JIM REEVES FAN FORUM: Re: "Shepherd Of Love" is a winner!...

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Re: "Shepherd Of Love" is a winner!...

Posted by Geoff Simons on July 23, 2008, 8:05 pm, in reply to "Re: "Shepherd Of Love" is a winner!..."
124.169.16.252

Thanks for the kind words, Roy. We have a very special program lined up for July 31: Two hours (the entire program) dedicated to Jim's memory. Roy,your requests will definitely be played. We will be featuring some of Jim's great songs that are not frequently played on radio; and, yes, we will be including some of the rare Voicemasters tracks. Just as a reminder: the program is "Creative Country" on Thursday nights from 9:00 to 11:00 (Western Australian time)broadcast from Radio Fremantle 107.9 FM. For overseas listeners you can access the program on www.radiofremantle.com and listen Live or retrospectively on the Archive section of the website for one week following the original broadcast.

Regards,

Geoff

--Previous Message--
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: Glad you liked the CD.
:
: You are no doubt accustomed to hearing
: "Distant Drums" with the longer
: drum intro so the new arrangement sounds
: strange to you. On the original, Jim starts
: singing about 4.5 seconds into the song. On
: ours, he begins about 2 seconds. So we only
: eliminated about 2.5 seconds but it probably
: seems longer than that.
:
: The original overdub production we did had
: the french horns and strings fading in as
: the drum beat, but an engineer involved in
: the final process was of the opinion that
: there was too much distortion on the drums
: and that we would be better off to eliminate
: some of those beats.
:
: Keep in mind that VoiceMasters "works
: wonders" in the handling of Jim Reeves'
: old tapes and transcriptions but there are
: limitations to what we can do if the
: original recordings have imperfections that
: can't either be camouflaged or eliminated.
:
: When we dug Jim's voice "out of the
: mud" it clarified the drum sound and
: hence you could hear distortion.
:
: For audiophiles out there, you might be
: interested in doing an A/B comparison with
: the RCA/Bear versions of the song verus the
: one VM released. Note the difference in how
: Leo Jackson's guitar sounds in the latter
: half of the song. Leo conceded that he had
: been standing three feet from Jim when the
: demo was recorded, and his amplifier was
: overwhelming. Some of those guitar licks
: were piercing (through no fault of Leo's).
:
: We were working with a mono track, so it
: became a real challenge to try to subdue the
: harshness on those licks. But thanks to the
: digital age, we were able to identify the
: frequencies of Leo's guitar and go in and
: selectively turn it down without disturbing
: any of the other instrumentation at that
: point. We thus were able to achieve a better
: balance between his guitar and the new
: instruments.
:
: People have asked why I didn't overlay horns
: on top of Leo's guitar when Jim sings about
: hearing the sound of "bugles
: blow." RCA did that but out of respect
: for Leo's performance I chose not to cover
: him up.
:
: You'll also notice that on the VM version,
: Mel's drum throughout the song doesn't sound
: as loud either.
:
: These little subtle "fixes" result
: in the overall production really sounding
: great, as fans seem to agree.
:
: Maybe I shouldn't reveal some of these other
: tricks, but in the instance of "Rudolph
: the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Jim seemed to
: sing it too quickly, racing through the song
: at an unnatural pace. So we were able to
: alter the tempo without changing the pitch
: (still another miracle of the digital age).
: The song still sounds brisk.
:
: In the case of the title track, Reeves
: seemed draggy...the recording was just too
: languorous. I envisioned adding a sax but it
: would have been too hard to play along with
: the song "as is." In that case, I
: increased the tempo slightly -- again,
: without changing pitch.
:
: Please understand that there is strong
: reason to believe that in some cases where
: Jim seemed to sing too fast or too slow,
: that it wasn't his fault -- the tape
: machines were off. We know this because in
: certain instances we have had to
: electronically "tune" an entire
: recording to bring it on pitch so the new
: instruments could play on it. We have also
: had to deal in a couple of instances with a
: badly tuned piano on the original demo (a
: real irony given Jim's chronic complaints
: about promoters who didn't furnish pianos
: that were in tune!)
:
: Over the course of releasing these CDs there
: have been a multitude of problems dealt with
: and overcome, such that we feel Jim's great
: artistry is presented in the best possible
: manner.
:
: It is gratifying that fans have responded so
: enthusiastically to all this new music and
: the totally new songs we've released over
: the course of a dozen CDs. And it's a thrill
: to get reports that these tracks are being
: played by stations all over the world,
: including the BBC and outlets in Sri Lanka,
: New Zealand, "south of the border"
: and even Iceland!
:
: As for your query about the new Jim Reeves
: biography I'm writing, I've stopped
: commenting on the book simply because I have
: nothing new to add, except to say that a
: "reading copy" has now been
: produced (layouts done, pictures laid in,
: and looking the way it will when it comes
: off press), so you know it won't be long
: now...
:
: Just a quick note about Jim's music still
: being played around the world.
:
: Australia, can be added to this list as
: host Geoff Simons of Radio Fremantle (107.9)
: in Western Australia just featured Jim's
: favourite song writer, Cindy Walker's songs,
: performed of course by Jim. This was just
: broadcast last week. Good job Geoff, always
: so much appreciate Jim being featured on air
: !!!
:
: I must say that here in Canada, local radio
: stations also give Jim respectable air time,
: not as much as I would like, but still is
: there.
:
: Thanks everyone - have a great summer or
: winter depending what part of the world that
: all of our Jim Reeves's fan family live.
:
: Forever a fan
: Roy
:

