"Ghosting" Chuck Berry, McCartney, and the Beach Boys.

[manning]

cheers mate.
got it !!
lotsa fun work to do.
see ya in a coupla days..wish me luck..lol.

ps..why i get a tad antsy bout my vocs these days is..
getting older..have to work much harder in the higher registers.
luckily this aint so high a register.
but man i wish we were doing this 20 yrs ago.
then i coulda ponced around with high femme vocs in
the "in malibu" part also..lol.

[manning]

mates ..
heres the first two verses of lead vocs attached.
PLEASE CRITIQUE.
please focus on words n vocal texture.
tell me what you hate etc.
ive put the vocs up a bit higher to make critique easier.
(i'm workin on third verse this afternoon.).

note..
yep i know..i gotta watch that word "old".

to help oren...
heres what i'm gonna do.
two final takes ..this current one i'm working on
(last verse doing this afternoon.)

then redo the whole shebang...all 3 verses etc
AGAIN n send oren 2 traks.
so he can mix n match words n phrases  tween both takes n
even double trak the vocs in places if he wants.
so he has flexibility.

in some places i hear the vocs double tracked.
do you good folks hear the same ??
if you DO....tell me which phrases etc etc.

------------------------------------------------
jeesh...i wish i was doin this 20 yrs ago...
it was so much easier to ace it then.
twas a doddle then..lol.
i blinkin hate gettin old..lol.

now i gotta get back at it.

god bless.
 

[kara]

Since English isn't my native language i'm able to listen to vox with abstraction of the content 
It is a sort of musical and phonical (don't know if this is the right word) listening.
This sounds good, lot of energy and enthusiasm up to par with the music   

k

[Oren]

...This sounds good, lot of energy and enthusiasm up to par with the music...

Ed,
This is your style - therefore perfect for the song, in both composition and performance.
Carry on...

[manning]

cheers.
well theres a coupla things i gotta fix up.
not sure bout the very first phrase of verse 1
for example. n the word "old" bugs moi.
ok..heres second part of first take attached.
verse 3 n the outtro etc.
again please critique.
slam me..whatever ..kik me in the dirt etc etc lol.

will do a complete second take tomorrow.
gotta take car for brake work..so
please bear with me.

[Oren]

What we have here is a blueprint for rock-and-roll mayhem - perfect.
Now just lay it down, send us a photo of your tonsils splattered across the studio, and post the tracks for mixdown. 

[manning]

well i dunno..
worst time for allergies to do me in.
blinkin hay fever season.
will do another take today.
i dont wanna rush this..
god bless.

[manning]

chaps.
tell me what you think of this
double tracking voc test attached.
need feedback/critique. etc.
are the vocs powerfull enough ??
do they have the required character ??
if you like the double trak idea.
i'll do next verse to end of song this way.
please get back to me asap cos i have
whole of today..thursday for workin on the vocs more. 

god bless.
ps...i'll be pretty busy with family stuff at weekend
but have kept tues/wed/thurs next week free
for further voc work on the song.
pps..TONSIL SPLATTER..omg..
blew me morning tea out me nostrils laughing.
BEAUTY COMMENT !! LMAO times a zillion.

[kara]

Hmm don't know, perhaps an idea to only double track in the choruses ?

[manning]

kara.
re double tracking.
mebe i'm wrong , but it seems the song has more
vocal power this way ??.
perhaps we could have a discussion n reach
a consensus on this with all concerned ??
i'm frankly easy..whatever the majority decide,
cos my feelings might be wrong.
i would like this to be a group decision
rather than mine..cos i'm possibly too
close to it.
anyhoo..back to working on the song.
i got all day today.
god bless. n i'll check back in a few hours.  

[kara]

You could be right Ed
But I see it more as a live performance where the band would play and the lead-singer sing. And in the chorus everybody would yell 'IN MALIBU'. Double tracking gives more presence to the vox as you said, but you loose the spontaneous live effect
Now you can't emulate a whole band by yourself, but artists that contributed to this song could record the 'in malibu part'
Mixed up in the choruses would give a nice effect

k

[Oren]

Double-tracking does a nice job of thickening up the vocal, but with a voice as commanding as yours, Ed, it's really not necessary.
And as Kara says, it takes away from the live beach-band feel.

In my opinion, double-track "in Malibu, in Malibu", and that's all. I'll apply a little slap-back echo during mixdown as if the voice is bouncing off a near-by building, and it will get plenty big...

I like the idea of having some of our forum members shouting and hollering "Malibu" in the back ground... Some audience noise mixed in at beginning and end would also be a nice touch.

[manning]

ok...
agreed then.
verses single tracked.
choruses doubled.
oren please listen to the single tracked done already therefore
posted up thread.
two files..one v1/v2 and other v3 outtro etc.
both include double tracked choruses.
tell me if suitable for sending to you the vocs on their own.
if not i'll redo the bits ya dont like.

yep..i like the hootin n hollering n crowd noise idea also n your other ideas.
god bless.
ps..been a daft day. silly doggie we think ate a bee,
lethargic now gettin better.
lotsa bees out here.  prolly explains pollen giving me hay fever. lol.

woopsi..forgot to mention.
my dear wifey got us free tickets to go see
Gerrry n the Pacemakers live this weekend.
it'll be interesting to hear how good they do n mebe talk to
the sound man if i get a chance.

[manning]

ok...
heres single trak in verses n doubling in choruses,..
whole shebang.

please tell me if this final voc arrange is ok.
OR..please tell me what to change.
there are a couple of likkle touch ups i would like to do ,
and i can do em with folks suggested changes,.
BTW..who was the genius who thought up that riff at
at 2mins 7/8 secs ??..ascending.
BLINKIN GENIUS. mebe also have at end tween the malibu choruses.
thats thinkin man..blinkin sound picture..groovy.
eddie boy is knackered.,.lol..gonna take a small kip.
god bless..ed.

[Oren]

That ascending guitar thing at 2min. 7sec. is courtesy of Mario. Maybe I can sneak it in again, adjacent to the last chorus... hmmm...let's see...

I'm hearing some discrepancies in the vocal doubling, Ed, that are not characteristic of your usual performances. Maybe your reaction to the pollen?
I recommend you sing the choruses straight, with gusto, and I'll double them here - easily done, and then the resulting "chorus" effect will be more controllable.
Otherwise, the vocal performance is sterling.