Waiting for the River to Run

[Alison]

I managed to squeak this out before baby Carter arrived (I've not done much of anything all day today except wish I was closer!)

Anyway, this is an old song that I have redone. The previous recording (done at another studio) was kind of a production mess, in my opinion, so, I have made a bunch of changes.
The song is all about our failing Rio Grande river which was once a grand meandering river but, the powers that be decided to dam it up, and now our part of the river remains dry for a large portion of the year.
I got the stems from the studio that did the original thinking I could eliminate parts and add parts but the way it was recorded made that impossible. So, the first attachment is my new recording (slowed down a bit because I am slower!), the second is the original recording. Have at it!!

Waiting for the River .mp3

And the original (because I know you'll want to hear it) . . .

05 Waiting for the River to Run.mp3

[Lt. Bob]

you version sounds so much better!
The other one had a vague sound to it ..... the vocals were buried ..... just a really muffled sound overall.

wow ... nice harmonies ..... this is vastly superior.

Also great song ...... I always like your stuff and this is awesome as usual.

Nice ..... the harmonies again ...... that's cool.

[rayc]

Straight to V2...
the intro has an ominous feeling...cool. Claustrophobic though.
V1
ominous as well BUT clearer - everything has a place in the sound stage.
Wow, those rising harmonies, band arrangement, percussion - all cool and clear.
The cello way off in the left channel sounds great but it makes things lean, with headphones over to it.

[Alison]

you version sounds so much better!
The other one had a vague sound to it ..... the vocals were buried ..... just a really muffled sound overall.

wow ... nice harmonies ..... this is vastly superior.

Also great song ...... I always like your stuff and this is awesome as usual.

Nice ..... the harmonies again ...... that's cool.

As always, you encourage me to no end! The harmonies gave me a bit of a challenge! The upper harmony is almost beyond my range. Thank you for taking time to listen xoxo

[Alison]

Straight to V2...
the intro has an ominous feeling...cool. Claustrophobic though.
V1
ominous as well BUT clearer - everything has a place in the sound stage.
Wow, those rising harmonies, band arrangement, percussion - all cool and clear.
The cello way off in the left channel sounds great but it makes things lean, with headphones over to it.

Thank you, Ray! I noticed the left lean too but, was not sure how to fix it. I'll definitely be looking into that!

[Lt. Bob]

Straight to V2...
the intro has an ominous feeling...cool. Claustrophobic though.
V1
ominous as well BUT clearer - everything has a place in the sound stage.
Wow, those rising harmonies, band arrangement, percussion - all cool and clear.
The cello way off in the left channel sounds great but it makes things lean, with headphones over to it.

Thank you, Ray! I noticed the left lean too but, was not sure how to fix it. I'll definitely be looking into that!

ya' know ...... and this is just me but I like this kinda stuff ...... when I have very sparse arrangements or recordings, I'll often experiment with nature sounds and such to fill in the soundscape without actually any musical parts to it which can get hard to place.
Background sounds can be pretty neutral and still fill in the emptiness.

Not trying to '
new age' ya' here ...... no one likes that stuff but me lol

[JD01]

Wasn't sure what I thought of the volume of the backings and the amount of reverb on them at first but then I decided that I liked them! They are very loud though, and there's a lot of reverb on them!

Only thing I'd say is that the whole mix is pretty loud in comparison to the drums, maybe dial everything down a tiny bit to allow the drums through a bit. Don't just turn the drums up! This mix is already way loud.

[Alison]

Wasn't sure what I thought of the volume of the backings and the amount of reverb on them at first but then I decided that I liked them! They are very loud though, and there's a lot of reverb on them!

Only thing I'd say is that the whole mix is pretty loud in comparison to the drums, maybe dial everything down a tiny bit to allow the drums through a bit. Don't just turn the drums up! This mix is already way loud.

Yeah, I don't think my mind was totally on this when I made some adjustments. Had a lot of trouble with clipping. . .adjustments are definitely in order.
Thank you, your advice is always spot on!

[TripleM]

I like your version better.

The original has a couple of things I like more. I like the faster tempo. I also prefer the acoustic guitar to the electric. The big problem with the original recording, to me, is the part that the acoustic plays is way too busy. It takes attention away from the vocal.

I love the harmonies in your re-recording. The vocals all around are much more intelligible. For a song like this, hearing the vocal is the most important.

For your version, I'd change just a couple of things (if possible). I'd replace the thin electric on the right with an acoustic. Just gently strumming chords as a pad instrument. The cello on the left has a bunch of low end. If it were me, I'd clean some of that out.

Just my opinions. Nice recording.

[stratmonkee]

I also like your redo on this, I think the slower tempo fits the song /lyrics much better. As others have stated, very nice backing vocals/harmonies, they really shine in your version. Also agree with Triple M, a bit of low end build up on the cello almost sounded a bit overdriven (listening on headphones).