Oh, good. I'm glad I didn't offend. I just... well I'm weirdo who hears stuff. I've driven people nuts with it for years but it's all in the name of good art.
And this is good.
As far as being upset about not being able to nail Mr MacGowan's vocals on one of his best performances... dude, can't let that kind of thing get you down. He is a master (or was before he totally murdered his voice with booze and smokes). I spent over a decade trying to master his stuff (as well as Luke Kelly's). It's really quite difficult to get just right. He had that perfect mix of skill and raw edge.
Not that it needs it but I think if you tried tracking these vox again just for fun you'd be surprised how much better they turn out. It really does sound like you spent a lot of time correcting it to make it perfect and just having the pitch and enunciation jammed into your head is a huge part of a good vocal performance (at least for those of us who are not naturals... and trust me I am no natural... I have to work VERY hard to sing even reasonably well).
You have a good natural timbre to your voice. Young and modern. Like I said it has that appealing pop punk quality so there is commercial appeal without being lame and boring. This is a very difficult song so the fact you even attempted it and succeeded (despite having to stitch together a comp and pitch correct) is a good sign.
And don't feel bad about making a comp of the vocals. That's standard practice. Most of the stuff you hear released (and although I am not intimately familiar with Pogues production I bet it applies doubly) is comped together from multiple takes or overdubbed. Microphones and "tape" in the studio are VERY unforgiving. I used to make a have decent chunk of change singing live. Everyone loved my voice. I started recording... total freaking garbage. It was horrible. I had to totally change how I approached it compared to my live stuff because there is no PA, room or whatever acting as a buffer to the ever so slight nuances that can make or break a recorded vocal track.
The proper mics and other input equipment for vocals is really important too which is something I've realized (and partially why I've avoided recording any vocals for a long time now because my gear and production skills haven't been the best).
There are FAR better and more experienced guys here who can give you proper advice but I know the pitfalls of this specific song in the studio specifically (I've recorded it many times) and yeah... vocal cracks, things going off pitch, whatever... it all hard to control especially when you are getting all bunched up because you know it's going to "tape".
As far as THIS production... as I said I think all you really need to do is not go so nuts with the hard correction. Do it by hand if you have to and don't completely snap EVERYTHING to the EXACT pitch unless it's a really strong/importing note. Also don't completely snap it to the timeline. Allow for a little lead in before the beat or lag after the beat and I think this will sound way better without anything else added. A lot of work for sure but I prefer to do all that kind of thing by hand and ear (but I do it on drums and other instruments mostly... haven't gone nuts on a vocal track yet).
For an extra instrument, in this arrangement, I would maybe try just a very real sounding piano. It's not part of the original composition but you aren't going to find a decent midi banjo, accordian or penny whistle sound without spending a fortune on sample banks/third party synths... and even then it'll be kind of meh (and a massive PITA to program so it sounds natural). You can't really go wrong with a nice piano sound and you can easily get those arpeggios and chords the banjo and accordian are doing. It would also add a nice twist to your version making it uniquely yours. You could also hunt around for a nice sample to act as a nice whistle sound. I've always contemplated maybe using a flute or recorder sound and really programming the crap out of it to make it sound subtle and really but still able to cut and accent nicely.
Actually I just gave away some of my own plans for when I start recording my own versions of some of this stuff but hey... use whatever. I'm a fan now so I'm looking forward to whatever you come up with.
BTW, I'm also a Canucker so I am familiar with MuchMusic. I've even been on it and/or had bands I've been involved with showcased on stuff like The New Music and crap. Nothing major but yeah... I know MM. I was raised on that stuff and was always kind of on the immediate outskirts of the whole CityTV/MM ecosystem. I'm kind of "retired" now and all that crap has changed but yeah... those were some cool times and MuchMusic was absolutely brilliant back in the day.
Power Hour, biznotches!!! Lol...
Best to ya.
Edit: Again, I am saying all this at the risk of coming off like a total d*ck. This is indeed a great rendition as is. You've already got a lot of good, skilled ears saying it sounds great (and it does... the mix is wonderful... better than I could do). I just feel like I know what you were trying to accomplish and you seemed to confirm that with your reply. Just offering some suggestions to help you achieve that. This is top shelf so feel free to totally ignore me and I apologize if you are offended in any way.
post edited by Beepster - 2015/07/26 13:37:01