The Wagtunes Corner (Featuring My Best Yet)

[ATS]

4th track from my upcoming CD "Killer Kovers"

This one, my favorite song from 1979.

Some of the great things this project has done for me.

1. It's gotten me out of my laziness. If I put in this much attention to detail on my own songs, well, who knows what I'd be capable of.

2. It's taught me a lot about arrangement and how it can make all the difference in the world.

3. It's forced me to think outside the box in achieving certain FX. The result is the use of a lot more automation. Some things are simply not possible without it.

4. It has made me appreciate these songs even more now that I hear what goes into them to make them sound so good. Some of these bands make things sound so easy. Trust me, they're not. Some of this stuff is very complex.

I hope that when this project is over, I will start to put this much effort into my own music, especially when it comes to creating arrangements. I think that's one area where I tend to get a little lazy and settle for "good enough."

Anyway, this one came out really good. I channeled my best Nick Garvey (lead singer) that I could muster.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/today

That's the best song I have heard of yours. Lots of attention to details too. Good work.

[wagtunes]

4th track from my upcoming CD "Killer Kovers"

This one, my favorite song from 1979.

Some of the great things this project has done for me.

1. It's gotten me out of my laziness. If I put in this much attention to detail on my own songs, well, who knows what I'd be capable of.

2. It's taught me a lot about arrangement and how it can make all the difference in the world.

3. It's forced me to think outside the box in achieving certain FX. The result is the use of a lot more automation. Some things are simply not possible without it.

4. It has made me appreciate these songs even more now that I hear what goes into them to make them sound so good. Some of these bands make things sound so easy. Trust me, they're not. Some of this stuff is very complex.

I hope that when this project is over, I will start to put this much effort into my own music, especially when it comes to creating arrangements. I think that's one area where I tend to get a little lazy and settle for "good enough."

Anyway, this one came out really good. I channeled my best Nick Garvey (lead singer) that I could muster.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/today

That's the best song I have heard of yours. Lots of attention to details too. Good work.

Yeah, well I had a great blueprint to copy from.

[aaron aardvark]

wagtunes,
Thank you for the review! Now I'm listening to "Today". I'm still a bit confused if you play guitar or not. The guitars all sound real to me if they aren't. Most of the first 25 seconds sound good, but somehow there are some notes (strings and vocal synth I think) that are not harmonizing correctly for me; maybe it's just me. Must have listened to that intro 5 times, and it sounded a bit better on every listen. Just recently I've been working on a song, where in musical theory, the notes should work together, but it sounds off to me. Then I keep lowering the volume of a particular note or two, and then it sounds correct for me somehow. After that first 25 seconds, all of the melodies sound excellent to me. I listened to the entire song 3 times, I think. I think these are some of your better vocals. The pianos all sound great. The strings sound very realistic. Instrumentally, it sounds a bit Beatle-esque to me, which is a good thing.

[Allomerus]

Haven't heard the original but your version sounds good Wags!
The backing is very strong. Lots of nice counter melodies and chords.
Well done!

[wagtunes]

wagtunes,
Thank you for the review! Now I'm listening to "Today". I'm still a bit confused if you play guitar or not. The guitars all sound real to me if they aren't. Most of the first 25 seconds sound good, but somehow there are some notes (strings and vocal synth I think) that are not harmonizing correctly for me; maybe it's just me. Must have listened to that intro 5 times, and it sounded a bit better on every listen. Just recently I've been working on a song, where in musical theory, the notes should work together, but it sounds off to me. Then I keep lowering the volume of a particular note or two, and then it sounds correct for me somehow. After that first 25 seconds, all of the melodies sound excellent to me. I listened to the entire song 3 times, I think. I think these are some of your better vocals. The pianos all sound great. The strings sound very realistic. Instrumentally, it sounds a bit Beatle-esque to me, which is a good thing.

Thanks for the listen Aaron. I can assure you that all the notes played are correct. The harmony, as written, is a little unorthodox at times so that's probably what you're hearing.

