Hi folks, here's my submission in the "Country" category.
The song is called "Let's Talk About It" and here's the link:

LETS TALK ABOUT IT

I used:

_BOXCAR.STY Boxcar Baritone Country Folk
with
RD: NashvilleEven8^5-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride :Brian Fullen
RT995: Bass, Electric, HardRockLA Ev 120 , Craig Young
RT2499: Guitar, Baritone Electric, Rhythm PopCountryBrent Ev 120 , Brent Mason
RT1681: Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120 , Pat McGrath
RT1948: Mandolin, Rhythm PopUpliftingAndy Ev16 120 , Andy Leftwich

I also added some simple piano and synth parts, and vocals of course. Not much at all.
It's a great style, very versatile. I couldn't believe how good baritone guitar and mandolin sound together :-)

It's not really a country song, more like a folk-pop kind of thing. Not sure really, you decide. It's a relatively simple song as far as music and lyrics are concerned, it won't change the world of music for sure :-), but it's heartfelt. It's about some real life "moments" that me and my wife are facing right now. I don't know, maybe other people will see themselves in this song, who knows.

Here's the lyrics, if you're interested (very, very simple)

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

I know you’re upset, I see it in your eyes, can we talk about it
You’ve been so quiet, This is not like you, why don’t we talk about it
Is it something I said, something I’ve done, do you wanna talk about it
Just give me your hand, and show me your smile, so we can talk about it

I know this is not the life I promised you
I know this is not how things should be
But if we stay together and believe in us
Our dreams will come true, and my dream is you

Why don’t we go out and enjoy our days, and we will sing about it
We can walk in the sun and dance in the rain, and then laugh about it
We can jump on a plane and sleep on the clouds, we can dream about it
Let’s forget our past and live for today, and tell the world about it

You know this is not the life I want for you
I know things will get much better soon
And if we stay together and believe in us
All our dreams will come true, and my only dream is you

We can laugh about it, we can dream about it

I know this is not the life I promised you
I know things will get much better soon
And if we stay together and believe in us
All our dreams will come true, and my only dream is you

An enjoyable and sincere song with a catchy melody.
The production sounds clear to me and your vocal warm.
I know from my own efforts that its not as easy as it might seem to write a song for a partner- I hope your wife is tickled with this!


Robert

This is clearly the best song for this content so far, cheerful and positive pop song perfection
Very pleasant chord changes. And what a mix, drums and bass sound strong, your voice is clean and smooth, and those additional instruments, synths, strings and piano complement the listening experience. And the lyrics are really heartfelt, only a really cold-hearted person could resist the offer.
If I had to change something, I would give more emphasis to the chorus part, for example by using sidestick variation of the drums in the verses, I would also let the drums rest from 2:40 to 2:54 to let your voice really shine.
Maybe not a giant leap for the world of music but at least a semitone for me

Janne

I like the music behind "so we can talk about it"

good vocals and mix.
A nice message in the lyrics

enjoyed this a lot

Alyn

Hey guys,
thank you very very much, you are way too kind ..
Janne, I especially thank you, you just made my day :-)
And thanks for the suggestions.
Indeed, I was thinking about changing the drums a little bit between chorus and verses, but I wanted to stick to the style as much as possible, since this contest is about the new BIAB styles, so I'm guessing that PG would like us to showcase how good and versatile these new styles are. But I'll probably experiment some more and see what happens.
thanks again!!!
Jo (Mr Micio)
PS I'm trying to change my "Mr Micio" forum name ... it's the name of my cat, don't know why I used :-)

Lovely song and production.

The vocals were smooth and reminded me a lot of Colin Blunstone (e.g. I don't believe in Miracles).

A very enjoyable listen.

Rec

Great Pop feel throughout. A really top melody, easy to listen to, pleasant from start to finish.

Excellent vocals are the icing on the cake.

Hi Jo,

I really enjoyed this creation of yours. It's really well put together... fantastic melody, arrangement and performance. Those key changes add a great touch of class!

Regards,
Noel

P.S. If you're still trying to work out how to change your forum name, it's under "My Stuff | Edit Profile". The "Display Name" option is about halfway down the page.

Thank you Noel,
you're very, very kind.
And thanks for the tip, I already submitted a request to change my nick, but it needs to be approved. No problem, I really love my cat anyway, so I can be him for a while :-)

Nice song. Your mix, arrangement and vocals are superb. I enjoyed my listen.


Charlie