As promised - my song "Lifeline"; 2011-2018 comparison.

[Bubba]

Hey there, Rebels.

As the title suggests, me and the lad decided to re-record this old song of mine to see what improvements (if any) I've managed to make in seven years!

Original version: Me and a drum machine using a Roland BR-800 8-track.



First version using the horrible Sonar DAW: Me and Frank (aged 13). Frank on the drums and me on everything else.



Second version: Frank on drums, bass and backing vox, me on guitars, lead vocal and backing vocals.

Lifeline 2018.mp3

This is a first mix so I'm expecting a fair few flaws!

[JD01]

LOL, 13 year old Frank is much better on drums than I have ever been!

I was expecting the 7 year old version to be worse than this. Its actually pretty good, bit garagey, but it still sounds like a good tune. Frank's playing is very tight on the new version.

[Bubba]

LOL, 13 year old Frank is much better on drums than I have ever been!

I was expecting the 7 year old version to be worse than this. Its actually pretty good, bit garagey, but it still sounds like a good tune. Frank's playing is very tight on the new version.

Cheers. I should really post the very first version I did using the digital 8-track and a drum machine.

[jonny deep]

Hey Bubbalubs. The new version is way better! Really enjoyed it. Maybe a little pitch issue on the bk vox around 1:04 and other places? That harmony kind of sounds a bit discordant to me and when it isn't bang on it's noticeable. Maybe my ears are off, though - I don't know much about harmonies and theory and whatnot.

Overall, though, I thought it was great.

[Bubba]

Hey Bubbalubs. The new version is way better! Really enjoyed it. Maybe a little pitch issue on the bk vox around 1:04 and other places? That harmony kind of sounds a bit discordant to me and when it isn't bang on it's noticeable. Maybe my ears are off, though - I don't know much about harmonies and theory and whatnot.

Overall, though, I thought it was great.

Thanks Jonny - I'll check the pitch on those spots! Those harmonies were an attempt to make the refrain a little different from the expected. I'm too close to judge how well they work. I'm not sure whether the new version is a bit too tubby and boomy or whether it's just a reaction to the first one being a little light in the bottom end?

[WhiskeyJack]

Bubbs!!! This thread is brilliant. I love it man.

It is really cool to see how an artist, in this case you, can grow and evolve over a period of time. Wow. It's all i can say. there is a lot of histroy and alot of story wrapped up in one little post in the internet. Super cool. The growth in Franks performance and even your own vocal performance is inspiring.

It is a cool tune too man i don't know that i have ever heard this one before.

[Armistice]

Hi Bubba - I'll give this a listen before the weekend, just have a few other things on right now stopping me...

Of course, I know you're dying to hear what I, in particular, have to say about yer choon, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait a bit... good things come, etc.

[Bubba]

Hi Bubba - I'll give this a listen before the weekend, just have a few other things on right now stopping me...

Of course, I know you're dying to hear what I, in particular, have to say about yer choon, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait a bit... good things come, etc.

Damn, I opened this excitedly because I was dying to hear what you, in particular, had to say about my choon. I'm afraid I'll just have to wait a bit.

[Bubba]

Bubbs!!! This thread is brilliant. I love it man.

It is really cool to see how an artist, in this case you, can grow and evolve over a period of time. Wow. It's all i can say. there is a lot of histroy and alot of story wrapped up in one little post in the internet. Super cool. The growth in Franks performance and even your own vocal performance is inspiring.

It is a cool tune too man i don't know that i have ever heard this one before.

Thanks very much WJ. I think this might be the only pop song I've ever written.

[SweetDan]

Wow, that's neat!

The most impressive thing I hear is the improvement in mic'ing/recording (and probably mixing) technique on the drums. (And yes, the playing is better, but it sounds like the mic technique came up along with it.)

I'd like the rhythm guitars to be more aggressive in the 2018 mix; they're a bit timid in comparison to the drum-machine mix.

[vomitHatSteve]

Yeah, new version definitely has a tighter performance. Everything sticks together much better.

Plus, it's got a much better stereo spread.

[rayc]

I rather like the original version - it has the "think this through" quality of an eight track.
the subsequent version all build in one way or another towards the current version.
Frank's ace on drums n bass.
The sparkling guitar is lovely and your vocals are cool.

[Bubba]

I rather like the original version - it has the "think this through" quality of an eight track.
the subsequent version all build in one way or another towards the current version.
Frank's ace on drums n bass.
The sparkling guitar is lovely and your vocals are cool.

Thanks, Ray. I know what you mean about the 8 track version because I like it too. In fact the only things I dislike about it are the placeholder drums, the plodding tempo (I increased it by 6 bpm for the latest version) and the vocals, which were hindered by me recovering from a hernia op at the time! I like it much, much better than the first re-record that was done on the Sonar LE DAW (which was unutterably shite).

[edited to remove humblebrag]

[Armistice]

Hi - had a quick listen before I go out. Very poppy for you! No mix critique as I'm just on laptop speakers, but all sounds pretty good to me. Nice vocal harmony in the chorus. Will have a better listen tomorrow night.

[musicturtle]

Bubba,

The new version is worlds better in my opinion. The improvement in production and performance is really noticeable. I agree with others and really like the harmonies in the chorus. The lead guitar vamp is catchy as hell and I like the harmony part on that as well.

I don't have an nits. I just really like the tune.

[Bubba]

Bubba,

The new version is worlds better in my opinion. The improvement in production and performance is really noticeable. I agree with others and really like the harmonies in the chorus. The lead guitar vamp is catchy as hell and I like the harmony part on that as well.

I don't have any nits. I just really like the tune.

Thanks MT - it's nice to see the improvements for myself. Glad you liked it!

[Lt. Bob]

The final version is definitely better in pretty much all ways.
And it's a great piece of tunage too .... nice song and structure and harmonies etc.

But the original ..... there's that 'something' to it .... the excitement of doing it early in your recording career and of you and frank doing it together.
Even though it's not as well done, that excitement comes through ..... the original is quite nice man.

[rayc]

I came back for another listen Bob, well on soundcloud anyway. There's something special about the song - optimism + pessimism? Idon't know - sound wise it made me think the Longpigs, Lightning Seeds and even The Las missed the boat by not finding this song.

[Bubba]

I came back for another listen Bob, well on soundcloud anyway. There's something special about the song - optimism + pessimism? Idon't know - sound wise it made me think the Longpigs, Lightning Seeds and even The Las missed the boat by not finding this song.

Thaks, Ray. Funnily enough, when I first posted the original of this song over on HR back in the day, somebody commented that it very much had a "Lightning Seeds" character.

The protagonist in the song is certainly very conflicted. On the one hand he knows and admits that he's a stolid and unexciting person who somehow is in a relationship with someone who's entirely the opposite; perhaps it's a childhood romance where one has outgrown the other? He's offering to be the root and the safety net for his more outgoing and risk-taking partner but acknowledges that much of this offer is because he selfishly can't bear to actually let her go. This is explicitly stated in the outgoing refrain "you might not need the lifeline, but I do".


It's not a typical style or theme for me.

[rayc]

It's COOOOOOOL on all levels mate.