Well as a fan of AP since the 70s, and usually a very unimpressed own version listener - I actually thought it was excellent! Some of the little Parsons features like subtle hi-hat work are there, and the overall sound really holds together.

I've just bought it! A rare thing for me - thanks. Paul

PJH paulears

Holy Cow!

PJ... this is OUTSTANDING!

Like Paul, I've been an AP fan since the 70's; my first introduction to Parsons was his Tales of Mystery and Imagination album, which I thought was a masterpiece ( and still do).

You've got some incredibly sweet tones going on here; the hi hat is silky-smooth, the snare and kick sound wonderful, as do the toms. The acoustic guitar is warm, present and silky.
I love the nylon string guitar, both sonically and musically. You've got a very nice "Peter White" vibe happening with that part, both in tone and in performance.
( Peter White was Al Stewart's guitar player, on songs like Year of the Cat, which, by the way, was produced by Alan Parsons ;) ).

And look what we have here, gang... DYNAMICS!!!

Your use of synths as pads and textures is awesome, the patches you've used are perfect for the song...and perfectly placed in the mix.

Electric guitar is beautiful in both tone and in playing.

The drums are defined, tight, and the drummer is rock-solid, yet at the same time, he's also laid down a perfect pocket, which the bass player is sitting in perfectly.

This is beautifully written and performed. It's dynamic, warm, rich, silky, powerful, and musically very, very well performed... all of the things I love about a song and mix.

IMO, This song could have easily been on I-Robot, or Turn of a Friendly Card, or even Eye In The Sky.

Actually, IMHO, in some ways, I think you've done better sonically, using the tools that we now have available to us, that weren't available back in the 70's and 80's.
I'm not knocking Alan Parsons... the cat was (is) amazing... but you've really done some fine work here, PJ.

There is literally nothing that I would change with this... and I'd venture to say that there's probably nothing that AP would want to change, either.

Damn. What a stellar piece you have here!

Personally, I think you've hit one totally out of the park with this one.

Well done, Sir! :)
-donny

Wow! Thank you, Paul and Donny!

Paul thanks for your comments and your support. It's much appreciated.

@ Donny, thanks for your wonderful comments. Coming from you it's a serious compliment. As you, I'm a massive APP fan and the Al Stewart album you mention is also one of my favourites.

Alan Parsons is for me the ultimate producer. His sound is always wonderfully clean and warm. He seems to get that "sheen" on his mixes that is so difficult to obtain. I try ro emulate that sound not only in the recording but in the arrangements. There is no hint of "overplaying" instruments in his productions. Everything has it's place. When we tracked the drums I instructed my drummer, Larry to keep the fills simple and really make them count.

I tried to make the gtr parts as melodic as possible and concentrate on melody. It was a very enjoyable piece of music to record and I'm thankful that we went to the trouble of videoing all of the parts too.

I've just finished watching Alan''s DVD series and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get into recording.

Thanks again for your input, Paul and Donny,

Cheers

Peter.

We get all sorts of comments on here regarding microphones that are not in that top league with the big expensive names, and often the inference is that you could NEVER achieve the elusive 'quality' tag without them. This recording knocks that flat dead.

The drums were recorded with a D112 on the kick, SM57s on the snare and toms and Behringer B1s on the hats and overheads. I like the B1s as they are quite bright. I also had a room mic about three metres away from the kit. This was a Rode NT2A.

All the electric guitars and bass were recorded directly into the desk using the Line 6 Helix. The acoustic and the nylon string guitars were recorded using an SE2200 mic.

So we have the kind of mics that many of us have, and no guitar amps and cabs. We should keep this one easy to find because it goes to show what quite modest expenditure can achieve when used properly and played by good musicians. For me I think the drum sound was just 'right' somehow - and the video was a plus really - adding to, and not taking away from the music.

paulears, post: 446597, member: 47782 wrote: We get all sorts of comments on here regarding microphones that are not in that top league with the big expensive names, and often the inference is that you could NEVER achieve the elusive 'quality' tag without them. This recording knocks that flat dead.

So we have the kind of mics that many of us have, and no guitar amps and cabs. We should keep this one easy to find because it goes to show what quite modest expenditure can achieve when used properly and played by good musicians. For me I think the drum sound was just 'right' somehow - and the video was a plus really - adding to, and not taking away from the music.

Yes, I agree with your comments, Paul. Believe me it's not like I choose to use these mics over other more expensive makes. It all comes down to what one can afford. I've made them work for me. It's the same with preamps. Of course I'd love some nice expensive tube pres but I've had to make do with what I've got.

My studio is fairly modest with regards to gear but I take a lot of care with the recordings and mixing. It's taken a long time for me to accept things like guitar modelers. I've always recorded with amps and mics and I still do. My album has a mixture of modelers and amps.

Cheers.