March Contest: Gossip

[Echo Voodoo]

chimpuat - Take Me To Your Leader (The Mutilated Cattle Mix) -> I really liked the high synth line and the general mood. Nicely entertaining, good sound, well-made piece. Bravo.

[mellotronaut]

retrovishnu

Fritze Fiddler: Great track, which has the 'larks' tongues..' and 'Inner Mountain Flame' touch. Very well played (wonderful drums!) and arranged. One of the best tracks yet!

Beardedone: remembers Elisabeth Read her with one guitar..the Allman Bros had this mighty unisono from Duane and Mr. Betts. It is almost not from this world, but Gordon does a great job too here, not only on guitar...the organ is super-relaxed too. Very good!

Peppy197: This is a unique track with driving percussions and thrilling suspense (and some irony, i suppose, especially in the end); also one of my favourite songs here.

Chimpuat: It has prog-touch with some quiek quiek synth and organ. Beautiful song and proggy well sung!

mellisse

[peppy197]

Peppy197: This is a unique track with driving percussions and thrilling suspense (and some irony, i suppose, especially in the end); also one of my favourite songs here.

thanks mellotronaut,

I would call my track: Rock-Prog-Blues

or,

allen

[chimpuat]

thanks much for the kind words. i had a blast making that little thing, and i'm slowly getting past the learning curve on a few things. first song i ever did vocals by chopping/pasting and creating a composite track (always just did one-take things). i still got a ways to go, but doing these past 2 contests has really been a great help to me in many ways.

my wife refuses to listen to this track. when i told her the concept, she rolled her eyes, muttered something about "marrying a geek", and forbade me to play it out loud in the house. i think she's afraid she'd like it.

there are so many amazing songs this month, i just know it's going to take me forever to whittle it down to a top 10.

[Beardedone]

Beardedone: remembers Elisabeth Read her with one guitar..the Allman Bros had this mighty unisono from Duane and Mr. Betts. It is almost not from this world, but Gordon does a great job too here, not only on guitar...the organ is super-relaxed too. Very good!

Thanks Mellotronaut!

[me109]

Thanks to Mellotronaut, Echo Voodoo and Marc JX8P for the enthusiastic comments!

I've hardly had time to listen to everybody's songs more than once, but maybe now I'll be able to do some serious listening and write at least some comments on all the great music that's been done so far this month.

[core]

More great music this month, well done everybody

Nils B - Es flossen traenen
Very pretty mix, especially the guitar solo part with drums. Great vocals and composition.Lovely piano soundfont. The last part really sounds prog rock to me.

Beardedone - Elizar
Lovely track, great atmosphere. Guitar sounds very warm and perfectly matched with the bass. Off to find the long version in the gossip thread because this indeed is way too short.

Chimpuat - Take me to your leader
Cool track, lots of nice elements in here, not all very 70's sounding but that's fine with me. I'm sure your wife is already humming this track when you're not around

me109 - 70's and beyond
Wow, you mix different stuff so quickly and it still all sounds all part of the same song. Vocals came out great, well done! This one's going straight to my keepers folder

Offthewall - The Set up
Got a great jamming feel to it. Lovely guitars and cool to put the flute in to catch some of the folk prog rock genre.

Peppy197 - 70s Fantasia
Doesn't sound like the 70's really does it? Well, in the end it actually does. Love what you did to the percussion, what effects did you use?

Streifentier - Let us alone
I think I hear some tarnce sounds from a synth like Vanguard or Nexus . Nice track, the lead gives it a prog rock feel to me.

Hovmod - Miromurr
Rock on! Got all the elements in the right place. Great job on the guitar, really rocks! Also has a bit of a jamming feel to it.

Barnadine - Invocation of the Prog Lord
Man I love your voice. I have ari-uh-isen, brilliant! This is really cool and well executed

Dunks - Too Young
Love it, not very prog rock perhaps but very cool build up, it really gets me in head bopping mode. Must've been hard to not scratch over this one, the track really asks for it. I'd love to hear you scratch up some of the guitar solo notes.

Fritz Fiedler - Fanfare for a fan of fairs
Nice one, I recognize your sound (from the Dance of the macabre mouse or something). Bit creepy!

Jonny Quest - Freeway jam
Letting the guitars rip, great theme melody. Good one for a fast drive.

Mmichalski59 - Shift Shock
Nice synth programming, but it lacks a bit of power somehow. Maybe the drums could use some punch and the metal guitar sounds a bit out of the mix. I like the track on the whole, well put together.

Nikp2000 - The Red King
Cool long intro, but I like the last 20 seconds best Sounds like something from sonic youth.

Sttjelle - Fuz Travel
Hey great job on those rock guitars! Love the basslines in this track and everything sounds nicely mixed together.

Tim Conrardy - Quintenssant
Grabbed me from the first few notes right through to the end. Love all the melodies. Superb guitar, love it! I can listen to this track all day.

Xnah - Lost Souls Dreams
This is cool, your song played right after Tim's Quintessant and the intro kind of sounds like it's the slow version of his track. Well done, except the end is too abrupt!

Gucky - Come to my dark side
Nice track, not very prog rock maybe but I like the Toxic sounds. What drums did you use?

[peppy197]

[Peppy197 - 70s Fantasia
Doesn't sound like the 70's really does it? Well, in the end it actually does. Love what you did to the percussion, what effects did you use?

thanks for the comments

effects on drums is the tape reverse 1 preset in CSR inverse
and the Classic Rock Combo preset in the AmpSimulator in Cubase 4


I actually thought the beginning sounded more seventies than the ending

Cubase 4

[Beardedone]

Beardedone - Elizar
Lovely track, great atmosphere. Guitar sounds very warm and perfectly matched with the bass. Off to find the long version in the gossip thread because this indeed is way too short.

