January 2022 Challenge - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young +

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Thank you @PapaRaptor, @blackcoffeeblues, @sloslunas, @MikeS, and @Dennis(Slughand)Miller!

Nice work, @cowboy, @Dennis(Slughand)Miller, and @MikeS - and thanks for getting this challenge kicked off in high-stepping good fashion. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

@CaptainMoto, I did "call my shot" back on Sunday (Post #9) but that Don't Mean A Thing - have at it! You won't step on my toes, and even if you do I've got my steel-toed boots on.
Hey Doug,
Sorry I missed the secret message in post #9 ;)...Guess I'm not as sharp as I used to be :sleep:

Thanks
:)

Hey wait a minute...."Steel-toed boots".....was that a song?
I better get on it:ROFLMAO:
 
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Elwood

Blues
It is only the 5th of the month and you guys are killing it!!! What a fine start!!! (y)

@cowboy that is a fun, high energy video, nice guitar work in there!!!
@Dennis(Slughand)Miller your vocal and guitar work are strong, clear and well done!!!
@dvs yeah, yeah!!! Guitar tones, vocals, arrangement, what a fine timepiece of a tune you put together!!!
@MikeS you get the Big Brass..Achievement award for sure!!! You took on a full NY tune in falsetto and did it well!!! Nice Mike!!!

Absolutely great job by all!!! :Beer::Beer::Beer:

And @CaptainMoto, like you I get to choose again. C'est la vie!!! :whistle:

If I can figure out how to get my SDRUM to get along with my ToneDeq, while I figure out how to play something, I'll be along. :whistle:
 

dvs

Green Mountain Blues
Hey Doug,
Sorry I missed the secret message in post #9 ;)...Guess I'm not as sharp as I used to be :sleep:

Thanks
:)

Hey wait a minute...."Steel-toed boots".....was that a song?
I better get on it:ROFLMAO:
Might've been, I don't know. Mine look just like blue suede shoes.
 

Caboburt

No Bad Days
Big congrats to Dennis, dvs, and MikeS...as has been said the bar has been set high. Excellent.
MikeS...that vocal was the best Neil Young impersonator I have ever heard. You could be your own NY tribute band!
 
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BraylonJennings

It's all blues
Walk On.. Not an official submission, I recorded this a few years ago, pre BGU2 for me. Atypical for Neil, it's sorta bouncy funky musically. Was considered too upbeat for the Tonight's the Night album it was intended for. TtN was postponed a couple years, but Neil and the Horse (Nils Lofgren incl) toured on it anyway without the album's release. They opened with Walk On, played a set strictly with the Tonight's the Night songs that though excellent, were depressing, unfamiliar, and tequila drenched. All evening the crowd called for Heart of Gold, Old Man, Cinnamon Girl, or any old hits. Neil stepped to mic before the night's last tune and announced, "now we're going to play something you've heard before, " and the band launched into a reprise of Walk On. That's Neil Young in a nutshell, great artist, peculiar human being. Walk On was released in a year as part of On the Beach, while Tonight's the Night followed a couple years later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/078q44txorlydbd/02 - Walk On NY.mp3?dl=0
 

Elwood

Blues
Great!!! :Beer: Not official, not bad at all!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: You got an unfamiliar (to me anyway) tune, did a fine job of it, and you can just see the open flannel shirt, stomping feet, grizzled appearance, all on the light side. (y)(y)(y)
Good groove, good tune, good morning Braylon!!! :Beer::Beer::Beer:
 

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Walk On.. Not an official submission, I recorded this a few years ago, pre BGU2 for me. Atypical for Neil, it's sorta bouncy funky musically. Was considered too upbeat for the Tonight's the Night album it was intended for. TtN was postponed a couple years, but Neil and the Horse (Nils Lofgren incl) toured on it anyway without the album's release. They opened with Walk On, played a set strictly with the Tonight's the Night songs that though excellent, were depressing, unfamiliar, and tequila drenched. All evening the crowd called for Heart of Gold, Old Man, Cinnamon Girl, or any old hits. Neil stepped to mic before the night's last tune and announced, "now we're going to play something you've heard before, " and the band launched into a reprise of Walk On. That's Neil Young in a nutshell, great artist, peculiar human being. Walk On was released in a year as part of On the Beach, while Tonight's the Night followed a couple years later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/078q44txorlydbd/02 - Walk On NY.mp3?dl=0
"Not an official submission" ?.........It's submitted:thumbup:
Nice one.
(y)
 

Elwood

Blues
Well, that does it! Nothing wrong with two folks doing the same tune, nothing at all, really fun even!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Moto, I don't know what it is, but I really think your singing sounds outstanding in this one! Just right on!!! I also love the drums, nice flowing change ups.

