very simple not much to try to mesh together and the guitar sounds good but I'm having a hard time with the vocals again. I'm starting to wonder if my earlier observation of a delay was accurate at all, what I feel like I'm hearing now more and more is the room. it feels like the guitar is right in front of my and Clinton's 10 feet back. I don't mean in terms of volume, the levels are alright it's just that I hear a lot of space between me and him, and I feel as though his vocals should slap me in the face a bit more. It could be just because most of the stuff that I listen to has very prominent vocals and maybe you guys were going for something else. I just think that the main selling point for this record is the really great tone to his voice, and I feel like I'm missing that a bit. What can you tell me about the room the mic was placed in, and Clinton's proximity to the mic, Chris? Maybe more experienced ears could tell what exactly is going on, but I'll probably need it spelled out...lol
Most of the record was live in my loft with a reel to reel. The exceptions were this one, About a Girl and Call it what You want. So sticking with our 'lets just try and get it as live as we can' attitude, we did this the same. A Rode NT3 a few feet away from Clinton's little Vox amp and the vocals a few feet back from him and the guitar. Two track stereo mix. Voila. We took three takes (record three takes and if we did not get anything, we move on and come back to it again later) and we enjoyed the feel of this one.

Braver Than Most

In terms of production, I really like the mix in this. Again, great job on the guitar tone, it's really nice. Snare's nice and rich too. This song has a really good balance overall.
This one is my personal fav in regards to the mix. Heavy panning that was intended to have an early stereo recording and or Rubber Soul feel. The song didn't initially sound like this, this is just how I heard it. It's kind Everly's with Keleher and Clinton singing it out. (I would have had Clinton do the vocals live with Alex, but he wimped out on account of a cold! - wimp) The guitar tone of the electric can be attributed to that little vox thingy clinton owns. Great recording amp.

Words

Production-wise, the first thing that hits me is the drums. Really good drum sound, very authentic to the 50s/60s RnR that you seem to be paying homage to. Bass is nice and present and the guitar tone is really nice. Really well done overall for what I think you guys were trying to accomplish.
This was the only song I think that had drum sticks. The rest were brushes and my initial idea was to not be too concerned how well they could be heard. Kind of like listening to those old Johnny Cash records where it's obvious drums are there, but how prominent are they really? Words came out sounding much different than the rest of the songs. We added a double track acoustic, handclaps and tamborine to finish it off and I think the music turned out fairly good. A wholesome rock song.


Braver Than Most (Reprise)

Hehe... Okay, I'm not really going to review this one. I'll just ask what the story was behind it. Who's idea was it? Where was it recorded and how was it recorded?
(For those of you wondering that haven't heard the CD yet, it sounds like the band was jamming on the song in a pub. It's only about a minute long.)

***EDIT: I just re-read your previous post concerning this track. Well, you fooled me! It sounded real. Now I have to listen back to hear the rutabagas...lol
hehehe, silly recording tricks, but fun to overdub this sort of thing.

Because Of A Girl

Really like the sound of the acoustic on this one. Maybe we can take this time to discuss your overall acoustic technique for this album. I'm curious as to miking technique, what guitar was used. As well as the signal chain in general. Chris can you expand on this a bit? In general, but of course I'm curious about this specific song.
I think the charm in this was the fact it was a nylon. Honestly, I have 0 technique recording an acoustic. I wish i did. I heard once that aiming at the 12th fret helps, but that could only be with pin mics. For this I just backed off a bit and raised the gain. You can hear the chair creaking, pretty raw. each time I have tried different techniques i have run into problems that I don't like so my guess is that recording an acoustic is very subjective to the mic, acoustic and player.


Call It What You Want

Sonically I really like this one. I like it on par with "Til We Both Said Goodbye" almost. It has a nice balance and clarity to it. Everything has it's own space and nothing feels like it's competing for attention. Good use of your stereo field in this. I still need work on my stereo image in some of my mixes, so I can appreciate someone that does it well.

