This is a R&B Bluesy Christian song of mine from 2009. It was one of the first songs I wrote with BIAB. We didn't have horns then so I remixed it adding some horns and added some harmony to the original vocal with the BIABettes. Also I used Reaverb (convolution reverb) which was a new experience and remixed it in Reaper.

RT's are:
Drums Nashville Pop 16
B3 Organ 425
Bass 521
Soloist Guitar Blues BB 576
Rhythm Guitar Elec Blues BB 573
Rhythm Guitar Blues Roadhouse 581
Horn Section R&B 2114

Link and lyrics below.

Thank you for listening and your thoughts are appreciated.

He's Faithful

©2009 Josie Beck

When the light goes dark and problems swirl around
We hope against hope for some kind of easy way out
Cryin' Father oh have you forgotten me
But He never fails to show me

Chorus:
Wohoh God is not a man that He should lie no no
I'm learning now to trust Him with my life yeah yeah
His word is solid rock
He's gonna do what He said He will
He's faithful faithful

I confess there were moments I wasn't sure
When people let me down and feelin' insecure
Cryin' Father oh help my unbelief
But He never fails to show me

Bridge:
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand


Josie

Hi Josie,

Very nice! A steady and professional sound.
I also very much like the vocal harmonies.
Is the convolution reverb a vst (compatible with cubase)?

Regards,
Rob

Bull's eye!!! This song really hits on all cylinders! The arrangement is right in the pocket. The music and lyrics marry perfectly. The only thing I would change (just an opinion) is I would eq the vocal with more bite, and run it through a bigger reverb, maybe gated or at least with some slap back/echo on it. Really inspiring and spirited song!! Killer!! Take care. Greg

Thank you Rob. I appreciate that very much.

I tried Googling but didn't see anything that said Reaverb was compatible with Cubase so I'm assuming it's not. It's one of the two reverbs that comes with Reaper. If you should ever want to try Reaper it's fully functional to try for free.


Josie

Josie,

Your voice is so sweet, and sounds so relaxed, each time I hear it!!! wonderful
nice background vocals.

I enjoyed that

Alyn

Cool tune. Nice, almost funky, beat going on.


As far as the reverb.... if it's a VST, and the DAW in question has VST compatibility, yes... it's supposed to work.

Nicely done. This is a good arrangement and I think there would be a lot of gospel quartets across the Bible Belt who would love to add this song to their playlist. The vocal and harmonies were stellar.


Charlie

Hi Josie,

really funky arrangement. The music and lyrics fit perfectly. Great vocals and harmonies.

Guenter

Hi Josie
Lovely easy going vocals on this and I enjoyed the mix. Good job!

Funky and smooooooooth. An inspiring use of the horns -- gotta try that some time. Very nice easy going production that works perfectly with your vocal which, BTW, just flows so naturally through the song. An effortless feel -- nothing forced, nothing contrived....honest comes to mind. The mix sounds great on our monitors. Classy in all aspects.

J&B

PS You can NEVER go wrong with having Jack play on a production!

Josie,

This is my favorite of anything I've ever heard of yours.

Solid in every regard. A good write - and a great fresh angle. A very tasty production. Nothing overdone and a lot of "nice little touches". A smooth, confident vocal. Great job with the BIABettes!

I like those drums for this. Nice guitar licks. Cool horns - one of the best applications I've heard of those...

Well done! A very good listen.

floyd

Great groove, horns and vocals. I may have to investigate those horns soon. Works for me!

Greg,

Thank you very much. What nice things to say.
I was driving home one day with the radio turned off enjoying some quiet time when this song idea started singing in my head. I'm so glad you liked it.
This convolution is new to me but I'm going to experiment more with it. I tried several larger hall impulses but went with what you hear which ironically is a church.


Josie

Alyn,

You are so sweet to say that. I'm so glad you liked it.

Thank you.

Josie

Thank you Herb,

Glad you liked it. It is a funky beat - I was just a few months out of a Christian Funk band when I wrote this so the beat was an influence of that I guess.

Reaverb is a reverb that comes with Reaper - I'm not sure it's available as a stand alone VST.

Josie

Charlie,

Thank you so much. I never really thought about anybody else doing it - but I sure wouldn't mind.


Josie

Guenter,

Thank you very much. Appreciate that a lot.

