Fake Plastic Trees

[EuroAussie]

During my 'duo' days this track was probably out signature tune and always got a superb reaction as my old singer delivered it with real conviction and superb vocals. Ive probably played it 100 times ... but only on the guitar.

 

But I really would love to play this in my solo gig, vocally its probably the biggest challenge Ive come across yet. Thom Yorke is just such a tricky bugger to follow and this track has some uber high notes that are almost impossible to hit cleanly.

 

But I had a go tonite, and would be keen to get your feedback ,what works, what needs more development and any other feedback, would love to get this out some time.

 

Recorded straight into garagaband, with some headphone monitors played on my AJ, which was closest to me at the time, but deliverers both the power and subtlety this track deserves.

 

https://soundcloud.com/euroaussie/fake-plastic-trees

 

cheers

EA

[MissouriPicker]

Never heard the song before (I'm sure it's part of the "generation gap"), but I really like the sound of it. You do a good job with it. And your AJ sounds like a monster. One can literally feel the vibration of the bass.

[EuroAussie]

Never heard the song before (I'm sure it's part of the "generation gap"), but I really like the sound of it. You do a good job with it. And your AJ sounds like a monster. One can literally feel the vibration of the bass.

 

Maybe the fact you've not heard the track before allowed you to listen to it more 'purely' without a previous referance point. However Im glad you liked it and gave it the thumbs up, would like to perform it this weekend but always good to get the judgement of the board in terms of where its at.

 

Thanks for listening and commenting Larry.

 

btw: that was a Radiohead song.

[Murph]

Quite the vocal challenge.

 

I'm sure you pulled it off.

[flatbaroque]

I know I should probably know the song...but I don't.I thought it sounded good.I couldn't pick up a lot of the words, but maybe that's the style anyway.You handled the little falsetto bits well.pretty much all in tune as far as I could tell.Ready to go.Guitar was great.

[blindboygrunt]

I don't know how long you've been living where you are Aussie , but your English is suiting your name well.

I'm sure you're aware of it , but if I didn't know better I'd swear you were European .

 

I'm not sure the vocal is quite there yet ..: maybe more practice , radio head songs are quite the bugger to sing .

Falsetto is a challenge , and when it's slightly off its more noticeable than being further off with a 'normal' singing voice ...

 

But don't be put off by my words.

[kwalker201]

Very vocally challenging song EA. Ive never heard of that song before but it seems like a good one.

[Buc McMaster]

Don't add this to the set list...........find a tune that works better for you.

[Joe M]

Don't add this to the set list...........find a tune that works better for you.

 

This ^^^^^^

[EuroAussie]

Thanks for all your comments thus far, interesting feedback, seems an even blend of thumbs both ways.

 

Will wait bit more to see if anybody will still want to chip in and then provide a few additional thoughts of mine based on the comments.

 

Thanks again for listening, I do appreciate your effort, it always helps with the feedback here.

[gfa]

Wow, impressive job on a difficult song (I've been working on it intermittently myself). I have good and bad comments. The good: good feel for the song, good dynamics in both the vocal and the guitar. The bad: some of those high notes are just not there for you yet. The verdict: A bit more work and you've got a winner.

[Lars68]

Double post

[Lars68]

I thought that was very, very good. I can only imagine how difficult those vocals are too pull off. In all honesty, and as you know, I'm not the best judge of perfect pitch. However, that probably makes me more like your average audience member. Add to that the type of venue your will be performing in (I'm guessing a quite noicy bar, restaurant or coffee shop?) where your audience did not pay just to listen to you, and I think this level of performance will work more than ok. I could hear that the pitch was not perfect all the way through, but if I was in the audience, it would not bother me at all.

 

Go for it!!

 

Lars

[Buc McMaster]

I thought that was very, very good.

 

As John McEnroe once famously said, you cannot be serious!. Is your ear that bad, Lars?! Well.......yeah.......I guess it is. I'm no Sinatra and I'll be the first to say I've put up some sorry **** here, but I'll be the first to own it as sorry ****, and sincerely hope no one tells me pretty lies about it. No offense intended to anyone but there comes a time to call a spade a spade. Mom said if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything.........well mom's dead and she ain't listening no more.

 

Mark, find a different song that you can sing better to take to a gig. Listen to yourself, Mark, honestly listen objectively. Sing this 'til the cows come home at the house but do yourself a favor and don't take it to the stage. That's just the truth........some won't like it I know.........

 

Out.

