Zoom Gear & Home Recording Forum

It does sound slightly different to your usual style Pete, good to flex your wings, aye!

Why do you think your songs are dreary? and why would I want to listen to them if they were?

What do you want to hear?

Nice song............although possibly dreary? .....................barb

Topo
You're probably right about the piano doing much the same, but I see it as a different colour. To paint the sky you need several shades of blue and grey. That's my excuse anyway Thanks as ever for you kind words.

Cracks
I think London is a different place from 1972. But last time I was there it still had that frenetic, overcrowded atmosphere. I've actually gathered some video clips from 1972 which I'm trying to make into a music-video collage for this. If I get anything finished I'll post you a link. I do remember guitar shops on Shaftesbury Avenue. Wonder if they're still there? Later I found out there were 'Shaftesbury' guitars.

Gitjeff
Why thanks Jeff. It's odd how certain sounds can trigger memories, a bit like the way certain scents can take you to another time and place.

Voclizr
Thanks John. Looking back, 1972 turned out to be quite a momentous year. I only found that out later. As this song suggests I was kind of lost in a misspent youth, not all the result of my own doing. Vocal is a little affected here, not really my usual thing.

TonyJ
I knew you'd miss the squeaks I actually edited out quite a lot of guitar noise generated from the amp, that probably stopped Mr Sqeeky in his tracks. Thanks for listening and for your kind words, mucho appreciato. The cymbols were meant to add a jazz club effect ... that's my alibi for them in any case.

Fishbob
You're too nice Bob. The vocal is kind of affected, sung close to the mic, my own natural accented voice wasn't really suited to this, I thought. Haha, I'm not clever enough to put those lines in the lyrics. This is very much a stream of consciousness lyric, partly made up on the hoof.

Fishbarb
Just the label on the tin Barb A few guys allude to melancholy in my songs and there is a lot of it. It could border on the dreary, for some. I quite like slow and melancholy if there's a bit of light and shade. I'm not always very pleased with my songs but I feel I caught the atmosphere I was trying to create here. Thanks for your ears and feedback.

"To paint the sky you need several shades of blue and grey."

Indeed!

cool you made me want to actually goto london. You touched on some good imagery with your lyrics and I like that. I have always HATED hey baby baby lyrics I think they SUCK. I like it when a writer can convey an image of a place and take the person there. I try to do that with instrumentals, because I can't sing LOL, but its hard to do that. anyway good job looking forward to more

I gave this song a lot of listens over the last days, it reminds me of Styx like in suite madame blue etc...without the rock part that is suppose to come.
I can't read the lyrics and I can't understand lyrics in a song if I don't read them, my focus is on the music wich is very nice and well played. The mood is sad and rainy but not too foggy, but I can't see where you'r going walking in London if I don't connect with the lyrics, my bad though, it's my French handicap, for 20 years I didn't understand a word of any English or Chinese song, only to the musicality my brain is trained to focus on.

Topo


LiquidK
No, I'm not a hey-baby-baby type either. Is anyone any more? I do a lot of semi-biographical descriptive things. Thanks for listening and your thoughts.

1ManBand
Cheers 1Man, nice of you to listen, in spite of the language barrier. Don't know Styx though. I include the lyrics here. There's a little word play in a few places.

I once was a child
In London
By Euston Station
I once was undone
On Streatham High Street
I once was undone
In London

Heard Donovan singing
About Sunny Goodge Street
And the Stones they had
A west-side beat
But all those Shaftesbury guitars
Played kind of bittersweet
South of the Thames
I got the bends
In London

I once was a man
In London
By Euston Station
I once saw the sun
On Tottenham Court Road
Through Marble Arches
And Hyde Park
My hide park

Heard Donovan singing
About Sunny Goodge Street
And the Stones they had
A west-side beat
But all those Shaftesbury guitars
Played kind of bittersweet
In London
In London
In London

There was a fool on a hill
Was a fool on the hill

St John's Wood
Trees were dead
There was no Robin Hood
In St John's Wood

He was hiding in the grass
Smoking so fast
St John's Wood
St John's Wood

They were up to no good
To know good
In St John's Wood
To know good.

Man, no complaints at all! Love the wetness. guitar in the left and right. well mixed. Stellar vocal performance as well. I love piano, but like how you had it almost barely peeping through. Good job.

Kind of a different toon here for you. Has a McCartney vibe to it too. The core of it sounds like it could be on any on of his albums.
Maybe it was?
Anyway, you are being very prolific on that digital box lately. Wish I could stop writing and get something recorded, but you know how I feel about that.
And no, it wouldn't be easier with a digi box either.
Nice to hear a new one from ya. Not sure if this couldn't stand a bit more to it musically/chord-wise, but it works OK as is.