"Midnight Train"

[Bigduggieface]

I was approached by a rapper friend of mine who had the idea to revisit an R&B hit from the early 1970's from Gladys Knight & The Pips. A song called "Midnight Train To Georgia".

He arranged the MIDI parts such as drums, keys, and horns and he provided the "rap vocal".

He gave these parts to me and I enlisted the help of some studio cats I know. I had a bassist come in to do his best Motown James Jamerson impression. I also had a male vocalist to provide some of the 'Pips' parts as well as a female vocalist to provide the all-important lead vocal. She also sang some of the backup parts.

Normally I don't post songs from clients I work with, but in this case it's a cover of a famous song and I'll make an exception.

Be sure to CLICK HERE for a video flashback of the original song. You gotta get a real flavor of what the original "Pips" were like! Pure gold!

[DJ2ARON]

Sounds Great!
I'd suggest turning down the male vocals in the verses a couple dbs but otherwise it's pretty nice.

[bxx32]

Yeah i know the Original from 1973, and you did a good job to make it more current, but verses have a very Alternative feel about them,like the Flobots-But the Choruses are like the classics smooth R 'n' B. Great sounding all around!

[paul999]

I agree that you guys did a great job revisiting this song. I did not find the vox too loud any where in fact I found this mix really well balanced. The weak point is the rap vox. To me it sounded more like talking that would sometimes start to have a melody that was out of tune. The other vox are top notch. I think you mixed the midi sounds you were given well but I found them unexciting. On the other hand when you touch someone's MIDI stuff they can get kinda' freaky.

Cheers. Nice work here for sure.

[rockerdude]

I like this tune.The male rap part was the weak link here.The backing vocals were awesome.Great sounding mix!

[AswegoHomestead]

I just liked it totally. The mix is very balanced and enjoyable. Even us Old Dudes can appreciate great R&B of a new arrangement, thanks for a great listen. The voices are fantastic!! Thanks for an enjoyable listen!! You need to hang on to the dude doing the mixing!!!

[ellisboys]

i think the flow on the verses was great and it made a great mix

[Pignanelli]

Loved it! Very creative and well done, although from my perspective (maybe it's the cheap headphones I listened on) I feel like the vocals could have been "thicker" and "stronger" (maybe more compression for a bit more closeness and intimacy?) Dispite the obvious skill of production of the piece, the vocals sounded a bit thin and trebbly, although generally well performed (particularly the girl).