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This song turned into a very special song for me. This song was born in 2014. I tried different styles, tempo, instruments and nothing worked. So it got put into the folder called maybe later. The title was added when I was missing some of my friends and the early times in my life when all priorities had to have some kind of fun attached to it. I discovered the song accidentally when I was looking for another song I had done. I was recently having an email dialogue with Robert Cordrey and asked if he would be interested to adding a vocal and lyric to one of my instrumentals. I was thrilled when he agreed. He asked me to give him my thoughts when I was originally working on the song and he put together these lyrics. Definitely a bucket list moment for me. If Now Was Then a high wire between oceans holding on at both ends must have been a beautiful failure though I didn`t see you fall my friend you said starlight`s a memory looking at me inside out your arm around Oleander hunter`s moon split the clouds you sang that song you were writing called If Now Was Then I kept your insect in amber with a question in its eye the riddle of the gypsy girl how to live and how to fly did you burn up on reentry Oleander found the answer leaving town in the final moments the hourglass turns upside down did you finish that song you were writing called If Now Was Then did you finish that song you were writing called If Now Was Then I kept your insect in amber with a question in its eye the riddle of the gypsy girl how to live and how to fly © Robert Cordrey Dec.2017 If Now Was Then This song uses two different styles: Style is _PBALCEL.STY (Pop Ballad w/ Cello & Guitars) RealTracks in style: ~~683:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 120 RealTracks in style: 1856:Cello, Background PopCountry Ev 085 RealTracks in style: 838:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopBalladClean Ev 085 RealTracks in style: ~703:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Spirited Ev 085 RealDrums in style: NashvilleEven16^5-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride _DELUGE.STY. Deluge Heavy 16ths Rock Instruments: El.Bass, El.Guitar, El.Guitar, Drums RD: ROCK16THS^01-a:Closed Hat, Snare, b:Open Hat, Snare :Pat Steward RT2755: Bass, Electric, RockHeavy16thsDoug Ev16 090 , Doug Elliott RT2760: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockHeavy16thsHighMurray Ev16 090 , Murray Atkinson RT2759: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockHeavy16thsLowMurray Ev16 090 , Murray Atkinson Memo: This even-16 heavy rock Style has a steady rhythm, with two electric guitars, electric bass, and drums. Guitar Gibson Les Paul R9 Amp Purdy Effects Maxon 808, Texas Tone Bone OD, Boss CS-2 Compression, Flashback X4 Delay.
Last edited by Scott C; 12/24/17 09:21 AM.
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Loved the vocal parts that opened the song and liked the guitars where the vocal break started.
I could barely hear the drums, however. If you turned them up a bit, this would be even better.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Very nice work guys!
Loved the power break and solo!
Rob and Anne-Marie
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Loved the vocal parts that opened the song and liked the guitars where the vocal break started.
I could barely hear the drums, however. If you turned them up a bit, this would be even better. Thanks for checking out the song. I appreciate it. Thanks for the suggestion on the drum track. I bumped it up a bit.
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That did it! Sounds a lot better!
Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Scott & Robert
Very nice work. Particularly liked the transition to the heavier section.
An excellent piece of music.
Peter
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Very nice work guys!
Loved the power break and solo!
Rob and Anne-Marie Thanks for checking out the song. Was a real pleasure having Robert write lyrics for my instrumental.
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Scott & Robert,
A very cool sound throughout. Somewhere between The Starship and Genesis. The lyrics fit that perfectly. The vocal, too.
Super guitar work, Scott. Really like the distortion/delay - "just enough".
An excellent listen.
(The vocal gets lost a bit at times, but I couldn't tell if it needed a bump in volume or a bit of EQ to separate it from the guitar bed)
Y'all are doing good stuff together. Enjoyed it.
fj
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This is the first time I`ve written lyrics for someone else`s song- and it was fun - kind of freeing, so thanks to Scott for being open to the direction I went!
