Yup... we're back at Laura's cabaret.  With a little edge this time around, though still as uniquely you as always.
 
Mix-wise, the main suggestion I would make is to push the guitar to the side just a little to leave more room in the center for the vocal.  It's not bad the way it is, but the guitar does have some high-end taking up some of that space IMHO.   As said above, just a little polish could help bring it forward as long as the natural grain still shows through. 
 
 

Thank you so much, SteveC, for listening, and for offering that very thoughtful and useful advice. What you say sounds perfectly right to me, and echoes what other people on this thread have been telling me in different ways. The more I listen to what people here say, the more I learn (I hope)!
 
Thank you again,
LJ
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wow, it's great to be back at the cabaret, nice to see my table is still available. :) You're in fine form here. Your vocals have a warm intimacy with a relaxed but clearly skilled delivery that makes short work of the complex melodies you write. You make it sound so easy and natural and that's a big part of why I like your work so much.  I personally enjoy your guitar and piano playing and the journey through uncharted waters your music always seems to seek out. Love the musical interludes here and there and your little embellishments are quite fun to listen to.
 
I do agree with philz that with a little practice in learning some mix/mastering skills your music could really soar. For example, the guitar has a number of places where the transients really leap out, and some limiting would go a long way toward getting it to settle into the mix more politely. I also think some judicious use of reverb/delay here and there would help open up things and give us more of a sense of musical space. There's also an opportunity for some careful eq'ing that would add some clarity to parts of the vocal track without diminishing the intimacy of the experience.
 
Unfortunately, all that work at learning the tools takes away from writing and performing, so there's a balance that can be frustrating at first but the investment will pay off handsomely for you over the longer term.
 
Thanks for sharing this with us.
 

Laura
Once again I'm just blown away by your unique style of musicianship. Always enjoyable.

I wonder why I've never heard you before.  I love this song from the opening measures. Such a mix of different time periods, it's like being caught in a chrono-synclastic infundibulum. Wonderfully inventive. Are you Kurt Weill's granddaughter? I agree that the piano gets in the way of the vocal. And the guitar spikes too. Otherwise it's perfect! I love it!

Laura, you continue to create your own sound which lets your personality come through in the most unique ways.  I really like this song and will come back for more.  Kudos!

To kevinwal (Kevin), bjornpdx (Bjorn), mcourter and Lynn:
 
Your support, advice, and encouragement have made my day. You know how strange it is to put your music out there for people to hear. Often, it seems even worse when nobody even seems to care to listen. 
 
I always read everything many times through, so your thoughts are emblazoned on my brain by now :)
 
This week, despite my pitiful production "skills", my album "LeJiT" (my initials are LJT)  came out on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, etc. Go figure! I'm still in shock. It's got 10 tracks, and this is one of them. Wish I'd had time to fix it a bit, though ... it's embarrassing, but I'm still thrilled and very, very nervous to have something actually out there. Yikes! 
 
Thanks again to all of you!
LJ
 
 

Congratulations on your release! Way to hang it all out there, LJ, here's wishing you much success!

Thank you for saying that, Kevin (kevinwal)- you're very generous! :)
LJ

I would like to add one comment, and that is that I know my stuff is severely lacking, but this is the place that has given me the courage to at least let it be heard by more than one person. Who that one person may be I will leave to your imagination :)