This is an old Mott The Hoople song.... written by David Bowie. This came out my final year in high school... 1972
All the parts are Band in A Box except the guitars. I'm doing the guitar parts.
Anyone who says you can't cover a song as close to the record as possible isn't trying very hard. It took some effort but it's totally possible to do close covers with BiaB. This was originally recorded in my studio about 4 or 5 years ago.
Hoping you like it. I don't do many covers and this is the last for a very long time.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Very cool. Great job. How do you get the video embedded like that? My posts just show the link.
I use the full reply vs quick reply. There's a button for "Enter a Media Tag" looks like a TV screen 5th from the left.... Copy the link from the video and enter it .... waa laa
Glad you like this.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Wow! This is good! It's so close to the original that I'm going to have to go back to the original to hear for any differences. Great job!
Jeff
Thanks... yeah I wanted to get as close as I could using the default BB/RB tracks. I tried several styles and swapped the drums and bass around until I found something that worked well.... added the B3, and played the guitars myself. Mott was a simple band.... bass, drums, guitars, and keys. I believe the guitars are doubled and there's a lead.... but the BB tracks are just like they were generated.
I saw a Bowie concert where he was playing this slightly faster.
Thanks for listening.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
I hope those who doubt the capabilities of Biab will find & listen to this cover... You've done a swell job... I wonder how much time you have invested in creating this piece to get it so close...
I hope those who doubt the capabilities of Biab will find & listen to this cover... You've done a swell job... I wonder how much time you have invested in creating this piece to get it so close...
Good chops Herb!
I don't recall the amount of time spent on this. It was really not appreciably more than any original I work on. But yes, BiaB is certainly capable of doing some pretty close cover work.
Thanks for listening
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 03/21/1903:21 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Thanks for sharing I've never really listened to Mott the Hoople so this was new to me. You did a great job though - really catchy and some great progressions. I'll need to check out the original!
COOOOOOOOL!!! A friend of mine turned me onto this song in HS. I think it was on the same record as All the Way from Memphis? They had a cool sound. Ian Hunter did some really good stuff after as well. Enjoyed!! Take care. Greg
Brian Cadoret BIAB 2025 Pro build 1125e with BIAB2023 UltraPAK . Samplitude Pro X4 Suite. Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio Focusrite 2i2 Scarlett Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 CPU @ 3.20GHz 3.20 GHz Installed RAM 8.00 GB
You did a great job on this Herb and your guitar work sounds great. However...
I have to take exception with your statement
Anyone who says you can't cover a song as close to the record as possible isn't trying very hard. It took some effort but it's totally possible to do close covers with BiaB.
DUDE! This is a very simple song, it's all strumming guitars and a basic bass. Of course this can be covered by Biab RT's and some good editing. This is straight ahead strumming guitar rock and roll. Same as a lot of folk stuff. But take a song with hooks, specific musical licks, full band rhythm punches, or a horn section. Biab cannot cover tunes like that without a ton of work and you recording a bunch of specific parts and even then the feel is wrong. Wanna try some Stones like Satisfaction or Jumpin Jack Flash or Brown Sugar? How about Santana like Black Magic Woman? The Doors, Light My Fire, LA Woman? Joe Cocker? Motown? Sam and Dave? James Brown? I could go on and on.
Yes you did a good job on this but Biab can NOT do a whole huge bunch of classic covers. And, that's ok because it's not designed for that anyway just don't tell folks it can.
You did a great job on this Herb and your guitar work sounds great. However...
I have to take exception with your statement
Anyone who says you can't cover a song as close to the record as possible isn't trying very hard. It took some effort but it's totally possible to do close covers with BiaB.
DUDE! This is a very simple song, it's all strumming guitars and a basic bass. Of course this can be covered by Biab RT's and some good editing. This is straight ahead strumming guitar rock and roll. Same as a lot of folk stuff. But take a song with hooks, specific musical licks, full band rhythm punches, or a horn section. Biab cannot cover tunes like that without a ton of work and you recording a bunch of specific parts and even then the feel is wrong. Wanna try some Stones like Satisfaction or Jumpin Jack Flash or Brown Sugar? How about Santana like Black Magic Woman? The Doors, Light My Fire, LA Woman? Joe Cocker? Motown? Sam and Dave? James Brown? I could go on and on.
Yes you did a good job on this but Biab can NOT do a whole huge bunch of classic covers. And, that's ok because it's not designed for that anyway just don't tell folks it can.
Bob
Bob... yes indeed. The easier tunes are simple to cover. And your point is well taken. And I would venture to say that even doing the simple songs in BB.... my song is a great example.... It still takes a bit of work to make it sound like the record.
I'd have to go search the hard drive on my DAW to find it, but ..... more than a few years ago I had a guy contact me to see if I could get him a reasonably close to the record version of Southern Nights. The old Glen Campbell song but by a different artist who, if I recall the details correctly, wanted a slightly different vibed version. I listened to the song he indicated on YT and was setting on the fence about whether to take the job, knowing all I had to work with was BB. I figured I'd give it a try and set about finding a style that would work. It was an enormous amount of work and I ended up having to play several of the parts with midi. I think the guitars and bass ended up live. Bass was the midi track simply because nothing I could find in BB worked with the groove the guy wanted. And the arrangement IIRC was slightly different too.
Long story short, I got an almost finished track and sent him a section to see if it worked for him. He was, apparently, pleased. He instructed me to finish the track and I ended up sending him the wave and got paid for the job. The hourly rate when calculated was pretty slim if I do say so myself but it was a fun challenge.
But you are correct. Many of the classic songs are not a simple wham bam thank you and it's done. I suspect that stuff like James Brown, with the accents and other such things would present a real challenge to anyone trying to cover them accurately by just using BB. That is but one of those times you have to think out of the box and create many of the tracks yourself and be really sharp with the audio editing.
Edit to add: I think I actually scrapped the entire project 2x and started over because the customer was not satisfied with the vibe in those earlier versions. I had given it one more third and final attempt and the guy liked it so with a bunch of wasted time behind me, I plowed forward to finish it.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 09/24/1903:29 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
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MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 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!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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I've never really listened to Mott the Hoople so this was new to me. You did a great job though - really catchy and some great progressions. I'll need to check out the original!
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