[Lars68]

As John McEnroe once famously said, you cannot be serious!. Is your ear that bad, Lars?! Well.......yeah.......I guess it is. I'm no Sinatra and I'll be the first to say I've put up some sorry **** here, but I'll be the first to own it as sorry ****, and sincerely hope no one tells me pretty lies about it. No offense intended to anyone but there comes a time to call a spade a spade. Mom said if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything.........well mom's dead and she ain't listening no more.

 

Oh well, my mom is dead too, but I do hope she's listening somehow. My ears might very well be as bad as they possibly come, my sincerest apologies, but currently they are the only ones at my disposal, and that's just MY truth (don't even know if there is such a thing as THE truth in the realm of human perception/taste)...some won't like it I know....but how was I to know that my spade was really a...bicycle

 

Mark, wasn't giving you any pretty lies, just my honest, but somewhat unsophisticated impression. That's all.

 

Good luck with the song, whichever way you intend to use it.

 

Lars

[vacamartin]

Gibby....guitar is superb, vocals are straining and the words are sometimes incomprehensible. I'd drop 1/2 step down and work on the diaphragm projection and breathing. After that you'll nail it...hell of a fine tune to do solo

[MorrisrownSal]

Well, you have some great talent on here suggesting a song like this may need a little more of your attention. I would try to pick more songs in your range, and less vocally challenging... I know that's what I do!

I admire how well you take criticism. You would get on great living in Brooklyn NY... My birthplace.

I'll leave you with a positive nugget, courtesy Chrissy Hynde - nobody's perfect... Not even a perfect stranger.

[mike m]

Nice dramatic tune, maybe you should make the vocal more your own.

Is your audience expecting to hear the original?

Drop the vocal down lower, where you're more comfortable.

You probably sang backup to this 100 times.

I'm not being critical, your playing on this is awesome.

[EuroAussie]

What fantastic and rich amount of commentary and feedback, and what a great debate !

 

Firstly, thank you all for making the effort to listen and comment, I truly recognise and thank you for that.

All these comments give me a pretty good idea where the song currently is at and what needs to be worked on.

I think my view is similar to most of the contributors, it certainly needs more work and is probably about 70% 'there'.

 

Yes, I do hear the flat spots and also the falsetto needs to be 100% spot on as BBG mentioned, its one of the 'moments' of the track and very recognised. Words are a bit mumbly simply because i dont remember the lyrics yet fully in my head and have to read them out, plus my EuroAussie accent has probably something to do with that. Will work on those in the next week or so. Live it should be less of a hassle as i can use the Play Acoustic octave up harmony to give me a hand with hitting the falsetto notes.

 

But I also hear a lot of potential and strong parts vocally within the song to build on.

 

The suggestion of dropping the track is one which I will not entertain as Im certain with more work this will be a great addition to the set list, plus I really want to sing it. There are other songs in my set which are in the high registers but also get some of the best reaction, even though they could be considered 'unsuitable' - but I do need to work on those and perfect them otherwise they can be trainwrecks.

 

Lastly, I did almost perform this track at a gig last night. The gig was real good, I was getting excellent feedback from the audience. The interesting thing was in some some songs I was a bit flat or a bit off but not massively. The comments I got after that they loved the show as to them it sounded real good and I sang with spirit and convinction - and the audience could feel and recognise that. So in line with what Lars was saying, for the audience it doesnt have to be perfect as long as its 'good enough' and you deliver it with soul. Or BBG's comment that a bit rough with feeling is better than perfect but with no character.

 

However I do recognise the feedback is meant to try and get the song perfected and to the best of my ability, I understand and support that as thats my goal.

 

In the end I didnt perform it in the end as was just too exhausted (stage lights take so much energy out of you), but not because i was afraid to do it. And had a feeling if if did play i would probably get away with it.

 

But I will work on it and maybe post again in a couple weeks time from a gig where I play this specific track, would be great to get you reaction again.

 

cheers,

EA

[Smurfbird]

EA,

 

I know the tune very well and consider it one of the best songs of the '90s, just incredibly powerful. Thom Yorke is one TOUGH act to cover. He's gifted with a falsetto that he uses quite often. The way the melody naturally 'swerves' up to the note makes it one of the most difficult for any singer to nail. Some of the performance sounded rushed, but I take that to be due to your still getting acquainted with playing the song and your general excitement level. I've never minded singers who blow a note here and there, but this is a serious task with this tune. I would never try it myself. Too many notes that need to be held for a LONG time. I would suggest looking at ways to convey the emotion without depending on hanging on the notes. There must be a Van Morrison-like way of clipping the note and phrasing for maximum effect. Essentially, I think you need to think of the song as your own and not one of Yorke's and re-arrange it to your strengths. As it is, it's got some painful moments that should be able to be edited out or worked on, depending on your ability to monitor your vocal.

