markno999
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Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
Cover of David Bowie's Life On Mars from the 1971 album Hunky Dory. Saw a Bowie tribute piece by Rick Wakeman, who played piano on the original recording, and decided to do a cover of Bowie's "My Way". Started this one back in 2016... Bacco (Phil) was kind enough to do vocals on this track and I think he did a fantastic job on both lead and backing vocals. This is not an easy song to sing as it is a bit theatrical in parts and the singer can really go Broadway on those sections if not careful:) I played guitars and bass, the rest is MIDI programming. EW Hollywood Strings on this one. Comments welcome.... https://www.soundclick.com/html5/v3/player.cfm?type=single&songid=13636404&q=hi Regards
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bapu
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/29 15:49:38
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Excellent cover.
One of my fav Bowie songs.
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Wookiee
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/29 16:14:59
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Sounds like a good cover here Mark and Phil, thanks for sharing.
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
Karma has a way of finding its own way home.
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AndyB01
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/29 16:41:20
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Two words: 'nailed it' I mean just teriffic vocal work. Well done! Andy
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dcumpian
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/29 18:09:04
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Great job on this cover! Totally captured the vibe of the original.
Regards,
Dan
Mixing is all about control. My music: http://dancumpian.bandcamp.com/ or https://soundcloud.com/dcumpian Studiocat Advanced Studio DAW (Intel i5 3550 @ 3.7GHz, Z77 motherboard, 16GB Ram, lots of HDDs), Sonar Plat, Mackie 1604, PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL, ESI 4x4 Midi Interface, Ibanez Bass, Custom Fender Mexi-Strat, NI S88, Roland JV-2080 & MDB-1, Komplete, Omnisphere, Lots o' plugins.
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batsbrew
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/29 18:38:42
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an excellent cover!
the only thing i could even hunt to suggest about,
is that the midi programming is a bit stiff, as far as meter,
the original had a nice flow that was out of time in places,
it'd be cool to hear that dialed in a bit more.
vox performance is stand out!
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Lynn
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/29 19:44:52
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Mark, you and Phil nailed it! I have to listen to this several more times just for the fun of it. Keep up the good work.
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Rikkie
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/30 01:51:29
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.
post edited by Rikkie - 2017/10/06 02:11:47
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optimus
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/30 06:28:02
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Never been a Bowie fan, and had you not said it was a cover, I wouldn't have know, as the work stands on it's own. A fine production.
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bitflipper
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/30 12:27:22
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Comment: WOW
On reflection, another comment: HOLY WOW
Top-notch on every level from tracking to orchestration to mixing to mastering.
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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King_Windom
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/30 13:19:17
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Terrific cover of a great Bowie tune.
Dan i7,Windows 10, Sonar Platinum, Roland Octa-Capture, Adam F7 monitors, Yamaha MOX 8, Akai Advance 49, Roland A-800 Pro, Too many guitars, Too little talent
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Rimshot
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/30 13:39:35
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Excellent work. Great production and vibe. Lots of emotion. Mix is wonderful.
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eph221
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/09/30 17:21:24
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incredible cover. Your vocals are outstanding.
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jamesg1213
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/01 13:55:11
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Top notch cover, aside from the splendid vocals those guitar parts are spookily close. Just shows what can be achieved with this software and quality audio going in.
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kzmaier
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/01 14:02:12
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Did somebody already say WOW!!! Nailed it guys, tight crisp mix, vox are awesome!!!
Great tribute to the Man, Bowie lives on!!!
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Bacco
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/02 01:04:06
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Thanks for the feedback! had a blast doing this cover. Kudos to Mark for putting it all together.
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markno999
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/02 15:40:13
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☄ Helpfulby jamesg1213 2017/10/02 18:03:50
Thanks everyone for the comments, appreciate it. This forum really has been a basis for knowledge and inspiration to improve both musically and technically. Very thankful for this forum and everyone that takes the time to comment on all the songs and mixes posted here by the many users. Really is an invaluable way to improve, learn and grow. Thanks to Phil (Bacco) for collaborating on this song and suffering through the 8 or 9 mix drafts:) Hopefully we'll do a few more:) Regards
post edited by markno999 - 2017/10/02 17:38:10
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Beagle
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/07 17:25:59
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man, this is really an excellent cover, guys! really great!
