Hello everyone,

This week's song:

Amanda

A ballad in the Unplugged 16th PopBallad style.
Hope you like it! All comments are welcome.

Edit : some of you commented on the backing vocal in the third chorus. Anne-Marie didn't sing in this one. I did the backing vocal myself.

Regards,
Rob


Song specifics:
Key=D Tempo 85
Style is _SL16UNP.STY ( [65 RS])
RealTracks in song:
2200:Guitar, Nylon, Background CountryBrent Ev 085
1596:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Pop16ths Ev16 065
1595:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Pop8thsSteady Ev 065
1601:Mandolin, Rhythm Pop16Melodic Ev 065
2334 string quartet rhythm pop chamber ev 085
2265 synth bellpad rhythm 80s pop melodic ev 085

Lyrics:

Hello Amanda
it's hard to see you once again
all dressed and laced now
just like you were back then

you weren't giving me much room
and your passion left me numb

I held you in my arms
back when the times were rough
and while our time ran out
I nearly lost myself

hello my darlin
it's good to see you one more time
you're quite a woman now
I see this life has done you well

But I'm no longer who you think
and you were leaving me no choice

and when I held you near
never letting go
and when our time ran out
we nearly lost ourselves

I held you in my arms
back when the times were rough
and when our time had run out
we had nearly lost ourselves

Really enjoyed the song - Interesting chord progression and arrangement. Almost too much contrast between sections but you made it work nicely. My only complaint would have been that Anne-Marie's harmonies were needed and lo and behold, there they came.

Good job on this. As always, interesting lyrics, well written, good choice of instruments and excellent production.

This gets a plus 1 from me.

Charlie

I think this is the best song I've heard from you, it is outstanding, beautiful, superb; I could keep going. Great job; thanks for sharing!

Rob and Anne-Marie,

A beautiful and interesting chord sequence throughout the song.
Nice harmony from Anne-Marie.

beautiful, truly beautiful!

Alyn

Hi Rob and Anne-Marie ...

There are so many things to like about this. Obviously the performance is simply wonderful. Your voice is spectacular on this one.

I (Alan) like the use of the dim chord for the third chord in your verses. I sometimes use that, too. It builds a certain delicate tension that makes the listener want to hear how it resolves in their ears.

And the other thing that particularly impressed me is the transition chords used from one section to the next. Some of them were abrupt yet smooth as silk.

And, of course, the lyric is great! This was a fantastic listen. Standing ovation from both of us! have a wonderful weekend ...

Alan & Di

Hi Charlie,

Thanks! Yes, there is quite some contrast between the verse and chorus.
This is quite intentional, trying to create some dynamics in the song.
The backing vocal by the way is my own.
The song was created with the melodist. I liked the verse chords, but the chorus sequence wasn't all that convincing to me. One of the 'tricks' I find to work quite well is to select the verse chords and transpose them with 3 semitones. You then get a chorus that is higher pitched while it still fits the song.
Lots of Italian songs back in the 80s and 90s (artists like Cocciante for instance) had this very same principle. Not a real chorus, but merely a transposed verse.
The melodist in BIAB actually more or less works on the same principle, I think.

Regards,
Rob

Hello Robert,

Thank you! This is one of my solo projects.
In that category I consider it my favorite too.
I've been writing songs for about 30 years now. It's kind of funny sometimes, the songs you like best as a songwriter are not always the songs others like best. But in this case we are clearly on the same level, haha.

regards,
Rob

Hi Alan & Di,

Thank you! Your support is truly appreciated.
The melodist came up with most of this chord progression. Like I explained to Charlie, the trick to get a chorus with dynamics is to copy the verse chords, transpose them with three semitones (in some cases a different value) and then paste them into the chorus section. I think I changed one or two chords afterwards.
Listening back to my earlier compositions, years ago, when I didn't have BIAB yet, I (unconsciously) probably did the same thing.
I find this works well in about every song.

Regards,
Rob

Hi Alyn,

Thank you! Like I said in my post edit, I did the backing myself. But this goes to show that our voices are interchangeable

Regards,
Rob

Hi Rob,

interesting chord progression and lyrics. Good choice of instruments and excellent production.
Great harmonies. No wonder some have mistaken you for Anne-Marie.

Guenter

Me too! Couldn't have said it better so a big +1.

Josie

Rob,

A beautiful song. Beautiful production.

Your vocal sounds EXCELLENT. Well sung, of course. But also, very well recorded. I really like the reverb that you used for this (what is it?).

Very enjoyable listen. (Nice harmonies!)

floyd

Another beautiful job!! Guitars, mandolin, and strings work flawlessly together. Vocals are awesome! Really great all the way around!! Take care. Greg

Enjoyable. Interesting chord/key changes in this song.

Loved the harmony vox.

Rob,
Great song. You have a wonderful voice. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
SD

Hi Guenter,

Thank you. Much appreciated.

Regards,
Rob

Hi Josie,

Thank you! And yes it's my little favourite so far.

Regards,
Rob

Hi Floyd,

Thank you!
It took quite a couple of takes to get the chorus part right, really had to loosen up my voice for this.
I used the Anwida soft reverb , it's a free vst plug in.

Regards,
Rob

Hi Greg,

Thank you!
The unplugged style used here turned out to be a very nice addition to the chord sequence. I used the melodist at first and changed it into this style.

Regards,
Rob

Thank you SD!

Superb! Everything. Stellar vocals and a great write.

I had a feeling of Roy Orbison on several lines --
a wonderful thing in my book.

Enjoyed every second of it.

J&B

I really liked the song. Reminded me of Dan Fogleberg's songs. Nice job with the vocal harmony in the chorus. Truthfully, sounded like it could be heard on the radio.

Great job,

Patrick

Thank you Janice and Bud!

Roy Orbison is definitely one of my favourites (Mystery Girl).
Thanks again for your loyal support.

Regards,
Rob

Hi Patrick,

Thank you so much for your positive comment.

Regards,
Rob