8 replies to this topic

[pomes27]

I recently found an item posted on ebay: 2 CD-Rs, the first containing the standard 15 April Uprising tracks, and the second containing instrumental mixes of those 15 songs.

Here's the link to the item, and a screenshot of the listing:
http://www.ebay.com....2#ht_500wt_1054

$45 is a ridiculous ask for the above, so I was wondering if anyone on her knows of any instrumentals floating around, or if there is any chance of some getting bounced for us forum folk (or for an official release) by JB's crew or whatever.

I personally am particularly interested in the possibility of hearing some of JB's songs without the vocals from an aspiring audio engineer's point of view (for the past couple of months I have been putting together a folio of properly recorded and mixed songs using Pro Tools as a part of my uni application). JB's work has always been a big inspiration for me (in working on my folio and otherwise in playing guitar), and his genius layering of instrumental tracks (for example the banjo backing behind the lead acoustic guitars in Nowhere Man and Seeing Angels; the various mallet instruments layering up chord progressions in songs such as Cmon Now, Better Than and Nowhere Man) has always intrigued me. I am sure that there is more little things to each and every one of John's studio recordings that I have not yet noticed (just a couple of days ago I heard for the first what sounds like vinyl scratching towards the end of What You Want). As I said, it is things like this which keep me hooked on John's music.

My point is, I think that having access to complete instrumental songs would be a great way for me (and the rest of us!) to (re)discover more about JB's work, and for me personally to ultimately improve my audio engineering skills.

So I'm putting the call out here (mostly to Chris and Tom as you guys would be the most likely to know about this in my mind) for information on any instrumental mixes of JBT songs, or the possibility of some mixes being made available in the future. I'm sure I'm not the only person who would be interested in hearing some of these.

Cheers,
pomes27

[ThisIsMyName]

I'm with you on this one, it would be an amazing thing to have access to vocal free takes, or even better, a multi-track breakdown of John's music.

Generally, and unfortunately, musicians for one reason or another don't like to release tracks in their component parts, unless the band is big enough for multi-tracks to just leak onto the net.

In the mean time, if you're looking to analyze the mixes a tiny bit deeper, I'd suggest mucking around with inverting the phase in the left or right channel on songs you like, as this inversion cancels out anything in the center of the mix (usually bass and vocals) and makes it much easier to pick up hidden elements in the mix you might otherwise miss, like the female backing vocals in Treat Yo Mama, which I only noticed while mucking around with this technique!

[chris]

Sorry, this was the first I heard of this. Should've posted up while the auction was still live, there would've been a better chance of someone around here grabbing it and sharing it around (one way or the other). If anyone finds another, give us a hollla.

If anyone around here (other than Tom) was to have this, the honarable mr pjvedder might be your best bet!

good luck guys

[pomes27]

Sorry for the late reply guys, had a busy couple of weeks.

It's a shame that artists don't release different mixes of their songs, I am sure that we wouldn't be the only people interested in such.
ThisIsMyName, I hadn't thought of isolating left and right channels, perhaps some small EQing could do some good as well. I'll have a look into it on some songs when I get a proper chance later. Specifically what you said about the female vocals in Treat Yo Mama, that's one of the things I love about Sunrise Over Sea - most of the songs on the album do have female vocals hidden in them somewhere! On top of that, now that I know Mama Kin's voice and style of singing from her solo work, it's great when I can identify her singing backing vocals in JB's songs. What You Want is one great example of this I can think of right now.

Thanks for the reply Chris, I'll see if I can get onto Tom or pjvedder for this. I'll keep you all posted here if I do hear anything from them, and if I happen stumble upon anything cool using ThisIsMyName's technique.

Cheers,
pomes27

[pomes27]

Well, I tracked down another copy of those April Uprising instrumental mixes, and I must say, money well spent!! I've had a few listens through the CD and have made some notes on each instrumental track. PM me for a copy

• Revolution: Extended guitar solo at the end, awesome drum sounds
• One Way Road: Ebow guitar in choruses like John played with live for an intro to the song
• Cmon Now: Extra glockenspiel/xylophone that's not audible in the full mix
• I'd Do Anything: Cool guitar in the chorus that's not audible in the full mix
• Ragged Mile: Cool banjo fills that's not audible in the full mix
• Johnny's Gone: Special 'thumping' drum in sections, awesome bass drum sound
• Close To You: Claps in the verses you don't hear
• Don't Wanna See Your Face: Claps in the verses, more obvious claps in the choruses, epic bass in the "Don't wanna see your face, [AHH!]" section
• Take Me: Epic swells, awesome drums after swells
• Fool For You: Strings section much more obvious
• To Look Like You: Awesome guitar in first verse
• Steal It: Groovy electric guitar in sections
• Mystery Man: Ebow guitar in sections
• Gonna Be A Long Time: *nothing special, but one of John's backing vocals tracks throughout the whole song has not been muted*
• A Star Is Born: *nothing special*

Edited by pomes27, 12 January 2013 - 05:35 AM.

[BrettG83]

The sounds you have highlighted I picked up on...other ones that i noticed:

Ragged Mile - Accordion?? Not sure if i notice this sound as much in the album version...
Johnny's Gone - some maracas/shakers are alot more prevalent, as is again a background accordion type sound or it could be harmonic.
To Look Like You - the guitar is crazy, so much going on that you don't notice on the album mix. Not a massive fan of this song, but now hearing the instrumental version wow, they should do an instrumental version live....

[pomes27]

The sounds you have highlighted I picked up on...other ones that i noticed:

Ragged Mile - Accordion?? Not sure if i notice this sound as much in the album version...
Johnny's Gone - some maracas/shakers are alot more prevalent, as is again a background accordion type sound or it could be harmonic.
To Look Like You - the guitar is crazy, so much going on that you don't notice on the album mix. Not a massive fan of this song, but now hearing the instrumental version wow, they should do an instrumental version live....

What you're probably talking about in Ragged Mile is the harmonium, I think they use a sample as an intro live sometimes.

The linear notes of April Uprising say that Nicky plays a "baby accordion" on Johnny's Gone.

I think my level of concentration had died down a bit by the time To Look Like You played!! I reckon that a live instrumental jam of it would be awesome, with lots of guest musicians so that it has the 12 string, the many layers of electric guitars. Apparently Byron plays piano on it too, which I haven't quite picked out yet.

Good ears Brett!!

[Ades90]

Awesome work mate. I'm a guitar teacher & teaching Johnny's songs from April Uprising is pretty complicated when I have to do it by ear. This is just what I need!

[ramlax13]

This is a great find and an awesome listen. I would kill for this on vinyl