As for the guitars, they are Music Labs Real Acoustic. It took me forever to get them to sound that good. Normally, they don't. Trust me, this was a fluke.

[wagtunes]

Haven't heard the original but your version sounds good Wags!
The backing is very strong. Lots of nice counter melodies and chords.
Well done!

Thanks for the listen and the feedback. My gut tells me that very few people heard this song as it wasn't a big hit anywhere. Yes, the arrangement, and Nick Garvey's vocals, made this song. Otherwise, it's actually a pretty simple tune.

[Music Bird]

Wow, those covers are very good! They have some pep to them, I like the Video Killed The Radio Star one. I think a cover of a public domain song could be pretty cool too!

Speaking of the Muppets, there’s also an Indonesian group (actually 2!) called Muppets. One is called Raja Muppet though which means King Muppet.

[wagtunes]

Wow, those covers are very good! They have some pep to them, I like the Video Killed The Radio Star one. I think a cover of a public domain song could be pretty cool too!

Speaking of the Muppets, there’s also an Indonesian group (actually 2!) called Muppets. One is called Raja Muppet though which means King Muppet.

Thanks for the listen and the feedback. I actually did a cover (musically) of "Dixie" to finish my last CD. All I did was change the lyrics to fit the mad scientist theme. There's certainly lots of public domain to choose from. Maybe for a future CD.

Video was good for sure but I think Today was as good if not better. It's hard to choose. I've really gone all out on these. I should put this much work into my own songs.

[aaron aardvark]

wagtunes,
So when you've used IK Multimedia Amplitube Brian May in the past, that was with a "vst guitar"?

[wagtunes]

wagtunes,
So when you've used IK Multimedia Amplitube Brian May in the past, that was with a "vst guitar"?

Amplitube Brian May is the FX section, the amp and stomps. The guitar that I use is usually one of the following Music Labs guitars.

Real Guitar - Acoustic 6 and 12 string
Reallpc - Les Paul Custom
Realrick - Rickenbacker 6 and 12 string electrics
Realstrat - Stratcaster
RealEight - Eight string guitar

Which one I use depends on the song itself. I use the eight string usually with amplitube MESA Boogie for a real heavy sound.

The Brian May collection I got for my Queen project but don't really use it much since because his guitar has such a distinct sound.

[wagtunes]

5th track from my upcoming CD "Killer Kovers"

This one from 1980.

Back to back Motors songs. Did not plan this. This one was a real challenge, especially getting those big vocals on the "Love And Loneliness" refrain. I channeled my best Nick Garvey but he wasn't taking my call. Still, did the best I could.

The record was engineered by Shelly Yakus. The man is a legend. So I had mt work cut out for me. I don't think I did too badly. You can decide for yourself.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... loneliness

[wagtunes]

6th track from my upcoming CD "Killer Kovers"

This one from 1986. "Wild Wild Life" by The Talking Heads

This one presented a few challenges. Some tricky guitar riffs, out of range vocals and the tape scrubbed ending. All in all, I think I did a respectable job.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/wild-wild-life

[layzer]

i figured its about time for some wagtunes. so i gave "wild wild life"
a spin.
Wags getting his wild on. hehehee
i enjoyed it, and thats what really counts. good job on it

[wagtunes]

i figured its about time for some wagtunes. so i gave "wild wild life"
a spin.
Wags getting his wild on. hehehee
i enjoyed it, and thats what really counts. good job on it

Well this was a pleasant surprise. Thanks. I busted my ass on this one. In fact, this whole project has been exhausting. I should put this much work into my own stuff. It might actually end up sounding decent.

Anyway, thanks for the listen and the feedback. Much appreciated.

[wagtunes]

7th track from my upcoming CD "Killer Kovers"

Decided to do an easy one. From 1975, "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" by ELO.

I did the single version and added some of my own arrangement ideas. Think it came out pretty good.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... of-my-head