 

Did you record with headphones on? I've found that my pitch improves greatly with headphones. (Still not perfect, which is one of many reasons why I don't torture the board with my songs.)

 

I completely understand wanting to bite into "a cracked polystyrene man" and "used to do surgery/ for girls in the '80s / but gravity always wins" and "If I could be who you wanted..." Those are the moments a performer lives for. But I think you need to find the correct EA attack on the song in order for it to be effective. You certainly got balls going after this one. A bit like tearing into Led Zep's "The Ocean" or The Who's "Bargain" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."

 

Friends of mine swear "Reckoner" is the Radiohead song in need of being covered. To which I scratch my head. Clearly, these guys don't have acoustic guitars.

[gfa]

Well said, smurfbird. Generally speaking - and FPT is a good particular example - I don't try to copy the original vocal. That's the stuff of tribute bands. I'm just singing a song, and I sing it my way. I have no falsetto and so my "version" of this song has no falsetto.

[EuroAussie]

This is GREAT feedback Smurfbird, exactly what i was hoping for when i first posted the thread. Somebody that is well famiiar with this track (I naively assumed everyone would know this track well) and can provide candid feedback an in particular how to improve on this track.

 

Your comments are insightful and certainly actionable, they make me think how to approach it from a different angle and which techniques to use.

 

The falsetto bit is interesting one. I discussed this at length with my singing teacher and she explained to make that transition is essentially a 'yodelling' technique, with a fast switch from chest to falsetto. Ive never done yodelling so nu surprise i could not make that transition, but will work on the technique she taught as its not as hard as it looks, but needs much practice. In the meantime ive gone through this track a few more times and in those spots i simply did not go into falsetto but still higher and it sounded fine.

 

I agree that i will probably put more of my personality into it to make it more natural sounding. I guess my previous singer was able to nail it just like Thom and so i had this in my head also hearing it so many times. I also need to get to know the song better from a lyrical and vocal perspective, i only knew it really well from the guitar playing perspective. There are so many details in there that need addressing as its the subtle melodic tones that make this song so special form a vocal perspective.

 

In hindsight i probably posted this a bit too early, still well under cooked, but on the other hand maybe not, as the feedback gave me a good frame of referance, even when some of the feedback was harsh, which is fine, as long as its constructive.

 

I will keep working on this song as I have no doubt its just a matter of time. I already sing solo two Radiohead songs (Karma Police and Lucky) and have those under control, but only after much work. This track will need many more run throughs and technique adjustments, but Im 100% certain Ill get there.

 

Thanks again for the great comments Smurfbird, that was superb.

 

EA

 

EA,

 

I know the tune very well and consider it one of the best songs of the '90s, just incredibly powerful. Thom Yorke is one TOUGH act to cover. He's gifted with a falsetto that he uses quite often. The way the melody naturally 'swerves' up to the note makes it one of the most difficult for any singer to nail. Some of the performance sounded rushed, but I take that to be due to your still getting acquainted with playing the song and your general excitement level. I've never minded singers who blow a note here and there, but this is a serious task with this tune. I would never try it myself. Too many notes that need to be held for a LONG time. I would suggest looking at ways to convey the emotion without depending on hanging on the notes. There must be a Van Morrison-like way of clipping the note and phrasing for maximum effect. Essentially, I think you need to think of the song as your own and not one of Yorke's and re-arrange it to your strengths. As it is, it's got some painful moments that should be able to be edited out or worked on, depending on your ability to monitor your vocal.

 

Did you record with headphones on? I've found that my pitch improves greatly with headphones. (Still not perfect, which is one of many reasons why I don't torture the board with my songs.)

 

I completely understand wanting to bite into "a cracked polystyrene man" and "used to do surgery/ for girls in the '80s / but gravity always wins" and "If I could be who you wanted..." Those are the moments a performer lives for. But I think you need to find the correct EA attack on the song in order for it to be effective. You certainly got balls going after this one. A bit like tearing into Led Zep's "The Ocean" or The Who's "Bargain" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."

 

Friends of mine swear "Reckoner" is the Radiohead song in need of being covered. To which I scratch my head. Clearly, these guys don't have acoustic guitars.

[Smurfbird]

Thanks for the kind words, EA. I'm glad I could help in some small way. Looking forward to hearing it once you've found your voice within it. No doubt a great tune to conquer. (Never heard of the yodeling exercise. Makes me think I might enjoy a vocal coach, just for the kicks.)