Here's a song for the Lenten season.

As always, comments are welcome.

Better Man

Smoke and ashes are all that's left
Of our house of love
Fanned the embers, let them turn to flame
Finally burned it to the ground

Now you say you've given up
We should both walk away
What had together is not enough
No kind of love is worth this pain

I'll write a different story
Sing a better song
Find ways to show that I was wrong

CHORUS
Been long, dark night, but I'll set things right
I'll be a better man
I put the past away, moving to the day
I'll be a better man

I believed in all our dreams, guiding us like a star
Took for granted that you'd always stay
I've been so careless with your heart

I know you've been hurt, but I just couldn't see
I was blind, help me to find
The better man in me

REPEAT CHORUS

You'll be glad you stayed to help me find my way
To be a better man
I'll work all my life moving toward the light
To be that better man


Technical Details
Piano - Acoustic, Rhythm CountryPopMike12-key Ev 085
Piano - Acoustic, Rhythm PopModernGrooveA-B Ev16 075
Guitar - Electric, Rhythm CountryPopBrent12-key Ev 085
Synth Pad - PopModernGrooveA-B Ev16 075
Trumpet - SmoothJazzBallad Ev16 065

Drums - EZDrummer, Indie Folk
Strummed Guitars - Session Guitars 1 & 2
Bass - Bass On Demand

Vocal Processing - Waves Tune
Mastering - Ozone Elements
DAW - Reaper

David,

My favorite from you so far! I love the singer-songwriter 70s feel of this one. The track selection and production is excellent as well - great vocal.

Bob

Perfect listen for my own Lenten journey--trying to be that Better Man...also trying to be a better BIAB composer, and you've given me some new songwriting ideas and inspirations with this great contribution..there are details in the mix and arrangement that I will learn from...besides the fact that it is a joy to listen to..thanks.

"I'll write a different story
Sing a better song
Find ways to show that I was wrong"

Man, you are hittin' the note with this production. I'd rather listen again than to parse out all the good things. Suffice it to say that to our ears everything works -- the write, arrangement, production, vocals, BiaB tracks (trumpet is outstanding), drums are all in the pocket. And it sounds great on the monitors. Not to mention that we love well written redemption lyrics.

Kudos!!!

J&B

David, This is a fine example of the how to use different sources along with Biab. The drums sound fantastic. The production is really well done. I like the lyrics and your vocals do them justice. This is your best to date and look forward to your next one, Tom

David, this is exceptional in just so may ways.

Least of all, my great respect with your persistence with with amazing development of vocal technologies.

There is much to comment on the driving forces within your contribution. Sensational!

David,

This is truly an enjoyable listen!

The opening is nice - a good piano sound and a "grab ya" drum flurry.

Love the sound of the vocal. The various processing works well. The harmonies are exquisite!

The strumming guitars are impressive. The dynamics of verse production verses the chorus production is well done. The ending trumpet is a nice touch.

The chorus is catchy-as-all-get-out...

Excellent mix. Excellent song!

floyd

Thanks! I appreciate it.

Really enjoyable melodic pop song, somewhere between Oasis and George Harrison, very good selection of instruments, I like especially the drumming, 'Indie Folk' describes the song very well. Nice chord changes, good lyrics and the message nicely crystallized in the ending section. Beautiful sounding vocals in the upper register. The ending trumpet leaves a delicious dreamy after-taste.

Janne

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I may go back and fix some of the squeaks from the guitar on the right, and maybe balance it a bit better. Or I could just leave it alone and move on to something else...

Thanks!

Yes, that trumpet is really nice. And I'd gotten the Indie Folk drums a while back because they've got a cool sound, but never used them. Writing songs gives me an excuse to put all these lovely sounds to use.

Thanks, Tom!

Yes, the basic track was just drum, guitar and bass. I drove around with that track for a while working out the melody.

The BiaB tracks came in last, and they did a great job filling in the gaps. It's very much like being able to hire a session player to sweeten a track, only on a budget I can afford.

Thanks!


Yeah, I've got to get back to that. I was hoping to have something delivered by the end of 2017, but I guess I just ran out of steam.

I'm starting to tinker with some new ideas, but finding time for real life, music and coding is more a challenge than it used to be. I don't know how some of you folk do all that you do, but I'm impressed!

