Not being one to let a competition with free entry slip by, I've been working on my submission for PG Music's XTRA Style PAK 3 Contest for a little while now. When I started putting words and music together, I ended up finding myself in "Tin Pan Alley" mode so I went along with the flow. This is where it took me...

• I Like Walking Beside You

Please feel free to comment on anything,

Regards,
Noel



Band In A Box Ensemble
Style is _UNWIND.STY from XTRA Styles PAK 3 (in the Jazz category)

RT 711: Bass, Acoustic, Bossa Ev 085
RT 1103: Guitar, Nylon, Rhythm BossaGrooveComp Ev 085
RT 624: Fiddle, Soloist George Ev 085
RT 2261: Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm BossaSlowKenny Ev 085
(I ended up using the MIDI Supertracks version of this Realtrack; that is, MST 2340)

RealDrums in style: JazzFunkGroovin^1-a:HHSdStk, b:HHSnr
Loop: Pop-Soul-RnB\R n B - sweet_75_a drums ev16.wav

MIDI Strings: Miroslav Philharmonic
MIDI Piano: Miroslav Philharmonic + Dimension Pro


Lyrics

I like walking beside you
Did you know
You’re the get up and go
That begins my every day?

Oh I like walking beside you
As if we’re sailing the seas
With life as our breeze
We travel through come what may

And when the day spins upside down
And smile swings to frown
You always seem to find a happy song
We can sing and then thing’s are okay

Oh I like walking beside you
This journey’s the best
I know I’ve been blessed
Travelling with you day by day

[Instrumental]

And when the day spins upside down
And smile swings to frown
You always seem to find a happy song
We can sing and then thing’s are okay

Oh I like walking beside you
This journey’s the best
I know I’ve been blessed
Travelling with you day by day

On this enjoyable quest
It’s a journey with zest
Travelling with you day by day
Travelling with you day by day

©2017 Noel Adams, words and music, all rights reserved.

Another goody Noel.
I like how the lyrics easy flowed from one verse to another.
Excellent product my friend.
Very enjoyable.
Rob

Noel,

Your sound is unmistakable... This production is excellent. Love the song, tracks selection, mix and vocal - I could listen to your music all day long.

A new favorite for me...

Bob

This is terrific Noel! Beautiful lyrics and melody with an arrangement and vocal that takes me right along with you.

Thanks for sharing, Noel! What a tune - I love those vocals! The song has a very calming vibe to it, it had my head swaying at my desk. Truly, great job! You should be proud of this one

Noel, your uplifting attitude is perfect for this style. Pro sounding production. Very well written and performed. This is among your very best. I can't think of any way to improve it. Perfectly executed, Tom

Hi Noel.

You always do this kind of thing just SO well.

You know by now that I like the movies from the 30s/40s and this is right in the middle of that style. No one does this any better.

Everything about this track is perfect, from the instrumentation to the progression, from the lyrics to the vocal delivery.

In a couple of hours it will be dark here in the north of England and I'm going to turn the lights down low, put my feet up and play this again - several times.

Masterful.

All the best, ROG.

This is wonderful and so easy, Noel. Love the vibe and your vocal. You never disappoint. Keep 'em coming, mate.

Bob

Super vocal Noel. Very cool backtrack. Has a very neat feel to the song...

Janice's exact comment, "easy listening love song...he's got a really pretty voice."

Then she said "I see a couple walking through a countryside painted in pastel colors."

We've said it before but you "own" this type of groove both vocally and with the BiaB bands that you put together.

Don't wait so long for the next one!

Love it

J&B

Good luck in the contest

beautiful song with a fantastic melody

I always look closely at your song form, very nice

smooth as butter!

enjoyed the listen

Kenny

Hi Rob,

Thanks for taking time to have a listen. I appreciate the feedback.

All the best,
Noel

Hay Bob,

Good to see you! Thank you for listening and commenting. I'm just so thankful for BIAB. It gives the the ability to do such a lot that I wouldn't have ever been able to do otherwise!

All the best,
Noel

Dear "Noel96"...

"I Like Walking Beside You" is such a simple title that one easily could overlook the pure, child-like wonderfulness of it!

You consistently (and seemingly quite effortlessly) produce songs with the most exuberantly optimistic lyrics describing both the sublime and the more overt pleasures of being in loving relationships with others. In a metaphorical way I regard them as little fists of hope being shaken defiantly and directly in the face of bitter cynicism, apathy, and lack of faith in our collective ability to make this world a much, much better place than it sometimes seems to be. God bless you for offering up to us such serene musical visions of the elements of true happiness!

The addition of a fiddle solo atop the lush and sophisticated-sounding bossa nova rhythm I think was a startling and novel musical move that caught me so off-guard that I could only shake my head and smile at the sheer, creative inspiration of it.

