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Let's examine why this is happening.
The most striking reason why a song may or may not sound dated
is the arrangement. The arrangement is what turns a song from classical
to rock, or brings it from the 30's to the 90's or the next century.
In this case I would see this track on the shelves of the late 80's
or early 90's music. Again, it has a potential Hit- major sound,
but let's try bring it to nowadays!
For an arrangement with a contemporary sound, I would suggest that
you:
1. get rid of the brass section; and
2. instead of the processed guitars use an acoustic, slightly distorted,
or both; and
3. get rid of the textures: the guitar melodies/arpeggi in Chorus,
and the organ rhythmic chords on "I got a wife" (this
one is nice but not convincing).
- I don't think you need the brass section. It is well thought
and performed, but it is what reminds of the commercial rock hits
of the late 80's and prevents the song from having a fresh look.
- If you use a raw guitar sound - acoustic or slightly distorted,
this will immediately position the song on the list of the contemporary
tracks. During the years the trends in processing guitar sound have
differed significantly, what has always been the same is the clean
guitar. Also, instead of the melodic/arpeggi textures you could
use some riffs in the lower register.
If you are willing to experiment, you could try substituting the
brass with a muted trumpet and the organ with a piano - that would
bring the sound close to a pop style.
Another factor that positions "Anymore" a few years back
is the performance. Again, if you are not aiming at commercial stations
format - it is OK! Otherwise you could revise end of phrases such
as (see italic):
- I got a wife/ I got a lover/ I got a wife/ who’s got
a lover.
- the choir on Chorus is soooo much Beatles - good or bad?
In the above cases use straight notes for a closer to rock sound;
or just accentuate the ornamentations for a pop sound.
Besides the contemporary sound concern, another element deserving
comments is the song structure.
I'm not sure whether "There’s a girl whose woman..."
and "Give one last look to.." are Verse 1 and 2, or they
are two different Verses (one and another one). They have different
melodies and harmonies, though nice, so it's not the same Verse.
But the second one does not seem to be a bridge, or pre-chorus,
or ...verse. So what is it?
Furthermore, there appear to be 3 guitar solos in this track. Are
all of them needed? Certainly no! Contemporary radio stations will
hardly accept one solo, and often they will prefer a harmonically
performed rhythm. So get rid of the other (you choose which one)
two solos and prune the song structure.
These concerns apart, I cannot but praise the originality of songwriting
and the good taste about choice and arrangement of instruments.
Good Luck,
Anton Tontchev
for MSSVision.com - Sep/4/04
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