Floyd; we went back and forth a few times on the vocal levels in the "heavy" section - not an easy balance to achieve.
Thanks to all listeners going for another round of Scott/Robert time travel!
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Cool collaboration
some very nice guitar
enjoyed the listen
Kenny
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"Scott C" and Mr. Cordrey...
"If Now Was Then" is like a rock fever dream. It rolls in, and then out, like waves caught in a closed loop of rhythmic motion. And then, there's the poetry of the lyrics. They flash their hidden meanings like blinks of an eye at a burning sun. Listening to the song is like staring at a painting until it begins changing and morphing into one scene after another. It's a bit of an hallucinatory experience of words and sound that ends up feeling like it could go on, forever.
Entranced,
LOREN
"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
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That did it! Sounds a lot better! Yes I agree much better. Thanks for the help on that. It is appreciated..
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Scott/Robert, you guys produced a great sounding tune here! Scott, I liked how you moved the song to a heavier rock sound midway and the chord pattern is great! Robert's vocal lends itself well to this type of song! Excellent lyrics as always from you Robert! Thanks, Torrey
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Yep, the floyd mentioned Starship vibe is definitely there. Janice mentioned that it felt as though it was from one of the Dunes series.
Forum collabs are a cool way to create a musical synthesis of different ideas and performances - this is a fine example of that.
Great performances and write y'all.
Went down nicely with the morning cup of joe!
J&B
PS: Catchy title/hook
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Scott & Robert
Very nice work. Particularly liked the transition to the heavier section.
An excellent piece of music.
Peter Thanks Peter for checking out the song. I appreciate it.
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Nice one guys!
I always like the lyrics Robert writes:
"I kept your insect in amber
with a question in its eye
the riddle of the gypsy girl
how to live and how to fly"
Great line!
I like the transition into the heavy part. Track sounds good, as does your guitar work. Overall a good listen!
Last edited by BlueAttitude; 12/29/17 03:00 AM.
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Nice one guys!
I always like the lyrics Robert writes:
"I kept your insect in amber
with a question in its eye
the riddle of the gypsy girl
how to live and how to fly"
Great line!
I like the transition into the heavy part. Track sounds good, as does your guitar work. Overall a good listen!
I agree with Dave. Some great lines lyrically and guitar wise. I like the repeating guitar signature. Good job to you both, Tom
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Scott & Robert,
A very cool sound throughout. Somewhere between The Starship and Genesis. The lyrics fit that perfectly. The vocal, too.
Super guitar work, Scott. Really like the distortion/delay - "just enough".
An excellent listen.
(The vocal gets lost a bit at times, but I couldn't tell if it needed a bump in volume or a bit of EQ to separate it from the guitar bed)
Y'all are doing good stuff together. Enjoyed it.
fj
Thanks Floyd for checking out the song. Thanks also for the comments on the mix. This was new territory for me. This is a real testiment to Robert’s skill as a song writer and vocalist as I had already done the solos for each section of the song. His lyrics and vocal were a perfect fit. Getting the volume blend right between vocal and the guitar playing was very elusive. Look forward to trying this again in the future. Mixing is quite an art in itself.
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"Scott C" and Mr. Cordrey...
"If Now Was Then" is like a rock fever dream. It rolls in, and then out, like waves caught in a closed loop of rhythmic motion. And then, there's the poetry of the lyrics. They flash their hidden meanings like blinks of an eye at a burning sun. Listening to the song is like staring at a painting until it begins changing and morphing into one scene after another. It's a bit of an hallucinatory experience of words and sound that ends up feeling like it could go on, forever.
Entranced,
LOREN Loren, Your review made me smile as I certainly drew on some "halucinatory experience" writing the lyrics! I appreciate the way you dive right into a song and express your impressions so vividly. Robert
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Cool collaboration
some very nice guitar
enjoyed the listen
Kenny Thanks Kenny Thanks for checking out the song. Was fun working with Robert
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