I'm super-glad I gave it a listen. Good luck to you, sir.

LOREN

Noel... I agree with each point that Tom made.

This is exceptionally well done in all regards.

Your voice is perfect for this type song - and the vocal is really well recorded, processed and mixed. It sounds "natural", easy, comfortable... perfect.

The arrangement is beautiful. The piano/bass/drums combination is the perfect bed. The added strings are INCREDIBLY well done. The walk up with the chord progression is perfectly supportive - then the "swirly" fill to the next line is a delight to the ear...as is the figure into the next chorus... nice work!!! And an excellent mix...

I would guess you spent some time getting the fiddle to play that solo - it sounds custom made for the song.

This is one of your best writes! Very solid. The opening line...
"I like walking beside you"
...stands alone nicely - to announce what is to follow. It SINGS so nicely.
The quick rhymes that follow (each time) give the ear new joy.
The resolving rhymes - day/may/okay - glue it all together even tighter.
(best/blessed/quest/zest is nice!)

The simple positive images that anchor the song are nicely woven throughout.
A "natural" feeling song start to finish...

An excellent listen! Does not matter if you "win" the contest. This is already a BIG WIN - what better reward than a beautiful song?!

fj

Very well written and performed! Love the pace and vibe.

much enjoyed!

Hi Noel,

As I said in the contest section, I really enjoyed this song a great deal.

As others have commented, there is a beautiful simplicity to this.

I really love the chord progression, the mix, the engineering and the vocals. Great job.

Well done Noel, very laid back vocal. good luck in the comp

"You always seem to find a happy song" that can be said about your music, I really like the simple optimism here. Great vocals and great arrangement, especially the strings work nicely Good luck for the contest!

Janne

Noel
An excellent listen and some outstanding reviews online.

I'll quote Floyd:
Does not matter if you "win" the contest. This is already a BIG WIN - what better reward than a beautiful song?!

Peter

Josie!

It's always a highlight of my day when I see that you've visited one of my songs. Thank you for once again taking the time I really do appreciate the support that you've given me over all these years.

All the best of everything. I'm looking forward to your next song!

Noel

Hi Deryk,

I appreciate the visit. Thank you for listening and commenting. For the record, though, I never lost sight of the fact that whatever I do is only possible because Band In A Box makes it so much easier. It's such a great program.

All the best,
Noel

Tom,

It's always great to see you. Thanks for taking the time. When it comes to getting a good sound, I've been using your and floyd's songs as my models and I've been doing my best to try and emulate what you both do. Your sounds are incredible! It's good to know I'm on the right path.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Noel,

ROG hit the nail on the head with his comment. I grew up in the early 1950s watching movies from the 30s, 40s and early 50s. Besides their basic innocence, compared to today's movie culture, I lived the soundtracks. Couldn't wait for the next Carmen Miranda movie. And then all the Doris Day musicals ... loved all of that.

And this song captures much of that era in music - the innocence, uplifting melody, sparkling vical and fabulous tracks. I'm a sucker for a good bossa nova - loved everything about this!

EXCEPTIONAL!

Alan

Hey ROG,

Thank you for popping in and making my week! I think that you credit me with way too much skill. Sometimes luck is on my side and sometimes not. I think I was lucky with this one. It really helps having BIAB as my songwriting partner! I love being able to select a style, type in a chord progression, and then trying to come up with music and words that fit. Now if only I had your production and playing skills....

All the best,
Noel

Bob,

Appreciate the visit and the comments. Thank you for finding time to have a listen.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Scott!

Thank you for passing through the thread. And thanks for taking time to have listen, too.

All the best,
Noel

Hi, Noel !


What a beautiful song
and so delicately and
sweetly performed !

I loved it, Noel !

Cheers
Dani

Hi Janice and Bud,

Thanks for passing through. It's always great to see you both. I really appreciate the feedback. Getting comfortable with singing has taken me quite a while! At last I seem to be getting there. And Janice, thank you for your image, it inspired me to hunt around the internet a bit longer for a better graphic.

By the way, you might be interested in the vocal skills of this young guy from Kazakhstan if you haven't seen the video clip already...

http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=424233#Post424233

All the very best to you both,
Noel

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for the feedback and for the smile you brought my way! I appreciate that you had time to have a listen.

This song's form is the standard AABA format that was used in "Over the Rainbow", "When You Wish Upon A Star", "Yesterday", just to name three of thousands. Its a form that I feel really comfortable with. It was learning how to write songs with choruses that really challenged me!

All the best,
Noel

Hi Noel,

Soothing, relaxing and nicely romantic.
Your voice suits this song so well.
And you always deliver quality songs, that we appreciate very much.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi Loren,

Thank you for taking so much time to listen and to put your thoughts down. I'm really grateful to gain your insights.

