So you are really now seeing the teeny a little to the left, a little to the right stuff.
This song might be about to take a massive haircut. I can't be certain. As producer I kinda gotta make a call on when theyre trying to make a song do something it cannot.
Paul wants a middle 8, theo wants half the chorus removed. I think the straight forward nature of it is hypnotic, Theo thinks it's boring.
I have tried 3 'shortening edits' taking it down from 4:45 to 3:15/3:45 respectively.
I like it as it stands, but...unless there's some key reason, taking input and adjusting it is why this is a 'band' not a solo act.
My thoughts are that it shares the repetition of 'hate to see you go', the Little Walter number we have done for years. Cutting the choruses in half/ dropping the number of allrights just feels out of symmetry to me. Whereas to Theo it's just too samey for too long.
Adding a middle eight? Cutting choruses? Borrowing from one of Mr Wizards comments from early in our recording career, write a new song.
Sometimes it just has to be how it is. 'Hard rock' shares the same format. It's simple, it's danceable.
Theo says 'if you want it on commercial radio'...i could offer up american pie as a counter or I could point out that terrestrial commercial radio seems to be a 20th century artefact or I could...
Keep editing and sending out variants.
Welcome to the stormcellar folks, this is how we make the songs sound the way they do. Some of the work is very process oriented and you gotta have a certain vibe to keep repeating it until you get it right. For me it's like carving or painting. It's stages until it's 'just right'
We aint there yet. Expect more variants/mixes to come.