Hello Ray, Vic, Marc, Scott, Misha, Janice and Bud,

Although I am late with my reaction (some kind of holiday break causing a lot of work...), I won't let you down.
You have all sent me such nice comments on this 'God' song, so many thanks for this!

Originally Posted by rayc
Cool one Hans,
I did think the stops needed to be more dramatic though - it is a drama filled narrative after all. A tiny bit of delay or slight rise in volume at the point of the stops might work.
Gentle disco.

Ray, during my break, I thought about your 'stops'. I still don't know if longer stops would have increased drama. Also because of the effect in the video...
But I certainly will try it out on another dramatic song and, looking at the state of our earth, such a song will come soon enough. Thanks!

Originally Posted by vicarn
Good clean sound there, Hans.
I hope Santa doesn't get lost.
Vic

Vic, I think he already is. I just heard a whisper he ain't coming for next Christmas...

Originally Posted by mglinert
I have listened to this multiple times - my thoughts are below. I recognise the time, effort and talent you have put into this. Sorry if you feel any of the negative comments are harsh or unjustified. Thanks a lot for posting the song.
Date: 25/12/2023
System: Mackie Studio monitors
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Genre 70s Pop
Duration 4 40
Overall impression
A lot of time and effort has clearly gone into this in terms of both the composition and the production.
I’m guessing that English is not your first language Hans, which makes this a very creditworthy lyric. It also explains the slight anomalies of word and line stress which occur from time to time.

Song (musical structure, melody, lyric, …)
Nice simple melody and chord progressions which flow nicely, particularly in verse section.
Ambitious lyrical theme.

Instrumentation
The guitars should be mentioned – not flashy but very effective in the context of the song. Are they played or generated?
All the patches are well chosen

Mix / Production
Good use of l/r spectrum giving the track a nice full sound
What I really liked
Cool 70s pop style groove
What could be improved
Singing not always accurate in terms of pitch (1:01)
I’m finding the track a little too long (but then again I invariably do) – maybe one ‘I thought the earth…’ sections too many in this one.
Well done on putting the video together!

Hi Marc, thanks a lot for your documented view on the song and the singer as well as all the compliments!
To start with the last one: No, English isn't my native language, but I liked singing in it. I'm always working on better lyrics, pronoucation and whatever.
In this song, the tiny mistake I am aware of is somewhere in the beginning of the song where I sang 'an' instead of 'a'.
But if I had more odd things in my lyrics, i am happy to here them. That helps me too.
About the pitch in my vocals; I never use pitch correction, although I have a lot of software to correct wrong pitches.
I think the natural sound is nicer, unless it sounds false.

About the instruments and the during of the song:
All instruments are generated, not only in BiaB, but also in Logic or Native Instruments (or alike).
...Ray argued I had to add more stops to increase the drama. That would make the song longer....
In this song I had to tell a story. From the beginning of creating the world to what people did with it.
And I had to be careful not to offend people needlessly. That made this song a bit too long, if 3 minutes is considered long enough.
Thanks again for this comment, Marc!

Originally Posted by Scott C
Awesome tune Hans. Excellent vocal and message in the lyrics. Happy New Year...

Scott, thanks for everything, including the 'happy' wish. I used it for my birthday...

Originally Posted by Rustyspoon#
Hans,
Strong composition. Good vocals and clear mix. I guess lyrics might seem controversial to some, I don't judge. Interesting phrase structure and performed well.
Good mix and listens well.
Happy New Year to you. (well... happier... I hope)
Misha.

Misha, thanks for your nice comment. Yes, of course i knew it could be seen as a 'controversial' song.
On the other hand, if you were the GREAT designer, how would you think of everything?
But thanks a lot for your very nice compliments!

Originally Posted by Janice & Bud
This reminds us of our many musings on “why” so many awful things happen to innocent children. The video was very good in accentuating the lyric and the kitten and cat and meow at the end were very effective.
The mix sounds excellent on our monitors.
Enjoyed the song and vid!

Our best to you and yours during the holidays!
J&B

Janice and Bud, there are a lot troubling things happening to a lot of people. Of course you feel more pain or agony when children are involved...
When I made this video, I had that clip of the kitten and I thought it was dying. I had shortened the clip without seeing all of it.
So, when I saw the full clip I was relieved the kitten did not die, but was dragged out of the screen. I decided to keep that part and added that meow on the audiotrack.
And I'm happy you enjoyed that part too!

Thanks everyone and let's enjoy this year!
Hans

Hans Berkhout
(Birchwood)
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130