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Country? Singing Highwayman! :D

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A friend showed me this song today and said I should cover it my way. The song is pretty awesome, four country legends doing their stuff :D Usual disclaimer, I can't mix at all.

Please tell me what you think :3

https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/highwayman-cover

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I liked the mix. And I really like how you did this song and I have heard the original and I have been fans of the "outlaws" who comprised this supergroup. I have sang along with Waylon on "Luchenbach," with Willie on just about everything. And so on, and so on.

Really, seriously, you should pay a fee to ASCAP or, in your case, SESAC, and record this for release with pretty much this arrangement and mix. Being "outlaw" means doing what you want, regardless of genre and being pidgeon-holed by others.

Bravo, Patrik.

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I liked the mix. And I really like how you did this song and I have heard the original and I have been fans of the "outlaws" who comprised this supergroup. I have sang along with Waylon on "Luchenbach," with Willie on just about everything. And so on, and so on.

Really, seriously, you should pay a fee to ASCAP or, in your case, SESAC, and record this for release with pretty much this arrangement and mix. Being "outlaw" means doing what you want, regardless of genre and being pidgeon-holed by others.

Bravo, Patrik.

Thanks Ron! I did put a bit more effort into the mix this time and tried not to super-overdo reverb/delay like I always do, simply because the song really moved me and I think I sang it well enough for my voice to carry it without too much FX this time :3

This song is no technical challenge but I think a full F#5 in chest or whatever is easy as crap compared to trying to tell a story where you try to feel every word you sing. Subjective thing though, since others may think it sounds emotionless while others don't, either way, practicing that more now :P

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Pretty good Snejk. Like Ronws, I think you should go ahead and get permission to release this. Songs can be universal. The only thing that puts them in one genre or another is the delivery and production.

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Thanks MDEW! And yeah you're both right, I've gotten many comments lately about "doing things the wrong way", either because I do something that's not metal or because I sing things different than the original :P I think it's a limiting way to reason.

Not sure how I would go about it and to be frank (but not entirely Zappa), while I do think I pulled it off well, I don't think it's good/special enough to warrant that :p

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The problem lies in the fact that you do not think it is special enough. If that was the case NO One would try to release a cover song. Linda Ronstadt rose to stardom because of cover songs.

I personally think that anytime someone does a cover they should put their own stamp on the song. After all the song was usually written by someone other than the singer that you hear on the radio (or Youtube) and was SHOPPED to find a singer or Band to release it in the first place. A song can go through many incarnations before it is heard by the general public.

Plus the fact that once a Genre is defined all of the songs start to sound the same and THEN someone comes along and puts a new spin to it and gives it new life.

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MDEW speaketh the truth. Heed well his advice-eth.

First of all, welcome to the hell of country, here. Where if it's not got a screamy, rattly, 10 percent this or that at F#5, then it's not worth listening to.

Or, this song is the mistake of not being the 13,000th cover of a Journey song (does this forum actually belong to Steve Perry, looking for admirers?)

And, at least amongst musicians, particularly, it can be cut-throat karaoke. And fellow musicians I have known in my past would spend excessive hours matching a performance to a song to the very last note, the final inflection, the idea that they created exactly the musical selection they required.

Well, my ego is too large. I have to do things my way, it's a personal compulsion that I am powerless to stop. I am not a copy, I am an original who absorbs influences. And I think you are similar to me.

Let us grow our egos to the size of nation-states, requiring and demanding recognition from the UN. My ego already has its own zip code.

This is a great performance on a good song with a good mix and I bet it would make money as a new release of an older but good song.

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I like it! It has a sort of British folk feel, or like Dire Straits with David Bowie fronting the band! I like music that brings things full circle and connects their roots in unexpected ways.

If you owned the song a little more emotionally it could really go places, and given that you just picked it up that's no criticism toward you.

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Well MDEW, Linda Ronstadt maybe didn't have my mindset :> A lot of people never doubt themselves. I think I am an amazing singer but there are 13 a dozen of those and it takes much more to reach out. And I don't think that I have "it", yet.

Ron; Yeah. I do not know why people are like that. One part of me believes it's jealousy; alot of people lack the creativity or haven't dared to explore it. Another part of me believes that people ACTUALLY believe in the crap they say.

Jim; Thanks :D Though I must say, I don't think I ever put more emotion into a song than I did in this. The first verse is a bit fragile and contemplating, the second and third more assertive and statementish and then I sang the fourth one light, airy, curious and brittle. This is the second song I ever sung where I actually made myself tear up when listening -_-; *PRETENTIOUS_GUY_84*

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You are correct in thinking "IT" is a mind set. Most of the people I know do not think that they are a fantastic singer but they either believe in the song or believe in the path that they chose and that is what gives them the drive and the courage to go on even if they do not believe in their own ability.

"Another part of me believes that people ACTUALLY believe in the crap they say"

I actually do believe in the crap that I say. :P Fortunately for me I can choose to only sing songs that I understand the concept of and believe in the message or the feeling brought on by it.

Even if a song is silly and makes no sense I can sing it with the feeling of irony or just for fun and that gives the emotion and intent for a good performance.

And if you do not believe that you have "IT", I do. :)

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Snejk, granted, I only listened to it once. I'm also more of a "music" than a "lyric" guy, so take that into consideration. I'll give it another listen and try to absorb the lyrics a little better. :)

I did notice the changes in timbre, and frankly it made it sound a little like 3 different people were singing. I wasn't sure if that was your intention. It's possible you're too emotional about it at this point(?) These things can be overdone (I've been guilty of that myself), and that can distract from the message. Wear it in like a good shoe, sing it naturally, and let the overall feeling take over. :cool:

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Snejk, granted, I only listened to it once. I'm also more of a "music" than a "lyric" guy, so take that into consideration. I'll give it another listen and try to absorb the lyrics a little better. :)

I did notice the changes in timbre, and frankly it made it sound a little like 3 different people were singing. I wasn't sure if that was your intention. It's possible you're too emotional about it at this point(?) These things can be overdone (I've been guilty of that myself), and that can distract from the message. Wear it in like a good shoe, sing it naturally, and let the overall feeling take over. :cool:

That was indeed deliberate :3 The Highwaymen consisted of Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash singing one verse each. So, while I can't match four unique voices, I could attempt to make it more varied and interesting by altering my voice a bit and add some different harmonies (like the falsetto harmony in the last verse). Singing the four verses with the same timbre, the same exact melody and no harmonies would not only bore the crap out of me, but also be boring to listen to :p

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That was indeed deliberate :3 The Highwaymen consisted of Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash singing one verse each. So, while I can't match four unique voices, I could attempt to make it more varied and interesting by altering my voice a bit and add some different harmonies (like the falsetto harmony in the last verse). Singing the four verses with the same timbre, the same exact melody and no harmonies would not only bore the crap out of me, but also be boring to listen to :P

There's certainly room for drama and variation, just saying it can be overdone. And not necessarily in this case, though I still think the song could use some breaking in--which is only to be expected from a song you just picked up. :) You might try singing it a little more "the same" and see if it is as boring as you think it would be.

Where to draw the line between sameness tending toward boredom, and variation tending toward distraction and artifice, is indeed a subjective thing. Sometimes artists who trust in their songs can get away with a lot that might be otherwise considered "boring" or worse. Look at Bob Dylan. He might not be your cup of tea, but his songs and recordings have deeply touched millions.

I hope you don't mind me offering my impressions, since that's what this forum is supposed to be for, isn't it? And don't worry, I intend to offer clips of myself sometime soon, and I would hope for honest feedback. :)

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You are correct in thinking "IT" is a mind set. Most of the people I know do not think that they are a fantastic singer but they either believe in the song or believe in the path that they chose and that is what gives them the drive and the courage to go on even if they do not believe in their own ability.

"Another part of me believes that people ACTUALLY believe in the crap they say"

I actually do believe in the crap that I say. :P Fortunately for me I can choose to only sing songs that I understand the concept of and believe in the message or the feeling brought on by it.

Even if a song is silly and makes no sense I can sing it with the feeling of irony or just for fun and that gives the emotion and intent for a good performance.

And if you do not believe that you have "IT", I do. :)

Let me clarify that last statement; It is you and your ability that I was refering to you. I believe that YOU have "IT". IT is something that comes through whether you yourself believe it or not.

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To the contrary, I appreciate your input and your honesty :)

I think it's my ADHD or something, but I have always had problems recording covers - singing the same line twice is often excruciatingly boring to me. In originals I always improvise while recording so if I'm not happy with the sound, the re-take of just that simple line will most likely be slightly different in melody, tone or whatever. Not because I forgot how I sang it the first time, but because it bores me to sing it the same way twice.

Keep in mind that in this song, I doubled -all- vocal lines, lead and harmonies except a few words. That took some discipline I tell you, singing the same line twice, all the time -_-; I lost focus sooooo many times and it took 6 hours to record the song lolololol :o

Bob Dylan never stuck with me because, while I do fancy his words, -alot-, I could never stand his voice and the monotony in his entirety. I, as you, listen to the "music" before the lyrics. Melody is everything to me. It's after your goosebumps have settled after hours of looping a song that you contemplate the actual words. When recording you have to know the words, know the story, otherwise you'd end up with maybe a catchy song but lacking depth because of the disconnect.

You are spot on with the 'overdoing' part, and it can be really hard to restrain yourself at times xD The balance in giving stuff your own artistic touch, heh... :>

MDEW; You think? Heh, I hope that proves to be consistent as I post stuff then... Would love to have 'it' xd

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To the contrary, I appreciate your input and your honesty :)

That's good, because I'm brand new to this forum but "old as the hills" when it comes to internet discourse! ;) So I think I have a pretty good perspective, but not everyone will agree, and that's okay.

I went back and listened to the Highwaymen version and the original by Jimmy Webb, and those are all quite different and interesting. In Webb's the drama is in the instrumental arrangement, complete with horns and strings. The tune is also quite compelling, with some interesting melodic elements and meter shifts. (See I'm still hung up on the music! ;)).

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And yet, this is a singer's forum, where lyrics are important. We're kind of bad that way, too. That's why, you are likely to hear covers with just decent background tracks or karaoke tracks but not always stand-out in the perspective of just the instrumentation and arrangement. You will also find that many guys here mix vocal-heavy. Which, from the standpoint of just us singers, I think is okay, though it might not remain unscathed in a truly professional edit.

Because I have made that mistake. And when my brother mix'd a song we collab'd on, it sounded different than I would have mixed it. And his was better. But, then, he is a pro.

Then, there's MDEW and I, who are just as likely to make a cover with just an acoustic guitar with, at least in my case, a drastically simplified arrangement.

We all can't be Tom Cruise, having Def Leppard re-cut a song in a key that works for us. :lol: (they did that for him in the movie "Rock of Ages.")

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