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--Previous Message-- : Thanks for the kind words, Roy. We have a very : special program lined up for July 31: Two : hours (the entire program) dedicated to : Jim's memory. Roy,your requests will : definitely be played. We will be featuring : some of Jim's great songs that are not : frequently played on radio; and, yes, we : will be including some of the rare : Voicemasters tracks. Just as a reminder: the : program is "Creative Country" on : Thursday nights from 9:00 to 11:00 (Western : Australian time)broadcast from Radio : Fremantle 107.9 FM. For overseas listeners : you can access the program on : www.radiofremantle.com and listen Live or : retrospectively on the Archive section of : the website for one week following the : original broadcast. : : Regards, : : Geoff : : --Previous Message-- : : : --Previous Message-- : Glad you liked the CD. : : You are no doubt accustomed to hearing : "Distant Drums" with the longer : drum intro so the new arrangement sounds : strange to you. On the original, Jim starts : singing about 4.5 seconds into the song. On : ours, he begins about 2 seconds. So we only : eliminated about 2.5 seconds but it probably : seems longer than that. : : The original overdub production we did had : the french horns and strings fading in as : the drum beat, but an engineer involved in : the final process was of the opinion that : there was too much distortion on the drums : and that we would be better off to eliminate : some of those beats. : : Keep in mind that VoiceMasters "works : wonders" in the handling of Jim Reeves' : old tapes and transcriptions but there are : limitations to what we can do if the : original recordings have imperfections that : can't either be camouflaged or eliminated. : : When we dug Jim's voice "out of the : mud" it clarified the drum sound and : hence you could hear distortion. : : For audiophiles out there, you might be : interested in doing an A/B comparison with : the RCA/Bear versions of the song verus the : one VM released. Note the difference in how : Leo Jackson's guitar sounds in the latter : half of the song. Leo conceded that he had : been standing three feet from Jim when the : demo was recorded, and his amplifier was : overwhelming. Some of those guitar licks : were piercing (through no fault of Leo's). : : We were working with a mono track, so it : became a real challenge to try to subdue the : harshness on those licks. But thanks to the : digital age, we were able to identify the : frequencies of Leo's guitar and go in and : selectively turn it down without disturbing : any of the other instrumentation at that : point. We thus were able to achieve a better : balance between his guitar and the new : instruments. : : People have asked why I didn't overlay horns : on top of Leo's guitar when Jim sings about : hearing the sound of "bugles : blow." RCA did that but out of respect : for Leo's performance I chose not to cover : him up. : : You'll also notice that on the VM version, : Mel's drum throughout the song doesn't sound : as loud either. : : These little subtle "fixes" result : in the overall production really sounding : great, as fans seem to agree. : : Maybe I shouldn't reveal some of these other : tricks, but in the instance of "Rudolph : the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Jim seemed to : sing it too quickly, racing through the song : at an unnatural pace. So we were able to : alter the tempo without changing the pitch : (still another miracle of the digital age). : The song still sounds brisk. : : In the case of the title track, Reeves : seemed draggy...the recording was just too : languorous. I envisioned adding a sax but it : would have been too hard to play along with : the song "as is." In that case, I : increased the tempo slightly -- again, : without changing pitch. : : Please understand that there is strong : reason to believe that in some cases where : Jim seemed to sing too fast or too slow, : that it wasn't his fault -- the tape : machines were off. We know this because in : certain instances we have had to : electronically "tune" an entire : recording to bring it on pitch so the new : instruments could play on it. We have also : had to deal in a couple of instances with a : badly tuned piano on the original demo (a : real irony given Jim's chronic complaints : about promoters who didn't furnish pianos : that were in tune!) : : Over the course of releasing these CDs there : have been a multitude of problems dealt with : and overcome, such that we feel Jim's great : artistry is presented in the best possible : manner. : : It is gratifying that fans have responded so : enthusiastically to all this new music and : the totally new songs we've released over : the course of a dozen CDs. And it's a thrill : to get reports that these tracks are being : played by stations all over the world, : including the BBC and outlets in Sri Lanka, : New Zealand, "south of the border" : and even Iceland! : : As for your query about the new Jim Reeves : biography I'm writing, I've stopped : commenting on the book simply because I have : nothing new to add, except to say that a : "reading copy" has now been : produced (layouts done, pictures laid in, : and looking the way it will when it comes : off press), so you know it won't be long : now... : : Just a quick note about Jim's music still : being played around the world. : : Australia, can be added to this list as : host Geoff Simons of Radio Fremantle (107.9) : in Western Australia just featured Jim's : favourite song writer, Cindy Walker's songs, : performed of course by Jim. This was just : broadcast last week. Good job Geoff, always : so much appreciate Jim being featured on air : !!! : : I must say that here in Canada, local radio : stations also give Jim respectable air time, : not as much as I would like, but still is : there. : : Thanks everyone - have a great summer or : winter depending what part of the world that : all of our Jim Reeves's fan family live. : : Forever a fan : Roy : : :

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