It's not a new subject by any means. But this is our take on it. Just about everything has been written about at one time or another. All you can do is tell the same stories in your own voice.

The vocal is a little too forward...I need to move it back a bit. I think the drums are a bit too loud for this genre. Also, this was recorded before we got our good AT 2035 mic. This was recorded on a $39.95 Peavey mic. But Di's voice sounds good on a tin can connected to a string. Her voice is so danged sultry!

As soon as I can locate them, I'll post the BIAB tracks we used. We're two computers down the road since this was recorded and it's a bit messy keep up with everything. We did this on BIAB 2011.5

Okay...I just found the BIAB tracks we used:

Style is _POPFAST.STY (Fast Pop w Dreamy ElGt (165 RS))
Tempo 66 bpm

Real Tracks Solo: ~ Sax,Ten,Sol JazzBallad Sw60 (750)
RealTracks in style: ~~518:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 085
RealTracks in song: ~904:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothCool Sw16 075
RealTracks in song: ~939:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm JazzBalladFreeComp Sw 060
RealTracks in style: ~~367:Guitar, Electric, Background Dreamy Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~491:Sax, Alto, Jazz Ballad Sw 085 (Bluesy)
RealDrums in Style: NashvilleEven8^8-HiHatO,Ride
*******************


http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11220232


Forever And A Day

© 2011 Alan D. David, BMI / Diana Bowers, BMI

8-BAR INTRO

(v1)
If nothing else I promise you, you won’t ever hear me say goodbye
I can’t imagine one day without you, I wouldn’t even want to try

CHORUS
You are the answer for every time I prayed, in darkness you light my way
No, I don’t think I would make it without you
I’ll love you forever and a day

(v2)
You’re lips so tender, your smile always soft, you make the darkest days so bright
You are the reason, I wake every morning, cause with you everything is right

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

CHORUS
You are the answer for every time I prayed, in darkness you light my way
No, I don’t think I would make it without you
I’ll love you forever and a day

(v3)
Don’t ever doubt my love for you, I’ll show you just how much in every way
Eternity is just the beginning, I’ll love you Dear, forever and a day
I’ll love you Dear, forever and a day

Alan and Di...

So much to like about this. Nice, simple lyrics that say just the right thing - not an easy thing to do...

The instrumentation is just what it needs to be.

Di - beautiful vocal - heart-felt.

And you're right... the one problem is the drums. Usually I'm telling people to "turn 'em up".. but not here... these should have been brushes... that would be the icing on this beautiful cake....

Enjoyed it.

floyd

Floyd...

You're right...some Smooth Jazz brushes would have been perfect. Will go back in a few days and redo it.

I, too, like the drums a little louder than most people do. But it in this case, less is almost too much. We're delighted you like everything else about it. I wish I had half her singing voice.

Thanks again. We really appreciate your support and always astute suggestions! Best you, my friend...

Al & Di

Al and Di,

What a beautifully simple song and I agree with Floyd that brushes would be perfect for this.

I do like Di's tremolo on the high notes, must try that myself.

I thoroughly enjoyed that.

I use a Peavey i cheapo mic on occasions myself, instead of my Rode NT2, just for "that different effect". The peavey is usually a doorstop or paper weight LOL

Alyn

Beautiful song. Well sung and well played

Alan & Di, I like the song. The instrumentation and vocals are fine. Di's vocals fit that style of music perfectly.

I agree on the comment above about using brush style on the drums.

One other thing that I noticed in the first 10 seconds is a bigger issue for me. You have mixed swing styles with even styles. I heard this in the music and looked at the list of tracks and confirmed it. It's pretty hard to make the 2 differences work together in the same song. When I was first getting started in BB/RB I would simply pop tracks in without checking their EV or SW status. Now, that is one of the first things I look at when choosing tracks. I want them all in the same groove.

The problem this creates goes to the groove and the feel of the song.... the listener wants to either be feeling it "even" or "swinging" but there is that conflict happening in the music, with the drums, bass and one guitar playing an even groove pattern and sax, piano and the other guitar guitar swinging that groove.

The singer is also conflicted..... does she sing it even or swing it? It sounds to me like she's leaning towards the swing side..... and I think (personal opinion) that this should be an easy swing....

Great song. Good job on the recording..... I'd like to see the drums brushed and everything swinging.

Enjoyed your vocal Di, thought the mic sounded good on your voice. Every word and all the nuances nice and clear. Alan, Brushes and a more swing feel yeah - cool but it was a nice listen regardless.

Josie

Hi Di and Al,

beautiful song, great voice.
Comments on drums and groove are just nits.

Guenter

Wow, Di! Was it Di or Memorex? I hear Ella in your vox. Beautifully sung, dear little lady. Enough to give this old Irishman goosebumps big time. Perhaps "sultry" is the correct word.

More please?

As Alyn (aka Gibson) said:


That was a nice touch, Di.

Di and Al,
Very nice work. I really enjoyed listening. Looking forward to hearing more.
SD

HI TO EVERYONE...