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Wayfarer
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/09 02:47:53
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Good job. Don't know what else to say. Excellent.
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markno999
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/11 16:08:30
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Reece - Thx for the listen, appreciate it.
Bill - Appreciate the comment.
I may(probably will) post an update to this, several people have commented that some of the MIDI is stiff. The drums could be loosened up a bit so am playing around with that. Also, may dirty up the toms and snare a little more. They are a little clean sounding in comparison to the original recording. Lastly, may add a little Waves Reel ADT, to the vocals.... that may add a little dirt and drift to more closely resemble the vocal production of the day in 1971.
Appreciate all the comments and suggestions.
Regards
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Makke
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/11 16:15:04
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Enjoyable to listen to great cover.
Well played and sung version.
Good mix and sounds
My english is not very good. So please, forgive me for my short posts. BullHill Sounds Sonar / Roland Quad-Capture interface
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synkrotron
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/15 09:22:47
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I thought I'd better have a listen to this, and glad I did... Took me back a bit. Really good cover, for sure 
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daryl1968
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/15 11:18:17
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Great cover Mark. My fave Bowie tune and you've been very respectful of it.
'Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow' - love that line.
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markno999
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/19 17:41:48
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Makke - Appreciate the comment.
Synkrotron - Glad you has a listen too:) Thx.
Daryl - We tried to stay close to the original. The guitar during the Choruses are really the only differences in arrangement. I liked Lorde's tribute to Bowie and used some of the guitar parts from that performance. Hope your relocation to the UK is going well....
I am working on a minor update to loosen up the drums a bit to make them less mechanical. Slightly dirtying up the OH, Toms and snare. Also adding a hint of Waves Reel ADT, to the vocals to bring them into 1970. Appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Will have an update soon. Thx.
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cclarry
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/19 19:09:48
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The Piano sounds AWESOME in this...and it's a great cover!
Well done young Padawan!
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Bob Oister
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/20 06:36:08
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Hey, Mark, Absolutely SPECTACULAR job on this fantastic cover! The playing is dynamite, the instrumentation is true to the original, Phil's vocals are excellent, and the mix is truly outstanding! I was lucky enough to see Bowie live twice during the Ziggy Stardust tour, which was killer, (I really loved Mick Ronson's live guitar sound), and my cover bands over the years did a few Bowie songs right up until about 6 years ago. Excellent job, as always, Mark, I had to continue on Soundclick to hear you and Geno do your great Journey cover and then the cover of Turn It On Again by Genesis. Great stuff, brother! Have a good one, Mark! Bob
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markno999
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/24 20:02:50
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Bob - Appreciate the listen comment and good to see you back on the forum. Better yet, back on the forum and posting your music.
That must have been something to see the Spiders From Mars. Mick Ronson is one of my all-time favorite rock guitarists. He was a unique player and had a great tone. I think he set his Wah pedal at a half-way point to get that sound.
Regards
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stevec
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/10/27 16:52:58
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Just another "wow" here... Fantastic cover. The vocals sound freakin' awesome, both in performance and recording, and your arrangement/programming supports them to a tee.
Honestly, I'm not sure how much better a cover of this song could be.
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markno999
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2017/11/01 16:27:23
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Steve,
Thanks very much for the listen and comment. Bacco (Phil) did a great job on the vocals for certain. Appreciate that the recording quality was up to par, was going for 70's baseline with a little modern edge. Hopefully accomplished that. Thx again.
Regards
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Vilovilo
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Re: Life On Mars? (Bowie Cover Featuring Bacco on Vocals)
2018/03/07 20:46:19
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Hi Mark.
Bowie.... My teenage years,a great artist and very well served with your cover.
Great job!
Cheers.
Olivier.
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