End of the Road new mix 3/7

I got a pretty strong Hallelujah vibe Janet... Don't get me wrong? I really love that song. Are you familiar with it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMrZ7lChK-g 


End of the Road is really pretty :-) Were you helped with the mix before you posted this? DON'T LIE! :-) 

Aren't you glad I talked you in to EWQL Gold? It has made such a dramatic difference in your sound! 

This also sounded like a song I heard in one of the Shrek movies? I looked but couldn't find which one :-(

 
 
  I really do like this Janet. I expected that maybe you were in a bit of a "wondering about this or that"
as far this presentation of what you have. From the start this is melodic and musical and the lack of piano
really adds to the focus on what is there. This is very smooth and it shows off the beauty of the
arrangment, performance, mix etc. To put it another way it sounds so good as it is. The cello or main
instrument that carries the basic fundimental aspects of the song could stand to be a touch louder
but I think only by a small degree.
 
  This is sort of like hearing another side of your writing and doing so without a piano really
gives it a divercity or might I say something different. I found myself listening to this as a
nice peice of music and not just a posted song to see whats up. From about 2:21 to about
3:20 it went into a seemingly stacato type feel with that one instrument (the cello?).
 
  To my ears or maybe I should say to my taste I would prefer for the smooth sound to continue
throughout the song. Whereas as it is now "that section" has a sort of drama or action
type vibe to it while I'm enjoying the "song mood" so it sort of changes at that point in the songs vibe.
 
    I would think that keeping that "feel" that you otherwise have in the song (IE the sustained notes)
would have this piece sounding "complete". It sounds like everything in the writing, production etc
fell into place and doesn't need something else to be a beautyfull piece.
 
  I wouldn't want to imply that me saying "hey this sounds great" is just a thing to say.
I am truly impressed with this performance. Parden my spelling this computor that I'm on
at the moment I don't know if the spell check is on it.
 
 

the tune reminded me of something..then i realised it was Holst 'Jupiter' (I vow to thee my country).
nicely programmed and played, sounds very sweet, not much to say in terms of mix!

Thanks Robby.  Yes, I know that song and it IS pretty. :-)  This mix is all my own.  I didn't eq or pan anything this time, because I wanted to see what EWQL was like on its own (I suspected they knew what they were doing.)  I just now remembered that I should make sure that solo cello is in the middle (I think?).  I'm curious to see what the orchestra guys say.  And yes, EWQL is great.  Thanks. :-)

Thanks Frank.  I wish I could put together songs like YOU do! ;-)

Jimmy, I'm so glad you stopped by.  I've been thinking about (and worrying about) you lately.  I'm glad you like it, Jimmy and I really do appreciate your comments. I can see how the staccato passage might be a little jarring. That's the kind of feedback I was looking for.  I'll have to wait a few days and listen to it with fresh ears I think.  I struggled so much getting each part to fit together and that may be one part that just didn't work.  Although I 'heard' that part early on in the process.  I wanted some sort of change-up.  Anyway, thanks for the idea.  It's easy enough to change. 

Thank you, Scott! :-)

Thanks Mark.  I knew this wouldn't be your favorite of mine , but I appreciate you listening and commenting. :-)  I'd never heard 'I Vow to Thee My Country' (listening now) but I can certainly hear the similarity. 

Thanks Malcolm.  Really glad you like it.  Thanks for the idea.  Part of the problem is that it's fairly easy to come up with a good 'hook' for a pretty song, but you can't have 3 1/2 minutes of a good hook.  :-)  (nor do you want it boring between the hooks.)  Sometimes the rest of it comes easily to me and sometimes I have to fight with it. 

I really liked that.  Very well done.

I would only say, since you are asking, that the crashes do nothing but take me out of the mood.  A crash, to me, can be a symbol of excitement/change or used as an accent in a song.  I feel nothing either way, but it just may be the placement.  It actually disturbs my feel of the movement of the piece.  That's just my humble opinion, since you asked.

If nothing changes, it is still a wonderful movement.  Cheers!

Hi Janet, don't change a thing this is absolutely mesmerizing. I even like the percussion .


Greetings, Rik

I like  this song..... the cello at the start on my computer speakers sounded a bit synthy.....I'll turn on the DAW and listen there in a minute.

