Barricades of Heaven by Jackson Browne (cover)

[Honkycat]

Really enjoyed this, and great production as always! I wasn't familiar with the song, but like it a lot. The organ is a nice addition and adds a different flavour.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Great multi-track performance here Glenn, all the parts work together great, but for the life of me I can't figure out the FX you've got going on the Strat single note lines. Sounds fuzzy, sounds almost doubled Sounds cool!

Hi Daniel!

Thanks for watching and for your thoughts and comments. I'm pleased that you thought this came out well.

On the lead Strat tone, I am using Native Instruments' "Guitar Rig 6" as a plug-in to my DAW (Cubase) and their guitar amp program called "Fire Breather". It has some kind of distortion box ahead of the amp in this particular program, but I turned that down quite a bit. So there is a little bit of this distortion still in the sound, but not very much. Maybe that's the fuzzy sound you are hearing... The overdrive level on the simulated amp was pretty much maxed out on the program but I backed that way off to about a level of 4 or 5 out of a possible 10. I added some digital reverb.

The other rhythm electric guitars (the blue and red Strats) also used "Guitar Rig 6" but used programs that were not overdriven to any significant extent. The blue Strat was using a combination of two amp models, an AC30 and a Fender Deluxe Reverb, while the red Strat used a Fender Deluxe Reverb model where I added a little delay and some chorus.

I almost always use Guitar Rig for electric guitar recording so that I can change amps later if I feel the need. I'm not always satisfied with the realism of these amp models, but they are close enough that I can mostly get something to fit in with everything else going on.

I hope all is well for you, Daniel.

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by SalFromChatham

What’s better than A JB cover on a fine rosewood Gibson? Glenn’s cover. Bravo…

Thank you Sal!

For whatever reason, I have grown to really appreciate that Gibson Advanced Jumbo for songs like this. In the Jackson Browne recordings of this song that I could find he sometimes uses a J45 (strummed) and sometimes uses a Fender Telecaster (strummed).

I started out strumming my AJ, but decided in the end to finger pick the song. I also simplified a lot of the stuff that Jackson Browne played acoustically on this song because I decided to play those notes on the accompanying electric guitars. I listen to my picking on this song and it sounds a little uninteresting in retrospect. I sort of wish I had added more movement in the bass notes, but a project like this forces a person to make decisions ahead of time and just live with them as the arrangement evolves. Doing all this stuff with one person in sequence is a little limiting compared to working with a group of accomplished players.

Still, the fact that this can be done at all is pretty fascinating.

Thanks for watching and for your kind comments, Sal! I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Railroad Bum

That's a very nice version of such a great Jackson Browne tune. Your voice really suits it as well. Thank you for sharing, my friend.

I like the half-step down tuning as well. I don't know if you've seen this performance of the tune with Jeff Young, Val McCallum (Jill Ireland's son!), and the always incredible Greg Leisz, but it was the first time I heard that song. I believe Jackson is playing a Gibson as well, which makes your version even more appropriate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDWfEmNhWmg

Hi Tim!

Thank you for watching and for your kind comments! I'm very pleased that you thought this came out well.

Jackson Browne is about 8 months younger than I am, both of us born in 1948, so we are very close to the same age. I had noticed that he dropped the tuning a half step in recent years (as he has aged), and so I also experimented with this. I could sing it in the original standard pitched Em location, but I found I could be a lot more relaxed on all those long notes with the guitar tuned down that half step. So I followed JB's lead on this. I never try to imitate a singer to sound like him, and I certainly wasn't trying to sound like Jackson Browne, but ironically, I ended up sounding a little like him, anyway.

I did see that Tiny Desk Concert on NPR with Jackson Browne and the guys supporting him. I thought it was pretty cool.

I hope all is well for both you and your son, Tim! Be well out there.

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Rogerblair

Really fine job, Glenn.

This song has always taken me back to my 60s experiences as a teen growing up playing music with my friends. A time of relative peace in the world without any pressures provided incredibly vivid memories of an upbringing that I wouldn’t trade for a million bucks. Although the location was different, the spirit was the same.

Thanks for working up this great JB tune, Glenn.

Roger

Hi Roger,

Thank you for your comments and for watching.

I have the same reaction to this song as you do. Maybe it's a sign of age, looking back on our younger years a little more, ... who knows. But absolutely, this song seems to generate a lot of good feelings in me of being young and making music and wondering what was around the corner.