I love the way you write. Your use of metaphor, analogy and simile is very engaging for the reader. No wonder your lyrics are so good!

The fiddle was nothing more (or less, for that matter) than luck. I simply filtered the Realtracks so that only those with a bpm of 85 showed and I went through the soloists one by one until I found a Realtrack that I liked. I was just as amazed as you that a country fiddle track worked so well in a Tin Pan Alley styled song based on the bossanova.

One thing that I learned a long time ago is that one should always try every possibility when it comes to RTs. Often the musical interplay that's created between using mixed genres is very effective.

Once again, thank you for taking the time,
Noel

Now I enjoyed this one Noel, nice easy listening song, good lyrics and not too cluttered in the backing

Hey floyd!

Thanks for popping in. I always smile when I see your name appear in one of my threads

I'm glad that you and others mentioned the vocal. This time around, I didn't process too much at all. I throttled back on pretty much all effects. Even though I used a Nectar preset to start with, I reduced the compression significantly, didn't have too much EQ and added a touch of reverb. That was pretty much it.

Thanks for noticing the rhymes too! I used the day/may/okay rhymes for keeping the end of sections tidy and giving them a closed feel. The other quicker rhymes just seem to develop because they felt right.

In relation to the fiddle, I was lucky. I didn't do any RT surgery. Because I create my songs in BIAB, I always regenerate the song every time I run through it. This means that the tracks end up getting regenerated heaps of times. Whenever I hear something I like, I always save the track to wav. In this instance, the solo was a complete track generation. All I did was use a bit of volume shaping to adjust phrasing a little.

I really appreciate your thoughts.

All the best,
Noel

Great work Noel!! Such a pretty song with clean articulate instrumentation. The vocal is outstanding. Everything about this one is enjoyable! Thanks, Torrey

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for giving the song a run through! I appreciate the feedback.

All the best,
Noel

Hey David,

Thanks for posting a comment here too! Much appreciated.

All the best,
Noel

Noel,



Late on this one- can't be helped. You have the heart of a romantic, and it shines through in your music.


Regards,

Bob

A work of excellence. You've created the perfect backing track to go with your always top notch lyrics. Enjoyed my listen.

Charlie

Yorkshireknight,

Thanks for dropping by and hearing the song. I appreciate comments.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Peter,

Thanks for passing through. The AABA form used in the majority of Tin-Pan Alley songs is one that I feel really comfortable composing in. I just love what Band In A Box makes possible. In all honesty, I think that writing songs is one of the best hobbies anyone can have

Thanks for taking the time to listen and I really appreciate your comments.

All the best,
Noel

Hey Janne,

Great to see you! Thanks for having a listen and for passing on your thoughts. This was a fun project.

All the best to you,
Noel

Alan,

Thank you for your support. I know that you are a busy man these days and that it's not easy to fit in visiting the forum. I really appreciate that you managed to find time.

Like you and ROG, I'm a huge fan of the songwriters from the 1920s, -30s and -40s. It's a period of music that songwriting flourished and set the stage for what was to become pop music. In addition, I reckon lyric-writing skills were outstanding during this time. Lyricists of the time had a way with words that is rarely seen these days.

I hope that things are travelling as smoothly as they can for you and Di. You are never far from my thoughts.

Regards,
Noel

Hey Dani!

Thank you! I'm thankful that you had a chance to have a listen. It's always great to have you visit!

Take care
Noel

Hi Rob and Anne-Marie,

Thank you! It's always a pleasure to see that you've passed through one of my threads. Thank you for the comments, too.

All the best to you both!
Noel

Hi Graham,

Thanks for finding the time to listen and post your thoughts!

All the best,
Noel

Hey Torrey,

Thank you! BIAB makes 'articulate instrumentation' very easy to achieve. As for the vocal, I just keep on practising and practising and sometimes I get lucky. I appreciate the visit. Thanks again!

All the best,
Noel

Hi Bob,

Thanks for dropping by. It's always good to see you. I'm glad you had a chance to have a listen. I find it pretty hard keeping up with songs in here these days. It's a busy forum.

All the best,
Noel

Charlie,

You always manage to make me smile with you comments. Thank you for that. I appreciate that you had a bit of time to spare and could have a listen.

Best regards,
Noel

Nice one, look forward to hearing more anytime.

hi noel really well done everything perfect thanks for sharing eric

What a wonderful, feelgood, melodic song!! I love the way the chorus melody just takes off with beautiful accompanying chord changes. This is TOPS!! Take care. Greg

devonplayer,

Thank you for taking time to have a listen! Appreciate it.

All the best,
Noel

Hey Eric,

It's good to see you again. Thank you for dropping in. Glad you liked it!

Best regards,
Noel

Hi Greg,

Thanks for listening! I think that luck was on my side when I started working on this one. Appreciate the visit.

All the best,
Noel