Sunday, August 3, 2008

Version 2

Please find below the new version of Anyway for the project. I spent some time doing a new mix, fixing some of the details in the performances and basically, tightened and enhanced the audio file. There are two versions of the MIDI audio file below, one with and one without vocals. A lot of visitor's to the shrine have expressed interest in the Karoake versions of these songs and I can only think it is so they can add their own vocals, so, if you take one of the songs and haved added your own vocal part, I would be very interested in hearing your singing over this music.

Heck, I might even post different versions with you singing on the shrine.

Anyway, enjoy and remember to RATE the song.

Jim

PS - some day I will get around to re-doing Steve's guitar solo and try to get it closer to the album but for some reason, I kinda like my solo too.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Future Enhancements

Now that I have completed Supernatural, I am planning on updating this song using the Ocean Way Drums. Additionally, there are a couple of corrections I want to make to the MIDI file. One is the middle section piano part.  The right hand in a couple of places doesn't match the exact D - Eb timing.  A couple of these stay on Eb too long.  Also, during the guitar part, I am missing some piano chords played with the left hand (how come I keep hearing new or missing stuff after all these years?). The piano part after Steve's solo is quite correct, a couple of spots prior to the solo has the old piano part and it is bothering me now, so might as well fix that too. I also have a new grand piano sample that might fit this track better than the concert grand I did use (this piano overall sounds better but the new one might sound more like Tony's piano from the LP), so I will experiment with the piano sound as well.

Not sure when I will get round to all this but it is on my "to do" list for the project.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Anyway Updated

Well, I got some feedback on the mix concerning the volume of the drums being too loud and maybe too much reverb on the vocals.  So, in addition to some other minor corrections in the MIDI file, decided to upload some newer versions of the mix. I also added some additional examples of different aspects of the song including a requested MIDI file example of the piano part.

So, if you haven't heard the new mixes and listened to the additional examples, please have a go at it.  

Friday, April 4, 2008

Introducing ANYWAY

This track represents the "artistic" side of GENESIS. It is actually a very beautiful ballad with a twist, the lyrics are about RAEL's contemplation of his own death. Another one of those ironic GENESIS moments.  I know the music and the lyrics were written independently but you gotta give Peter credit for imagination.

All the members of the band played an important role on this track, centered around Tony's grand piano part. Phil get's to go a bit "nuts" on the middle section and gets to play some more percussion (marimba's and guiro).  Steve gets a real guitar solo (but nothing else). And Mike gets to play his fuzz bass again as well as some real tasty bass parts during the quieter passages.  Ever notice how Mike just doesn't play bass, rather he plays what I like to call Bass Lead. Listen to how he is playing all over the fret board and playing his own little melodies.  Just another piece to the puzzle of classic Genesis.

I tried to re-create each instrument track as close as possible.  This is always a challenge when this needs to include guitar solos.  Drums, keyboards and bass fit naturally to a keyboard but guitar requires more than just notes since a big part of guitar playing is in its articulations of picking, note bending, etc.

I also took some liberty by replacing the GUIRO during the guitar solo with a Vibraslap.  The guiro samples I have just didn't fit the required timing of this percussion part and this vibraslap fit that bill.  To compensate, I tried to EQ it so it has the feel of the guiro part.

The drums are kinda mixed a bit wierd on this track.  The snare is panned hard right with a slapback panned hard left.  The kick drum pans hard right during the beginning of the middle section and lays on top of the hard panned left hand piano part (octave low notes).

I hope you enjoy this track and as always, if I can help you in anyway, just drop me a note and I will be glad to lend you a hand if I can.

Since I posted these MP3's, I have already tweaked a couple things in the mix.  (some of the crash cymbals were too loud, and the new fuzz bass part during the guitar solo, had some of the notes too soft as well, to the point where the volume was not triggering the software fuzz box within amplitube).  I am sure that as time goes on, more changes will take place, but until I feel that together they make a big enough difference, will I post a new version.  Just goes to show that this project will probably never be completed, but it is FUN for me.