Two mics on the drums seperated quite a bit in my loft. Left and Right. I think we used the rode Nt1 and The audio Technica largte diphram black one (AT2020??) And then Bass and Acoustic off the floor with it. The bass was line-in so the only real bleed was an acoustic and Adam snoring (wish that was loud enough to hear!) Clinton did three takes of a vocal on an MX mic as I mentioned earlier and we took most of them from a scratch vocals for Adams sake in recording the electric. Then we all chanted the end. It's sonically my favorite of the bunch. I prefer to capture things live ... but if overdubbbing this was the way I like. Two mics on the drums and the rest can follow accordingly. Still keeping it as live as I can. If I want to double track an acoustic from the ol' 'it's not what you hear, but what you feel' mentality I would prefer to have two people playing it at the same time as opposed to trying to get it twice. Unless I want that reverb sound based from two guitars hard panned.... yadda yadda.

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Well........

.... that's my two cents! (maybe more, maybe like 20 cents.) I hope that my writing this will prompt people to go out and buy it, to hear what I'm talking about. It's really worth the $10. We need to really get behind and support the local talent that truly deserves to be supported and Clinton is definitely in that bracket. This is a really good effort with a lot of great collaborations.

Overall, this album was made by people that put a lot of time and passion into it, that much is obvious when you listen to it. I may have done things differently in some places sure, but it's all subjective. In the end it's a good record, and you should go buy it.

Dude, so great you reviewed and enjoyed it. As with any of us, i hope to have each record I do sound better than the next. Better gear, better ear and more experience.
And as for melodyne and pitch correction. *shakes index finger* I can't do that! I would never stop! And then where would I be!? Perfect recordings with Mutt Lang 12 part harmonies. ... ;)

Come see me at the show if you are there. I know we've met before, but I'm shy with aquaintances.

[Mathieu Benoit]

All-in all Chris, given that you were trying to record most of this off-the-floor it's really quite remarkable. Given all of your limitations I'm not sure that I could have pulled this off.

My "nit-picking" was based on my average listening experiences and what I noticed about this recording in relation to what I'm used to.

That being said, if you did this well with the basic gear you've got, I'd be very interested what you could do with a wide selection of preamps and mics. I would like to work with you sometime... Combine your approach with mine and use the full resources of our studio uptown, inculding a pretty sweet live room.

Interesting results would be had, I'm sure. Maybe we'll have to borrow Clinton as a guinea pig?

I'll definitely be at the CD release by the way, so I will stop to say "hi" for sure!

[clinton]

I'm down for trying a tune if Fudgie is up for it....

[humeurs]

All-in all Chris, given that you were trying to record most of this off-the-floor it's really quite remarkable. Given all of your limitations I'm not sure that I could have pulled this off.

My "nit-picking" was based on my average listening experiences and what I noticed about this recording in relation to what I'm used to.

I think your review was fantastic and pretty much right on the money. I'm happy to hear the likes and dislikes and earn valuable experience when anyone offers a hand at what I might be able to try differently.
I think you are likely selling yoursefl short. No tthat I have heard anything in particular, but judging by what you note in the review I'd say you could very easily pull it off! :)

That being said, if you did this well with the basic gear you've got, I'd be very interested what you could do with a wide selection of preamps and mics. I would like to work with you sometime... Combine your approach with mine and use the full resources of our studio uptown, inculding a pretty sweet live room.

Interesting results would be had, I'm sure. Maybe we'll have to borrow Clinton as a guinea pig?

I'll definitely be at the CD release by the way, so I will stop to say "hi" for sure!

Sweet! And yes, I am always up for geeking out with other recording fellas (I still owe Malcolm a coffee as I recall - sorry! I just get side tracked and busy with the fam.) If memory serves my correct, isn't the Fluid Audio place on Charlotte? I've been there before. Really sweet big drum room upstairs? Millenium Falcon control room? Clinton as a Guinea Pig. he does like to be pet.