There were a lot of political issues dividing people back in the 60s, just as there are now, but I mostly enjoyed my younger years.

I'm enjoying being retired and having time for the first time in my life, but really, I think being young is better.

I hope all is well for you and your family, Roger!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Honkycat

Really enjoyed this, and great production as always! I wasn't familiar with the song, but like it a lot. The organ is a nice addition and adds a different flavour.

Hi Honkycat!

Thank you! The organ does add a lot, and actually it's the part of the song that I worried about the most ahead of time. I was afraid I'd have trouble finding an organ that sounded right and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to figure out how the parts were being played. I am not a very accomplished keyboard player. Fortunately, it's such a simple key and chord progression for the song that actually I had no trouble at all once I got to that part of the arrangement. I did experiment with a whole lot of electric organs, and the one I found was not a perfect match to the recording, but it worked out okay.

It's amazing how many electric organ sounds are out there and how different they all sound!

I'm glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for watching and for taking time to offer support! Much appreciated! I hope you are well!

- Glenn

[Basil]

That was excellent and hats off to the whole production, sounds & looks super professional!

[started with 1]

Nice job on this Glenn Jackson Browne is a great songwriter and you did this one right.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Basil

That was excellent and hats off to the whole production, sounds & looks super professional!

Thank you Basil!

I appreciate your checking this out! And thank you for your kind comments! I'm glad you feel this came out well!

And I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by started with 1

Nice job on this Glenn Jackson Browne is a great songwriter and you did this one right.

Hi Started!

Thank you! I agree, Jackson Browne has written some terrific songs over the years. I'm really pleased that you feel this came out okay! I really enjoyed taking my time in putting this together. And it was fun having a chance to use some of my guitars that I don't get to play all that often.

I hope all is well for you and your family!

- Glenn

[mondoslug]

Man! That's a lot of great work...very enjoyable!

[Railroad Bum]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Hi Tim!

Thank you for watching and for your kind comments! I'm very pleased that you thought this came out well.

Jackson Browne is about 8 months younger than I am, both of us born in 1948, so we are very close to the same age. I had noticed that he dropped the tuning a half step in recent years (as he has aged), and so I also experimented with this. I could sing it in the original standard pitched Em location, but I found I could be a lot more relaxed on all those long notes with the guitar tuned down that half step. So I followed JB's lead on this. I never try to imitate a singer to sound like him, and I certainly wasn't trying to sound like Jackson Browne, but ironically, I ended up sounding a little like him, anyway.

I did see that Tiny Desk Concert on NPR with Jackson Browne and the guys supporting him. I thought it was pretty cool.

I hope all is well for both you and your son, Tim! Be well out there.

- Glenn

Hey, Glenn,

I didn't realize you and Jackson were about the same age. A lot of vocalists need to go to a bit lower key as they age, even Steve Winwood, I have noticed. Jackson still sounds great, and you do sound quite a bit like him. And I think it's important to sings in keys that are comfortable for your voice, regardless of the original key of whatever tune you might be doing. You do a really good job of this.

Yes, I saw JB once years ago do a solo show with a piano and about twenty acoustics in different tunings. It was fantastic, but, man, that's a lot of guitars to keep up with, lol! Oh, well, he can afford it.

My son just finished 8th grade, so it's on to high school this fall. They grow up too fast. Thank you for asking about us.

Keep up the great work--Tim

[TBman]

Easily one of your best Glenn, amazing work.

[Ceabeceabe]

Nicely done. Reminds me to listen to more Jackson. I like your facial expressions…some contemplative, some looking like you are having fun. :-)

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by mondoslug

Man! That's a lot of great work...very enjoyable!

Hi Mondo!

Yeah, "some assembly required." As I have noted earlier in this thread, I probably put in a couple weeks, a couple of hours at a time, until I finally got all the parts in there. It really was a fun project, and none of it was terribly hard.

I worried about whether I would figure out the organ part or the lead guitar part, but they came together within that 2-hour time slot and I got each of them recorded during the 2-hour period I had allotted. I simplified both parts enough that they weren't terribly hard.

So really, this was a fun project. And it helps that I am addicted to this song so much! I really loved putting this together. Thanks for your encouragement and kind thoughts!

I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn