The Wall - Updated

[gno]

I posted this song a couple months ago. At that time Steven Fraser had some great suggestions and wanted me to re-record the song after it settled in my voice a bit. He thought I could get more resonance in the high range. So here is the updated recording. I reworked the melody in the 3rd verse (starting at 3:06) with more Bb4's. I was glad I took Steven's advice - The high notes feel more full now.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9429511

Please let me know what you think and if you have any other suggestions. Thank you!

Geno

[Rexinator]

Guitartek, that sounded awesome! You've got some great chops, dude. I didn't hear the previous version, and I'm not that familiar with the original, but I could really believe that you are the original artist on that song. Thanks for sharing. That was a fun listen.

[ronws]

At one time, I had everything Kansas ever recorded but I agree with Rexinator, you sang this song as if you recorded it. I think I see the changes and that they allowed you better breath support. Your previous version was fine but this one "sounds" stronger in places. No criticisms that I can think of. And where you differ from Steve Walsh is nothing to be changed. Genetics is genetics. Your voice is perfectly fine and this was a great rendition.

[Quincy]

I thought it sounded great. I also heard a real sophisticated level of breath management. Fantastic!

[gno]

Rexinator - Thanks for listening. The original was done by Kansas - sang by Steve Walsh who had one of the great rock voices of the 70's.

ronws - thanks for your comments. So you are/were a big Kansas fan too! Steve was one of my favorite singers - especially the young Steve. I'm glad you heard some improvements.

Quincy - Thank you!

[akarawd]

Mesmerizing - I'm speechless. Truly amazing.

[joshual]

amazing!!!! nothing more to say!

[ronws]

I had the first, self-titled album, Kansas, Leftoverture, Point of Know Return. A live album, Audio Visions, Drastic Measures, Vinyl Confessions. The difference is noted in the last two albums. Coming up to Drastic Measures, Kerry Livgren, founding member of the band, became a born-again christian and wished to include more christian lyrics in the music. Walsh, who was the primary singer, (with Robby Steinhardt being the other singer and doing the in-between patter with the audience,) wasn't going to sing with lyrics he didn't feel. Which is not say that Steve is not religious or doesn't respect religion. It's just that this wasn't his style and he wasn't going to change his lyrics to represent only Livegren's desires. His material was about half the Drastic Measures album. He left. And so, they had to complete the album and find another singer. After about 200 auditions, they settled on John Elefante. He has the range but a different, less "chesty" timbre than Walsh. They put out one more album, Vinyl Confessions, before Livgren went off to do a few christian albums, some with some singers such as, believe it or not, Ronnie James Dio.

Not all the original members are there but at least they are still making music with some special appearances from Livgren.

When I was a teenager, I had two favorite bands. KANSAS, and the Who.

I really like KANSAS and back then, their music was called fusion, at least locally. It was a fusion of all the things I liked best. Hard rock, classical music and arrangements, actually singing with a real singer, and lyrics that told a story that you could follow. Lyrics sung clearly so that you could understand what was being sung.

These days, Steve has cut his hair and doesn't do headstands turned into flips of the speaker cabinets anymore. And that's okay. It's the music we want, not the acrobatics.

[ronws]

And, by the way, Geno, you have just as good a voice as Steve Walsh and I am glad that you choose this music to record.

[gno]

akarawd - thanks for your support!

joshual - thanks for the comments!

ronws - nice summarization of Kansas - you nailed it. I loved that kind of fusion. I was a big fan of them way back but I didn't know many of the back stories until recently. Kerry considered Kansas to be one of the first progressive rock bands that could actually produce number one hits, and I can't disagree with him on that. It's too bad they couldn't stick together in the original lineup. Last year they came out with a BluRay of a reunion gig with Kerry. Luckily before Kerry had his stroke. Thanks for your comments.

[joshual]

If i can just just one thing (if you want it to be more than perfect lol), Maybe you could get a better tone if you accentuate less the consonants like "t" (as in Try) or K (as in Can't). That's the only thing i can hear to improve your singing. But i may also com from the recording ;-)

[gno]

Joshual - thanks for the feedback. I'll look into that. I did a project for a producer recently and he had issues with my T's and S's and we narrowed it down to my mic, even though I do use a pop filter. My Mic has a bump up at 6k - 8k right where those are. I don't use any dessing or anything. I haven't noticed the issue with T but since the that producer did and now you, looks like I'm going to have to investigate it more. Maybe it's my mic, maybe it's just me. Thanks again.