ADD:

Yeah...confirmed. the cello is too "buzzy" sounding..... maybe some verb and velocity adjustments would help...enveloping out sooner....

the strings are really sweet.  when they come in I'd fade the cello a bit quicker.... or bump the verb so it blends into the background better.
The rest sounds pretty decent.  Horns are nice and blend well.  where the cello comes in at 3 something.... it's better but I'd still put more verb on it.... just a bit.

So to me the issue is in the cello. Make it fit better.

JMHO

Wow--thank you, Mark!  :-)  Three times?  I'm honored!   You're so right about that cello.  I changed the sample and it sounds so much better.  I really appreciate the listen and comments!

Great job!  You must have put a lot of time on it.  The orchestration sounds great!  You could add some timpani at the end to give it some more drama. 

Janet,
  I'm pretty limited in my exposure to this genre.  I do like and listen to Rick Wakeman and David Arkenstone alot though.  The mix sounds very good to me and the song is very majestic and flowing.  This song would be a great addition to a video that shows sweeping and majestic landscapes, like flyovers of vast mountainous areas.  Very nice work, I liked it a lot.

Thank you, Vicente.  Yeah, this one took awhile to compose for some reason.  I thought of adding timps at the end, but I was wanting it to wind down there.  I'm not sure it really came out right though.  lol.  I'll probably revisit it...or make another version sometime. 

Bruce, yeah, that's interesting. As I mentioned in the OP, I couldn't really get this to go where I wanted it to go.  Perhaps I should change the name to 'The Journey'.  Otherwise I'll have to just end with the beginning.  :-)  Thanks so much for listening and commenting.   I appreciate it.

Thank you, Tony.  I'm glad it created pictures for you. :-)

Herb...say what?  I'm not hearing that, but I'll try again.  Yeah, that cello's better.  I need to remember that for next time.  Thanks for the idea!

I also thought the thing I'm hearing was the result of mp3 conversion and or streaming audio..... but I don't think so.

to me, the notes are not clear and defined at the very beginning. I listened just now on the desk top speakers, and I still hear it....

let me describe it differently.... it sounds almost like there is a volume envelope that fades in ON and across the first notes. In that, the volume of the first note is rising as it begins to play..... giving it an "unfinished" start.  It's not "at volume" before the first note begins.
the first note in a song should be definitive, and at volume,  not fading in as the song begins. I understand there are exceptions to this and I'm not arguing that point here and now. Even if that is not the case, that's how it sounds.

Listen with focus on the first few notes. It starts at 3 sec and by 5 secs its done.  This might seem REALLY picky. If the notes are intentional, and they just come out sounding that way, I would, and have in my own projects, gone in and changed notes and chords to eliminate minor glitches that the ordinary listener would not hear, but that the professionals pick up immediately.

Example in my own music: In Emerald Eyes.... towards the last reprise, the back ground piano played a chord that had a note in it that clashed with the chord maintained by the other instruments. Solo'd.... it didn't sound bad at all, actually, it  was quite beautiful. But in the mix it didn't work. I enveloped that one note out and it changed the song and made it totally smooth.  During the time that song was on the forum for review, no one  here commented about the chord disagreement in the last reprise. Everyone missed it.  If I had sent it to a music listing in that condition, it would likely have been turned back due to that perceived wrong note. On some of the TAXI reviews I get, it is amazing some of the minor nits those guys and gals will catch, and they return it for that reason. Broadcast quality means everything is right.

Again... JMHO.....

Hi Janet, you just couldn't leave it alone could you . Actually this cello sounds much nicer, apart from the very first note, like Herb mentioned, and there is one high note coming in a bit strong. There is also a bit to much hiss before the first note if I'm really picky but that could be Soundclick.


Greetings, Rik

 
This is a beautiful piece Janet.
 
I really love the timpani parts, they are the icing on the cake for me.
 
Having said that, all the instrumentation is from the very top drawer.
 
 

The melody has a lovely hook. It does sound a bit familiar (can't place it) and it doesn't matter. I am impressed by the way you have orchestrated this. Would be great to hear it with real instruments. It could definately be used in any billion dollar movie.