Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Seattle-based, Rusty Reid. Corner of my Mind was released on February 22, 2023, and is a gentle Americana/Country song that flows beautifully.
Rusty Reid is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Texas now living in the Pacific Northwest. He has just released his third album, Bayou Line.
Corner of my Mind starts with a full band sound and you instantly feel comfortable and familiar in the track with its immediate country leanings and familiar instrumentation. Starting with a brief instrumental section, before leading to the first verse, Corner of my Mind, has some lush incidental guitar melodies, panned to the left, which are expertly played and perfectly placed.
When Reid’s vocals come in, they are warm and smooth and not what we expected. We anticipated a voice with more of a country twang in it, but Reid’s vocal delivery is clear, inviting and full. It may be unexpected, but the dulcet tones were very much welcome, reminding us a little of George Harrison. The voice sits well in the mix and every lyric is clear and easily discernible with just the right amount of reverb on them to make them sound thick and mellow.
We love the combination of different guitars used on this track, with the solo/incidental guitar always panned to the left. There are lots of things happening for the listener to engage in with the instrumentation here.
The all-important second verse brings in a perfectly placed harmony that sits behind the lead voice and bolsters it nicely. The steady and simple drums remain constant throughout and we’d suggest this would be a great song to be considered for placement in a TV or movie and we’d urge Reid to seek out possible sync opportunities.
Ideas from our ears
A small boost in the top two octaves in the backing track would add a touch more brightness to the overall mix. A single-band compressor in this area with some make-up gain could also add brightness and presence whilst still keeping the peaks under control. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
Rusty Reid’s, Corner of my Mind, is a gentle, warm, smooth-flowing singer-songwriter/soft rock/country track with a velvety voice and classy guitar riffs. Recommended!
https://RustyReid.com
https://Facebook.com/RustyReidSongwriter
https://Twitter.com/RustyJunzi
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKRa5UNE-YEx-XzxXYN7xCQ
https://www.facebook.com/RustyReidSongwriter
https://twitter.com/RustyJunzi
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1nF30rOkQmQDkFji7aFmXB?si=89m9dTyhQj6rMROT_OKBTw
https://soundcloud.com/riopaso
https://rustyreid.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKRa5UNE-YEx-XzxXYN7xCQ
https://www.instagram.com/rustyjunzi