I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing

In my last post I alluded to the fact that I'd recorded a song. Well folks this is the grand unveiling of that Hit/Flop* 

I have had quite a few offers to help me with Challenge number one. Mostly it's people saying "I've got a mate who knows someone, who has a friend who has a studio" or something equally vague like that. But there was never a question for me as to whose help I needed on this one as I have a super talented musician friend. Not just a mate who strums a bit on his guitar. Oh no, my super-talented musician friend has had a song in the Top 40. I bet your "mate who knows someone, who has a friend who has a studio" can't boast that! 

Not that my mate Doug would ever boast. He's also the most humble man I know. He has no idea how brilliant he is. Despite what we tell him, and his wife tells him and his kids tell him. But anyone who knows him knows it. And so there was never any question about who I needed to help me with this challenge.

Step forward Doug Walker - Future Global Megastar! (He's even got a Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Walker_(musician)  )

Now the only trouble with asking someone credible to help you with a project like this is that they then expect you to create a credible song. Our first attempt at song writing did not go well. Now don't get me wrong I have a reasonable talent for writing ditties about vegetables and raps about pirates. But writing an actual credible song... it's a lot harder than it seems. Apparently you're not just meant to write in cute rhyming couplets and you have to actually say something profound. It's taken Doug years to be the brilliant song writer that he is. I was never going to achieve this in one day. 

So we put it to one side and meant to get back to it... but neither of us was very inspired to have another go at my credible songwriting.

And so I turned 40 and Doug decided it was time to dumb it down to an appropriate level for me! "We'll get a backing track off the web of an existing song and record that!". 

Splendid - we're onto something now!

So I went armed to Doug's house with a few song choice ideas - all of which he rejected very politely before he selected something completely different. 

Doug set up a recording studio in his front room - the sound booth was made from up-ended sofas fact fans! - and Doug's magical computer was in the kitchen.

 

He gave me a professional microphone and cans (I can talk the lingo now you see) and we did take after take until he was happy he'd got enough from me.  I then left Doug to tweak my voice (he assures me everyone uses autotune these days!) and do a mix using the backing track.

But here's the thing with a musician: they can't just do that. No Doug decided it sounded too Karaoke so wrote and recorded his own version of a backing track and it's this version that you can hear if you click here:

https://soundcloud.com/daybarkle/dreams-cover-by-liz-day

Clearly all I hear when I listen is every vocal imperfection (Autotune can't perform miracles) but I do also hear Doug's hard work and general fabulousness too. I suspect real singers must feel some of this mixed feeling stuff too.

I hope you enjoy my attempts at recording a song (and it doesn't offend your ears) - and I hope it inspires you to do a spot of singing too.

And if you get an earworm as a result of this then my work is truly done.

* To be decided by you