Finally (after a poke from @Yeti) got around to attentive listening of our three tracks -fwiw, here's my thoughts.
@studmissile: Country gets a hella-lot out of three chords - the continuing evolution of your slide playing is really cool to hear. Added a lot of texture to what could have been a repetitive progression (OT: I've been listening to a lot of Tedeschi Trucks, the slide textures adding to the track reminds me of what I took away from Derek Trucks's playing). Outro a little sudden, vocals a touch indistinct in the mix, but far more prominent than previous entries and finding their place in the mix. Oh and the drum track was really nicely put together!
@Yeti - Glad someone did a blues track - I'm all blues'ed out. Tigggghhttt and straightforward playing supporting the vocals, which sit really well in the mix - though the higher notes are a bit tough for your range (except in the outro, which worked for me) ? I can barely hit a note with a bazooka, so take that crit with a pinch o salt. Usually I don't pay much attention to lyrics, but I did have a laugh ("My latte is burnt..."), "These chocolates arn't artisian") - thanks, that was a fun composition!
I had fun with mine - verse, chorus and a middle 8 in 1m11s. Easy to add another verse/chorus to take it to 2min - which is where I think a bubblegum track like this would run. Pity I couldn't get the 'spoken word' lyric a bit more distinct during the verses (Christopher Walken from Mousehunt) - thought about some sidechain compression to duck the guitars out of the way - but I was just a bit lazy to try and recall how to do it =(.
One thing I would like to share - Cabinet simulations (IR aka Impulse response) are super useful getting room like tones from DI'ed guitars and basses. Really made the bass sound like I used a decent amp and (slightly) tamed the horrible, fizzy guitar tone I DI'ed from my Zoom. Not all cabs are equal, but a decent one makes a HUGE difference.
Edit: It's a goddamn coin toss for me between Stud's and Yeti's - both have elements I really like. I'd vote twice if I could.