I know we have mentioned this before, but hearing two takes on the same tune just seems like a natural thing to happen in here, and glad it did!!! :Beer::Beer::Beer:
 

dvs

Green Mountain Blues
Walk On.. Not an official submission, I recorded this a few years ago, pre BGU2 for me. Atypical for Neil, it's sorta bouncy funky musically. Was considered too upbeat for the Tonight's the Night album it was intended for. TtN was postponed a couple years, but Neil and the Horse (Nils Lofgren incl) toured on it anyway without the album's release. They opened with Walk On, played a set strictly with the Tonight's the Night songs that though excellent, were depressing, unfamiliar, and tequila drenched. All evening the crowd called for Heart of Gold, Old Man, Cinnamon Girl, or any old hits. Neil stepped to mic before the night's last tune and announced, "now we're going to play something you've heard before, " and the band launched into a reprise of Walk On. That's Neil Young in a nutshell, great artist, peculiar human being. Walk On was released in a year as part of On the Beach, while Tonight's the Night followed a couple years later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/078q44txorlydbd/02 - Walk On NY.mp3?dl=0
Nice one, Braylon! Enjoyed it very much. And very Neil-like! :thumbup::thumbup:
Well,
With Doug's permission, here's my version of "Steel-Toed Shoes"

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4gty0rvsdek0d5u/01 - Captain Moto - For What It's Worth.mp3?dl=0
Ha! You don't need a sign-off (mine or anyone else's) to cover that - anyway, I was intending to offer encouragement more than permission. It came out good! I like your change-ups in the rhythm, gives it a unique sound and feel. :thumbup::thumbup:

And speaking of FWIW, I was only 12 when the song came out. I was aware of it because of those "pings" on the guitar, but it wasn't really in my wheel house at the time. I think a lot of folks these days have it mixed up with the later protest songs from CSN/CSN&Y, but this one predates those by a few years. It was actually written about street protests in reaction to a curfew in West Hollywood which was put in place to control noise and crowds of "undesirables" outside the clubs on Sunset Blvd.
 
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Paleo

Student Of The Blues
Gave it the ol' college dropout try.

I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Sir Paul once said that if you don't keep singing you'll lose it.

After 40 years of not singing (or playing an acoustic or harmonica) I can verify that statement.

I use to do this song on stage.

Now even my harmonica sucks. And blows.

And I can't afford the current price of a Marine Band. :cry:

So I did what I could with what I got. :)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/e6sb4ocznfqd786/ootw.mp3?dl=0
 
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CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Well, that does it! Nothing wrong with two folks doing the same tune, nothing at all, really fun even!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Moto, I don't know what it is, but I really think your singing sounds outstanding in this one! Just right on!!! I also love the drums, nice flowing change ups.

I know we have mentioned this before, but hearing two takes on the same tune just seems like a natural thing to happen in here, and glad it did!!! :Beer::Beer::Beer:
Thanks Elwood,
I've said it many times.....I'm not much of a vocalist, so I'm always trying to turn a pigs ear into a silk purse.
I've been experimenting with various vocal tracking and editing techniques and at this point, for better or worse, I think I'm settling in on something that may work.
I've got several mics (tried them all) and the one I'm settling in on is a AEA KU5A.
I run that into two pieces of outboard gear before it goes into my interface.
First the mic hits a Pacifica preamp then into a dual compressor, the Black Lion B172A, It's got 1176 and LA2A style compressors in one package.
That seams to do a decent job of capturing the vocals.
Once inside the DAW, I run it through the WAVES Scheps Omni Channel plugin to do a little EQing and DeEssing.
Usually the last thing I add is some Reverb and/or delay.
I've got a bunch of other plugins I'll dabble with but that's currently my main setup.

Thanks for the kind comments.
 

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Nice one, Braylon! Enjoyed it very much. And very Neil-like! :thumbup::thumbup:

Ha! You don't need a sign-off (mine or anyone else's) to cover that - anyway, I was intending to offer encouragement more than permission. It came out good! I like your change-ups in the rhythm, gives it a unique sound and feel. :thumbup::thumbup:

And speaking of FWIW, I was only 12 when the song came out. I was aware of it because of those "pings" on the guitar, but it wasn't really in my wheel house at the time. I think a lot of folks these days have it mixed up with the later protest songs from CSN/CSN&Y, but this one predates those by a few years. It was actually written about street protests in reaction to a curfew in West Hollywood which was put in place to control noise and crowds of "undesirables" outside the clubs on Sunset Blvd.

Thanks Doug,
I knew you where adding encouragement, I just didn't want to be rude by following your work .

That's more about the origins of the song than I was aware of.
I knew that some people thought it was about other things.
None the less, I enjoyed your take, I thought it was a more pure and authentic.
Having spent lots of time in the VJR, I really like hearing various takes on the same song, It really expands my learning.

Now I'm pondering a second submission:sneaky:
 

Elwood

Blues
.I'm not much of a vocalist,
That is exactly why I love dog logic. Dogs, they really don't care what you say, it's what they hear and see they go by. :thumbup:
I heard some good singing, that's all I know. :Beer: You dressed it up nice too, but not too nice, didn't have to! :)
I do appreciate the details that you and Doug and others provide from time to time. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: That helps with setup and work flow ideas. I would share mine techniques, if I ever get any. :rolleyes:
 

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Gave it the ol' college dropout try.

I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Sir Paul once said that if you don't keep singing you'll lose it.

After 40 years of not singing (or playing an acoustic or harmonica) I can verify that statement.

I use to do this song on stage.

Now even my harmonica sucks. And blows.

And I can't afford the current price of a Marine Band. :cry:

So I did what I could with what I got. :)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/e6sb4ocznfqd786/ootw.mp3?dl=0
Very cool!
I really do envy your harp talent, I've got a few stacked up here that only come out for 5 minutes at a time.:rolleyes:
No Marine Band but, who needs that when we got Paleo(y)

That's got a very vintage vibe to it.
I would have loved to see you perform that live.
(y)(y)(y)
 

dvs

Green Mountain Blues
Gave it the ol' college dropout try.

I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Sir Paul once said that if you don't keep singing you'll lose it.

After 40 years of not singing (or playing an acoustic or harmonica) I can verify that statement.

I use to do this song on stage.

Now even my harmonica sucks. And blows.

And I can't afford the current price of a Marine Band. :cry:

So I did what I could with what I got. :)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/e6sb4ocznfqd786/ootw.mp3?dl=0
Nice tune, Paleo, well played! Would've loved to have been there, back in the day. :thumbup::thumbup:

I'm wondering what is your signal path, for the guitar especially. The guitar level is quite reasonable, but it sounds like there's some clipping going on - maybe the preamp gain is cranked and the channel volume is down low? There might be something similar with the vocals though not as pronounced. The harmonica is nice and clean.:cool:
 
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BraylonJennings

It's all blues
Paleo, that was a very cool take on a great Neil song. How can some people write so many great songs? Great job, really nailed the harmonica sound. Seemed like a weird little wobble in the acoustic rhythm track, but didn't notice it when the other elements kicked in. Great job, I need to learn this one for campfire season.
Captain that was an impressive version of FWIW. Your recording and mixing skills are improving with every song you post. It can be fun playing around with the beats and getting a good arrangement.
Who's gonna break the ice with a Nash or Croz song?
 

D. R. Miller

Good News Blues
Walk On.. Not an official submission, I recorded this a few years ago, pre BGU2 for me. Atypical for Neil, it's sorta bouncy funky musically. Was considered too upbeat for the Tonight's the Night album it was intended for. TtN was postponed a couple years, but Neil and the Horse (Nils Lofgren incl) toured on it anyway without the album's release. They opened with Walk On, played a set strictly with the Tonight's the Night songs that though excellent, were depressing, unfamiliar, and tequila drenched. All evening the crowd called for Heart of Gold, Old Man, Cinnamon Girl, or any old hits. Neil stepped to mic before the night's last tune and announced, "now we're going to play something you've heard before, " and the band launched into a reprise of Walk On. That's Neil Young in a nutshell, great artist, peculiar human being. Walk On was released in a year as part of On the Beach, while Tonight's the Night followed a couple years later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/078q44txorlydbd/02 - Walk On NY.mp3?dl=0

It's funny what songs off any particular album speaks to each of us. I've liked many songs of Neil's that were never big hits but had their own sound or groove that caught my attention. A couple that I remember were Like a Hurricane and Cortez the Killer and One made more recognizable by another singer Nicolette Larson "Lotta Love".

Really good job on this one Braylon.
 
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