RECORDING November 2024 - 52

Music recorded by RECORDING Magazine's own readers-
Reviewed by producer, engineer and bassist Dave Martin
READERS'TRACKS
" I Need a Vocation "
By Meteor Street
Equipment
DAW - Pro Tools 2023; Computer - " Trashcan " Mac Pro; Display/Control
Surface - Slate Raven MTi (x2); Interface - Slate VSR8; Guitar - Les Paul and
Fender Telecaster; Bass - '70s Music Man Stingray; Guitars and bass recorded
direct processed with IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5; Drums - PDP MX Series
Kit with Zildjian A Cymbals; Microphone - Slate Modeling Mics; Plugins -
Slate, Waves and IK Multimedia; Monitors - Kali LP-6; Headphones - AKG
Music
" I Need A Vocation " is a rock song from Meteor Street with an unusual
subject matter. It concerns the evolution of the workforce from the Industrial
Revolution onwards, with a healthy dose of ironic commentary on the anthropomorphizing
of the corporate world and work-from-home culture.
It's a song with interesting lyrics, distorted guitars, girl group harmony and
a healthy dose of fun. Meteor Street is the father and daughter duo of Alison
Belle and Alan Bews. Alison is the vocalist and also plays rhythm guitar, while
Alan plays lead and rhythm guitars, bass and drums. He also " did the smallest
bit of harmony and the talky bits in the middle. " Robert Wait mixed the track.
Review
Though any song with subject matter that includes the evolution of the workforce
and mentions both the corporate world and work-from-home culture
sounds like the sort of thing that Midnight Oil or Rage Against The Machine
would write, " I Need a Vocation " sounds happy with a bouncy summery vibe.
And yet, " I Need a Vocation " rocks! The guitars are big and dirty, the bass
growls and the drums drive the groove. So what makes it sound happy? The chorus
sounds like a crowd should be singing along, and the song progresses into
some interesting interplay with a vocal section designed for even more of a singalong
over an industrial-sounding track that builds to a guitar solo before ending
with a final chorus. It's all fun, and it's all interesting. I enjoyed both of those traits.
Back to the " happy vibe " -that comes from vocalist Alison Belle. Alison
sounds both youthful and very sure of what she's doing-a great combination
when you're young and know what you're doing. Her lead vocal is spot on,
and the harmony vocals (mostly Alison, with a wee bit of help from Dad) also
sound great. There are a lot of moving parts, and they nail them.
After the first chorus, Alan speaks some lines. I'm not sure whether he used a small
bullhorn (as he used in the YouTube video I watched), but I've certainly been on sessions
where that has been done, although there are also plugins that get that sound.
Special mention should be made of the choral intro at the beginning of the
recording; that, too, was recorded by Alison and Alan in their own Guaraldi
Studio. The two artists and the mix engineer accurately captured the vibe of a
small choir singing in a large space. Very cool!
LISTEN HERE
recordingmag.com/readers-tracks/i-need-a-vocation
52 RECORDING November 2024
Dave's Suggestions
The sound of the rhythm guitars on " I Need a
Vocation " is big. I like that two guitarists were playing
different guitars (in this case, a Les Paul and a
Telecaster). The slight differences in how the two
guitarists play helps with that bigness, as does the
innate tonal differences between the Humbuckers
on a Les Paul and the single coil pickups on a Tele.
If you're interested in experimenting with big
guitar sounds, there are other fun approaches that
you could use in your future recordings, including
a slightly lower gain distorted sound, which would
accentuate the tonal differences between the instruments
and the way that each musician plays. There's
also the trick ZZ Top used on their early records, engineered
by Robin Hood Brian; Robin Hood suggested
slightly retuning Billy Gibbon's guitars before
doubling a part, which, legendarily, worked well!
Alternatively, you can start small (and relatively
clean), then add more guitars, each slightly more
distorted. My favorite example of this approach is
from Oasis; listen to their tune, " Santa Monica, " and
notice that each new section of the song brings in
another pair of guitars (panned left and right). By the
end of the tune, the guitar soundstage is impressive.
There are many ways to achieve a big guitar sound;
it's not only a fun thing to do, but it's worth figuring out
a few ways to go about it since each approach yields
a slightly different big guitar sound.
Summary
I enjoyed learning about Meteor Street and
listening to " I Need a Vocation. " Should I find
myself on the West Coast, I will look for the opportunity
to see them play live.
Their video for this song is delightful!
youtu.be/FL4GnMdrpHw?si=xM-0v6sndkSvDz7U
Dave Martin is a producer, engineer and bassist.
Dave owned Nashville's Java Jive Studio for close
to 25 years. Dave has recorded, produced and/
or played with symphony orchestras, rock and
roll icons and country music legends ranging
from the Old Crow Medicine Show, The Dead
Pickers Society, Porter Wagoner, Robben Ford,
Billy Cobham, The Box Tops, Carl Verheyen,
Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), Adrian Belew, Rick
Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Eric Johnson, Robbie Fulks,
Steve Vai, The Coasters and others. Dave is also a
member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame.

http://youtu.be/FL4GnMdrpHw?si=xM-0v6sndkSvDz7U

RECORDING November 2024

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