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Not had nearly as much time here as I'd like recently, and this is my first song for over three months. The 1990s was a strange decade for music, but that's about as close as I can get for this one. This is a song about one of those situations where everyone except the person involved can see clearly. It was all tracked-up in Powertracks and then moved to Realband for the Sax RT. There's extensive use of my old hardware Syntovox vocoder on the vocals. It's a temperamental piece of kit and I'm always surprised and relieved when it boots up and works. One of these days it won't and then I'm lost. LIVING A LIELiving a lie it's what you do Living a lie it's changing you Living a lie it's not the same Make believe is not the way So living a lie it's got to go Living a lie you've got to know Living a lie just take the blame 'Cos make believe is changing everything It's time to shape up It's time to wake up And face the day No time to make up But time to break up And walk away As usual, I'm grateful to anyone who has the time to give it a listen. Cheers, ROG.
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ROG, This is excellent. One of the things I like about your songs is that you "make music" and not "just writing a song". There's a difference and we do not get enough of the "making music" around here... A nice cohesive sound to this in all regards. Everything works together nicely. Great opening. Nice vocals. Nice playing throughout. A good write. A lyin' song!  The sax solo is exceptional. Well put together - sounds like it was played for the track. One small nit - the final note should have drawn out and faded away... A terrific listen. Very well done. fj
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Very nice melodic song, good lush arrangement and mix. Vocals and harmony sound excellent. There is Alan Parson feeling in chording and vocals so for me this is closer to early 80's.
Janne
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This song reminded me of something but I couldn't quite place it. Also yes, the 1990s was a strange time for music.  And you managed to capture that here in the best way possible!
Cheers, Ember
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Super song, ROG! You have a full production with everything exactly where and how it should be. The mix is spot on. I like the vocal buried a little bit in the mix with the fx applications you used. Great sax solo! Loved it - nothing but talent and more talent showing through on this. Kudos!
Alan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*32GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
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Yeah this is really great ROG.
You have captured the sound of that era perfectly.
I really enjoyed this.
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ROG.. really enjoyed my listen!… I especially liked how you kept this song simple – avoiding endless verses, but used your “song economy” to repeat the main idea… I think it was very effective… The production was very professional, overall very high-quality… I really liked the vocal Doubling and the back up vocals.. Thanks for sharing!
Windows 11, Intel Core i5-8600T 2.3Ghz, 16 gig ram, BIAB 2025 MegaPak, SampleTank 4, Keystation49 Kybd, Neewer NW-800 mic
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I think floyd jane nailed it - this is the sort of thing I'd want to listen to multiple times, because it's good, catchy music, instead of just appreciating that it's technically a well-done song. (I'm thinking of my own stuff in contrast.  ) Plus, you've got me watching videos on vocoders. (I actually coded a non-realtime vocoder last month).
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Wow - I really enjoyed this! Definitely reminiscent of the early 90's - I really liked the use of those synths here, and the sax fit in perfectly too. It has a wonderfully quirky groove, and the harmonies on the chorus are smooth as butter. You should be proud of this one - thanks for sharing 
Cheers, Deryk
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It's been too long ROG! We need more ROG more often.
I had every thing cranked up and ready before we dropped the needle on this.
Wow!
This is one for which there is NO need to parse out for commenting...it is ALL over the top good.
We like what floyd said "you make music" -- we get that.
Ultimately it begs to be played again. For us that says it all.
Kudos!
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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ROG,
This is SUPER! Probably the most professional track we've heard in a long time here on the forum. Yeah definitely Alan Parsons vibe.
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ROG,
This is first class!!! You ALWAYS deliver the goods. It never ceases to amaze me just how easy you make it seem when you put tracks of your own performing together and produce such an excellent 'band' sound. The shine of your talent never seems to fade.
All the best, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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ROG, This is excellent. One of the things I like about your songs is that you "make music" and not "just writing a song". There's a difference and we do not get enough of the "making music" around here... A nice cohesive sound to this in all regards. Everything works together nicely. Great opening. Nice vocals. Nice playing throughout. A good write. A lyin' song!  The sax solo is exceptional. Well put together - sounds like it was played for the track. One small nit - the final note should have drawn out and faded away... A terrific listen. Very well done. fj Hi Floyd, Many thanks for the review. I take your point about that saxophone note - it would have been nice, but I had problems getting him to play it so it sounded right. The RTs are are fabulous, but sometimes I miss just being able to say: "Just give me a sustained note on a ...." Cheers, ROG.
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,371
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Very nice melodic song, good lush arrangement and mix. Vocals and harmony sound excellent. There is Alan Parson feeling in chording and vocals so for me this is closer to early 80's.
Janne Hi Janne, Thanks for the nice comments. I've been a fan of Alan Parsons for a long time and I'm flattered by the comparison. I was aiming for the 90s, but you could be right! Cheers, ROG.
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This song reminded me of something but I couldn't quite place it. Also yes, the 1990s was a strange time for music.  And you managed to capture that here in the best way possible! Hi Ember, Many thanks for looking in. I'm always pleased to get a review from "the staff" and glad you liked it. Cheers, ROG.
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ROG,
This is tremendous! I love the arrangement and mix - some very cool vocals as well.
Excellent!
Bob
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Great vibe ROG!!! Love that fat synth sound, and vocals sound great! I think I like this better than almost anything I heard in the 90's!! Love that snare sound, and sax solo worked great. Cool stuff!! Take care. Greg
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I've always been a sucker for hook that is both sung and played on an instrument. This has so many reminders of great influences for me. Great job all the way around.
Chad (Hope that makes it easier) TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
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This is really a commercially sounding tune and the era is spot on. I can hear your work ethic in this. Nicely done .Rob
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Man! This is fabulous, Rog! Love the song and the performance. Great hook, very catchy!
Everything about this sounds totally pro, enjoyed!
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
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Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
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