Vocal Harmonies (1 Viewer)

[Denny Oubidoux]

I've gone off vocal harmonies a bit in recent times. Its difficult not to have a totally obvious harmony line. Often you loose the original melody too. Anyway, I was just listening to Peter Gabriel's So, the harmonies on the chorus of Mercy St are terrific.

Views?

 

[washingcattle]

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Does this count as obvious? It's fucking class whatever it is.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I feel a bit silly for now for dissing harmonies.

I prefer the original studio version of Charlie by Split Enz, the one without the harmony by brother neil, as the harmony kinda softens it a bit and dilutes the menace. It is a deadly harmony though, as heard on this live version:

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[GO]

Yeah Shaney..I think you need to have a rethink..vocal harmonies=ear candy.

The difference a harmony makes to a simple song cant be underestimated dude.

Although I hear what yer saying about predictable ones(they happen to be my favourite tbh).

Sparks do a great line in unconventional ones.I'd say thats what makes them a "love them or hate them" type of act.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

they should be used very sparingly i think.

 

[Goodbye]

Just listen to any Prince song (even the shit ones) and you will hear the best examples of background vocal harmonies ever recorded.

PS. The distorted bass/ guitar solo outro to the above Yo La Tengo song is one of my favorite eargasms of all time. Good man washing

 

[ann post]

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these ladies harmonies are tight as a nut. and insane. i love them.

 

[Anthony]

I love the shit out of vocal harmonies.

 

[P. Littbarski]

one of my favourite harmonies is the neil young/robin lane one on Round and Round from everybody knows this is nowhere

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then there's this, which I could listen to all day on repeat.

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[tommytrousers]

Sending Mutt Lange round later to learn ya. Minimum of four double tracked harmonies in each channel. No need for reverb. bootiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ5bS3_BCDs

 

[GO]

You can hear Mutt using a whisper track in that..classy though

 

[Goodbye]

cough the fannies cough

 

[Scientician 0.8]

I try to harmonise on my songs but I'm just not that good a singer.

 

[travispickle]

they should be used very sparingly i think.

It all depends on the song I think Shaney. I tend to use them a fair bit but then that's the kind of stuff I like to hear anyway. I subscribe to the Teenage Fanclub method of songwriting/recording - "When in doubt, throw another harmony on" (Norman Blake).

 

[Anthony]

Check out The Roches for some amazing vocal harmonies.

 

[egg_]

I think MDR is against vocal harmonies - he's not posting much these days though, so I expect he won't be defending his views

 

[ann post]

to be predantic about it, all vocals are harmonies.

 

[Anthony]

It's not like they're missed on the ol MDR songs.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

to be predantic about it, all vocals are harmonies.

are they?

I have heard that there was a lady singer with the Crash Test Dummies who was able to harmonize with herself

 

[ann post]

well its pure predantry, but anything more than one note is technically a harmony.