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR VERY KIND WORDS. ALAN TOLD ME YOU FOLKS WERE THE VERY NICEST OF PEOPLE. I CAN SEE WHY HE SAYS THAT. AND THERE IS SO MUCH EXCEPTIONAL TALENT HERE AT THE PG MUSIC FORUMS. I APPRECIATE EVERTYTHING EACH OF HAS HAD TOSAY ABOUT MY VOICE.

I'M HOPING ALAN WILL POST SOME OF HIS WONDERFUL GUITAR WORK SOON. HE HAS WRITTEN AND RECORDED SOME BEAUTIFUL ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTALS AND SOME VERY NICE SONGS ON THE ELCTRIC GUITAR.

PLEASE EXCUSE ALL CAPS BUT I HAVE SEVERE ARTHRITIS AND FIBROMYALGIA. I CANNOT REACH THE "SHIFT' KEY EASILY OR WITHOUT PAIN. I DON'T MEAN TO SHOUT!

THANK YOU AGIAN. GOD BLESS!

DI (DIANA DAVID)

Hi, Al here this time.

All your comments about the improvements we could make are spot on. We'll be addressing those in the near future and will repost with all swing background, brushes instead of sticks and the vocal buried a little deeper in the music.

Please know that Di and I are appreciative of constructive criticism/helpful suggestions and view them as avenues top improvement, not slams on our work. So, by all means, never hesitate to offer your honest opinions. We may not always employ the suggestions but will give each and every one due consideration and use those that we think best improve our music. Thanks again to everyone for your kindness and help!

We're a couple of old farts having a ball with our music! I played professionally for 40+ years. Di never has performed professionally and has been singing seriously for only 6 or 7 years.

Best to everyone...

Al & Di

Let's see, OK I'm sitting front row center just a few steps off of the dance floor sipping my Jack Daniel's Old Fashion just digging the mellow tones.

Great Job!

Later,

Hi, Al & Di !


This was a very enjoyable
tune with outstanding vocals !
Congrats to both of you and
Di for her great vocal !:))


Cheers
Dani

Simple yes but not mundane. Perfect balance to support a cool, mellow and heartfelt vocal. I don't think the vocal is too far forward but then a lot of folks think I mix the vocal out a bit too much. Hard not to do when you have a good vocalist

I'd comment on the mic but honestly I have trouble telling the difference amongst our low end and high end mics from the perspective of quality. To me decent mics have their own characteristics and I try to choose the one that goes with the singer.

FWIW, I've struggled trying to mix ev and sw feel Realtracks. I find that if I have all sw rhythm tracks then I can find the occasional ev solo that works and vs. However, if I mix ev and sw rhythm tracks I can sense that subtle "tug" going on amongst them. Some might not notice but I played bass for 40 years and may be more affected by it. Dunno.

Regardless, we enjoyed this and look forward to more.

Al and Di, Nice work. The vocal is very good as is the writing, the arrangement and the mix. I agree with the above statements regarding brushes and the swing feel. Hope to hear it again if you get back to it. Tom

Danny,


Just one JD? Ha! I can see the Lounge Lizards making the rounds every time I listen to Di sing this one. We talked about it this morning and we're going to try to redo it sometime this month. When we get it done, I'll post a link to it.

We have another one we're going to redo called "The Best Thing I Do For Me". I have the BIAB tracks for it but not her original vocal track. She's going to redo the vocal and I'm going to take another look at the BIAB tracks. We have it posted on Soundclick but the vocal is ahead of the music. It's particularly noticeable in one part where the vocal is syncopated to a musical riff.

Anyway, thanks so much for the kind words. Get a second JD...it's on us!

HI Dani...

Thank you so very much. We always look forward to your comments. We're having near Finnish weather here in Nashville...extreme cold! Thanks again!

Janice & Bud...

Thanks for the listen and the warm comments! "Simple but not mudane"...that's exactly what we were striving for with this one. Thanks for the vote of confidence on that one. As a picker and not a singer for so many years, I never could tell one mic from another unless there was an extreme difference. I've come to have a little better ear for that over the past 10 years or so. I can't listen and tell you the brand or model, but I can usually tell if it's a nice condenser mic or not. Di sounds good with just about any mic but I need all the help I can get. A condenser mic gives my thin voice fullness and "air". I don't have a good singing voice...my voice is thin and so is my range. I need all the help I can get!

As I told a few other folks, we will repost this once we redo it. I, too, tend to put the vocal a little more forward in the mic than most folks...as I do the drums. But on this one, I think moving it back just a touch would balance the whole thing a little better.

Thanks for your constant kind words and encouragement. We do appreciate that so much!

HI Tom...

Thanks for the listen and very nice comments. We will be reposting this in a couple of weeks or so. We've written a number of these old Lounge Jazz numbers. It's such a perfect for Di's voice and it's a genre we like. And we'll be addressing the percussions and backing instruments. Thanks again!