Far out! Thanks Core!

[Echo Voodoo]

scotthagel - Yes Maybe, But Then Again... -> Very spare and lean sound. End comes rather suddenly. Feels a bit static, could use more development.

[Arglebargle]

eh I don't think I'll have time this month to participate after all.

Well good luck to everyone.

[offthewall]

@ kara, mmichalski59, core,

Thanks again for the comments. It's really constructive to get any criticism. Thanks.

[mmichalski59]

More great music this month, well done everybody

Mmichalski59 - Shift Shock
Nice synth programming, but it lacks a bit of power somehow. Maybe the drums could use some punch and the metal guitar sounds a bit out of the mix. I like the track on the whole, well put together.

Core, thanks so much for the feedback!

[me109]

For what it's worth, here are some thoughts on the earlier ones:

MarcJX8P_Timechange Cool song! I liked the interplay between the B3 and lead synth and the building tension with the morphing pad around 1:19

disco arbys Legion Hush - really nailed the Philadelphia sound with the wah-wah and strings

Kara_Tribute_to_Zelda - Nice point/counterpoint - reminded me of early Winter Consort

shanesanders_alaskan_highway - Great synth sounds - especially the bass in the intro - I liked how the
different synth voices would come in, make their statement and give way to another.

echovoodoo_whyareyoucallingme - Prog or not, you got the Kraftwerk thing going and then some! Never heard such an intriguing telephone before

Khepira_SunsetFlight - The sax intro was like taxiing down the runway before takeoff. Sounded like everybody did some serious partying on the flight! Then you landed again with the tranquil sax.

Groove Sys: 213-in one sixtieth - The break at :30 going into the 7/4 was just right!

Patrick9-JustJammin - Got the feel of a live jam session. And true to prog rock, the longer I listened to the drums at the beginning the better I liked them.

core_the_snow_goose - One reason I like these competitions is what I can learn from all you guys. Following the string synth with a sine wave lead is a nice way to soften it up. It also makes up for the slow attack of the strings. Very effective technique. Not prog rock, but a very pleasant piece.

DuncanParsons_Retropolis - I'd say this qualifies as prog rock. I really like the way things heat up at the 1 minute mark. Great guitar and lead synth playing!

offthewall_TheSetUp - I expected to hear Ian Anderson singing about 20 seconds in. Drums and guitar are all you need to set up an atmosphere and you did it!

jonnyquest_freewayjam - good jam - really let loose on the 2nd half! Good melodic structure.

Nils_B__es_flossen_traenen - Beautiful song - really nice changes on the bridge! Well sung and produced as a period piece - Didn't overuse the lo-fi strings or anything else. Very tasteful use of all instruments.

Hovmod-Miromurr - Screaming guitars, wild synth leads - lots of energy here! Controlled chaos on the bridge. Very effective ending, too.

TConrardy_Quintessant - Nice rhythmic contrast in the two themes at the beginning. Swirling strings that you don't consciously notice until it starts to fade. Very musical.

sttjelle_fuz-travel - For your first attempt at rock guitars, I'd say you have a definite wild side that you temper well with the big orchestral sounds. I caught that bass line, too! Good job!

Gucky_ComeToMyDarkSide - I liked the high pitched synths in the background - gave it a lot of energy

Xnah_Lost_Souls_Dreams - soulful ep and guitar - great dark music accompanying a passionate plea to remember the good old days.

mmichalski59_shiftshock Cool time changes. Especially liked the pads around 1:35

streifentier-let_us_alone - Dramatic attack from the start - hypnotic middle with the strings chanting in the background

Dunks - Too Young - Nice scratchy intro - with an editorial from the BBC, no less!
nikp2000-the_red_king3 - That's the problem with this contest - sometimes 2 minutes is just enough to get you ready to hear the rest of it, and it's over!

Barnadine_ProgLord - All I can say is Wow!
No, that's not all - Truly original - Not only did we get transported to another time and place, we got to hear a truly amazing guitar solo and some almost Shakespearian acting. On top of all that, you were thoughtful enough to provide what we've all been searching for - the accurate description of progressive rock:
raw displays of virtuosity
awkward shifts in tempo and key
solos that go on till tea time.
And in it's own way, it was a terrific demonstration of the genre.

[mmichalski59]

I continue to be awed at the talent in this forum...

Dunks: Too Young - Nice guitar riff in a nice groove. Not my cup of tea, but cool concept piece. Actually, I like mello's comment on this...nice antique chair. Cool stuff!

streifentier: Let us alone - Love the "xylophone" ostinato, (not sure if that is actually what it is, but it sure sounds like it). Really wanted to hear more at the end. The Tennyson stuff didn't work for me, but the rest of the track sure did. Excellent work!

nikp2000: The Red King 3 - Like the changes and the sound selections. I would love to solo over top of this, in fact, maybe I will. The mix was solid.

Barnadine: Invocation of the Prog Lord - What an outstanding approach, Chop Sticks and all! This is just plain fun...I walked around all day hearing "wood for the coffin, hammer for the nail". The accompaniment did just that, it accompanied. It never covered up the story. Impressive.

me109: The 70's and Beyond - Your mixes are just awesome, so clean and clear. I really had to keep myself from breaking into The Jetsons at the beginning and I have never considered doing a polka to Roundabout (even with my Polish heritage) until now. Excellent.

Beardedone: Elizar - What a nice laid back feel! Bass and drums tight, guitar taking some timing liberties. Sorry the two minutes ran out on you. Super!

Try to get to some more tomorrow...