Cover day. Sigh.
I’ve written about my angst surrounding cover day before, so I won’t repeat myself for once. This year, I had my favorite candidate from the day it first appeared and while several other fantastic possibilities appeared during the month, nothing ever knocked this song out of my top spot. The trouble this time is that not only did I know I’d be doing a more involved production than the original, but I personally know the people who wrote it. They’re family-by-marriage, and that can be a delicate thing. They’re also relatively new to Song-A-Day and I’m the one that roped them into it. I sure don’t want to be part of the reason they don’t come back.
- Don't Look (Remain Idle Cover) Ray Toler 1:51
In the end, fears were unwarranted and they liked what I did. Crisis avoided. Crisis probably never real in the first place, but I am who I am.
There’s not a ton to talk about here. I felt it would be good in a jazz standard or Brazilian jazz format, which I think turned out to be correct. I should have taken it up a whole step or so, because I think it’s a bit too low for me. I kept it in the original key because that lower range is more comfortable for me when I’m singing softly to myself, so I didn’t think about it needing to be higher until a few days later when it just sounded a bit emotionally flat. Maybe that’s ok – the lyrics have that implication – but if I ever redo this, I’ll definitely take it to a higher key.
This one fits squarely with my jazz trio / quartet songs (piano, bass, drums, maybe a guitar or electric piano) like You Can’t Make Me Love You and Pretty Bomb. It was a joy having better drums to work with than my previous attempts. Superior Drummer remains one of my all-time favorite purchases.
Colophon
Instruments & Samples
Superior Drummer, Trilian, Keyscape
Effects, Mixing, & Mastering
FabFilter, Gullfoss, MOTU Dynamics, Arturia Delay Tape-201