Josie

Thank you JosieC.,

As busy as I know you are these days, it was so sweet of you to drop in for a listen and comment. I appreciate that a lot. Best of luck with your new album. BTW, I miserably failed that Youtube challenge of a video a week....LOL! Maybe I'll make the next one......fingers crossed.

Josie

J&B,

What nice things to say. I really appreciate it. Thanks so much to both of you for making my day.

On the PS. - I probably shouldn't confess I was seriously tempted to ask one of the "Axemen" on here to play but then I figured I'd better stay with ol' Jack since he was there from the beginning.

Josie

Floyd,

What a sweet review. Thank you very much. I'm so happy you liked it. It's great that all the time and effort I put in remixing this worked. I was really unsure if anyone here would relate to an R&B Christian song with a funky beat. I'll stop rambling and just say again - thank you.

BIABettes - hey, who knew until you shared what was possible with a little experimenting.

Josie

Josie,
Great song and performance. Sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
SD

Thank you Patrick. Appreciate that very much. I love the horns - hope we get some more when the new version comes out for Christmas.


Josie

SD,

Thank you. Appreciate that very much.


Josie

Josie I'm late to the party and everything that I would have said has already been said!

This is one fantastic gospel rock/funk song. You really nailed this one and it just may be your best to date. It's hard to say, as all of your posts are top notch!

Fantastic vocal, lyrics and backing tracks!

Dear Josie !:))


I love your voice (you know that)
and your vocals are just great on
this wonderful tune !:))

I enjoyed this really very much !:))


Cheers
Dani

PS: I have another ladyfriend now !
She is a divorcee and she awoke
my fatherly chivalresque feelings
for a wronged person ! I love her !

Mario, thank you very much. I really appreciate that.

Josie

Thank you Dani.

On the PS. I'm happy for you. Something tells me there could be quite a few ladies in your town who would enjoy the company of our romantic Dani.

Wow, this is outstanding work, I second floyd jane, I think this is the best work you've done, I can hear this on an album as it is. Great job Thanks for sharing!

+1 several times over. He said it all! Totally loved it! great song and performance. Josie! best to you ...

Alan & Di

Hi Josie,

I don't know what you've done with Reaper but this sounds as professional as anything I've heard; absolutely terrific!

Your singing is top notch and the musical arrangement is perfectly suited to the style.

From a lyric perspective, there are some technical devices you've used which caused me to raise my eyebrows and think, "Oh, that's clever".

My first eyebrow raise was on the use of opposites, "light" and "dark", in a single sentence. This is always a strong technique.

Then my eyebrows shot up again on the verb "swirl". This is such a great choice of verb because it creates an image with just a single word. I have to say that by the end of the first line, you've given us some very strong pictures - light, dark, swirling - that are very effective at pulling the listener into your lyric!

• I've just re-read Andrea Stolpe's book, 10 Steps To Effective Storytelling, for the umpteenth time and step 9 of her process is to read through the lyrics and look at verbs that might be empowered by a better choice of word that creates an image of some kind.
  
  
  Quote:

  Imagine if you'd said "... and problems come around". To my ears, the lyric impact of the line would be seriously depleted. "Swirl" is a perfect choice!
  
  

The next time my eyebrows arched was when I heard the rhyme "will" and "faithful". What a great use of consonance rhyme. Although consonance provides the weakest link of all rhyme-types, you've shown how to use it very effectively. Because will/faithful is placed at the end of the chorus, it leaves the listener hanging and reflecting on what you sang. Musically, you capitalise on this by providing the listener with a 2-bar interlude that gives time for reflection before verse 2 starts. Perfect!

I also found myself admiring the way that you used a refrain, "But He never fails to show me", at the end of each verse as a trigger into the chorus.

All in all, it's definitely a hearty applause for everything from me.



All the best,
Noel

Hey Josie,

This is a great sound for you. Love the vibe and feel. You just keep getting better...

Bob

Thank you Robert, I really appreciate that especially since you write a lot of Christian songs.


Josie

Thank you Al & Di. I really appreciate it.

Josie

Noel,

I appreciate that very much. So glad you liked the sound.

And how sweet of you to take the time for such an interesting lyric analysis.

Thank you,

Josie

Thank you Bob. Appreciate it. Been missing you around here.

Josie

hi sundance love the horns everything fit together well done thanks for sharing eric

Thank you very much Eric.


Josie