I'm glad you enjoyed the song!

Thanks, that's always nice to hear, especially coming from you!

I tried to keep the drums up in the mix, per your instructions.


Thanks! I may tweak one or two things, but I'm pretty happy with it.

I wasn't sure about the telephone effect on a mostly "folk" sounding song (although the highly processed vocal isn't really very "folk"), but figured I may as well try something dramatic.

Thanks, Janne!

I actually started out with the drum this time, and built the track around that. I really like the sound of that kit.


But next time, I'll try to pay attention to what range I can actually sing in!



Yeah, there's a ton of saxophone in BiaB, but I wish there was more mellow trumpet... and more flute, too.

Such a pretty song. I like that surprise telephone effect on the vocal. Sweet harmony, nice production touches and especially liked the chorus. Great job!

Thanks, Josie!

I had a co-worker listen to it, and he mentioned that parts of the vocal were "fuzzy", and might need to be re-recorded. It took a minute to figure out what he was talking about the telephone effect.

Wow - this is a stunning tune, dcuny The emotion behind this is incredible. It is so captivating, simply put. Your vocal delivery almost forces you to pay attention to the lyrics. I particularly enjoyed the lo-fi effects and panning on the vocals at sections.

Great work, and thanks for sharing!

This song has such a strong beginning, and has very poignant lyrics. I think you did a really awesome job with this particular tune.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Deryk.

I wanted something to indicate a transition from the "problem statement" in the first verse to the "solution" started in the pre-chorus, and it didn't seem clear the way it was written.

Also, I'd rewritten the lyric and re-sung the line louder and further from the microphone, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I was too tired to re-record the line.

I figured the best solution would be to emphasize the difference instead of hiding it.

Thanks, Ember.

I appreciate you taking the time to listen.

Good song! I like the lyrics and vocal. And killer job on the mix too, sounds great through my headphones.

Enjoyed the listen!

Hi, Dave.

Glad you liked it - I can't as for more than that!

Awesome!

Great production and song structure.

Loved everything about it.

Great lyrics too.

Well done!!! (Loved the effects on the chorus, too. Very Beatles.)

What were those effects???

Hi, David.

Glad to hear from you!

There are three tracks of me on harmony on the chorus, hard panned left/right/center. There's a leap down from an F to a D on "better man", but the timing is a bit off between the takes, and I sort of slide into the cadence. Between that and a lack of pitch correction, I think that's the "effect" you're hearing.

I do have some effects on the harmony group, but nothing special. There's some generic background vocals EQ from Neutron Elements, and then the "Drum Room" reverb from EZMix because it seemed to sit in the mix the best.

At the prechorus, there's a "Phone with Slap Delay" effect from EZMix where I widened the notch filter quite a bit, and panning the vocal. The word "wrong" is repeated by putting it on separate tracks with a "Phone with Reverb" from EZMix, hard panning it and lowering the volume to get an echo effect. But that's really quiet - I'm not even sure it's audible over the drums.

Thanks for asking! Did I answer the question?

David

Excellent song - nicely composed and put together.
It all comes together really well.

Peter

Thanks, Peter!

David,

Those drums really pulled me in to this very well written and produced song... the change from folky verse to the Beatlesque chorus gives the song an original twist.
Very catchy melody and super harmonies on the chorus.
Excellent work!

Robert

Thanks, Robert! I appreciate you taking the time to listen.

Not sure how the chorus is "Beatlesque", but I'll take what compliments I can get.

Hi dcuny:

I really liked this song. I think it was one of your better inspirations. One question: did you leave out the bass intentionally, or were you experimenting?

I kept waiting for it, either way it was a very nice tune!!!

All the best,

Dave

Hi, Dave.

I'll take that as a subtle hint that the bass is too quiet in the mix.

I'm hoping to do some minor tweaks this weekend, and I'll see if the bass needs some boosting. I typically put the bass nice and high, so this time I might have gone to far in the other direction.

Thanks for the kind words and feedback!

Hello, David

Wonderful drum sound!
The melody is really pop.
Your vocals fit it very well.
The trumpet at the ending gives a nice spice to this tune.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Thanks, Shigeki!