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Posted By: RnAM Not like your Love - 11/09/14 12:35 AM
Hello everyone,

Our new song

Not like your Love

The song is about the well-known 'fear to commit' in relationships. A theme in many pop songs, directly or indirectly.
The point of view in the lyrics tends to change every now and then. This is because it's a story where there is also a third party involved.
The final result: confusion, misunderstood love etc.
We decided to create a more "live" kind of video for this. Since these are all real tracks, and I'm not nearly 5 % of the guitarist Brent Mason is, I decided to simulate the solo. Hope I did a good job of this ;-)

I have recorded this song before, several years ago, but I wasn't happy with the final result. For one, the hi hat sounded too sharp and too loud in this version. The arrangement also had more of a R&B feeling to it.
Since I lost the work files, I couldn't rearrange it and therefore more or less abandoned it. But now with Band in a Box in the game the song gets a new perspective and a refreshed, more poppy, sound. Anne-marie's vocals add an extra dimension to the song. I edited them to get that 'breathy' sound. It's also the first time we experimented with a choir like backing vocal sound that resembles an instrument like strings.


Song specifics:

Style is -R_HHFNK.STY (Funky Hip Hop in Swing 16ths)
Style MIDI Instruments are : Electric Piano (5), Muted Electric Guit (29),
RealTracks in song: 1689:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopPromiseGrittyA-B Ev16 100
RealTracks in song: 1829:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopModernGrooveBrightArp Ev16 075
RealTracks in song: 1732:Bass, Electric, TexasBluesRockFunky Ev16 090
RealTracks in song: 2280:Synth, Rhythm DiscoShakuhachiPulse Ev 120
Soloist:2204 guitar electric soloist country crossover Brent sw 16 075 1
RealDrums in style: HipHop: a: HipHopb: HipHop

Hope you like it, any comments are welcome.
For those who are interested, you can listen to the old version

(link no longer valid)

Regards,
Rob

Lyrics

I turned around my head again
One more time like that I ran
Going straight down, straight down

I felt just like I used to be
Twisted thoughts surrounding me
Going straight down, straight down

Caught up in my head all the reasons to fly
I couldn't leave you even if I tried
Tried to make her see but she won't understand
Though it's not the way I planned,
Still my love comes her way
But it's not like your love

With everything I want to be
To lose my head could hardly see
We'll break down, break down

She is watching she is near
Tried to tell but do I hear
Going straight down, straight down

Locked up in my head all the reasons to run
From a love that had only begun
Tried to make her see but she won't understand
Though it's not the way I planned
Still my love comes her way
But it's not like your love

Repeat chorus 1 + 2
Posted By: Greg Johnson Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 07:13 AM
Another superb track! Watched the video and said "I didn't know Rob could play like that"-you totally had me going. But the sound was all you and all excellent. Please tell me you guys are retired. Otherwise, I can't imagine producing quality material at the rate you do. Great stuff (again)!! Take care. Greg
Posted By: tommyad Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 02:26 PM
Rob & AM, This is another fine production. I enjoyed the video-I especially liked the finger syncing on the guitar solo. It looked very realistic. Really nice write and as usual very well sung. You guys are cranking out some very high quality material. I enjoyed it a lot! Tom
Posted By: Janice & Bud Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 02:43 PM
Superb production and video. Yep, the
syncing was very impressive and must
have taken a LOT of work.

Great audio and video production
that is the equal your high standards.
And then there's the fine write and vocal.

WTG on another one!!
Posted By: F.M.M. Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 02:50 PM
hi rob this another great production very well done thanks for sharing eric
Posted By: boehm Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 04:45 PM
Hi Rob and Anne-Marie,

a great piece again. Liked the vocals and that choir.
You are a good guitar player. Brent will like it.
I like that you took original footage for the video.
Good syncing!
Let me quote Greg: "Please tell me you guys are retired. Otherwise, I can't imagine producing quality material at the rate you do."

Guenter
Posted By: Charlie Fogle Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 05:34 PM
Another nice production of music and video. I'll add I prefer the updated musical version to the original. It is more dynamic. The extra depth of the backing vocals worked for me.

All around good effort.

Charlie
Posted By: Al-David Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 06:40 PM
Hi Rob & Anne-Marie ...

We left you a comment on your Youtube video.

We'll say, more or less, the same thing here ... great song & great production. Not only do you write, record and produce great songs, your videos are super, too!

And yes, you did a great job on syncing the guitar. we watched the video before reading your narrative intro here. I (Alan) actually thought you were playing the piece! I'm aware of the medical problem you have that affects your guitar playing. I thought to myself, if plays this good with that problem, he must have been one of the best ever, before the medical situation!

I think this is our favorite from the two of you. Great in every respect. Nice to see you on the video. It was very catchy the way Anne-Marie superimposed her silhouette on the wall while you were singing. We thought that was very subtly dramatic ... exemplifying the lady in the relationship wasn't convinced enough to reveal everything about her and fully commit ... very nice, indeed!

Best to you ...

Alan & Di
Posted By: Guitarhacker Re: Not like your Love - 11/09/14 06:51 PM
Yes indeed...excellent work all the way around.

My favorite one of all the songs I've heard from you both..... so far.

Nice job learning the solo to fake it so well. I know that takes some time.
Posted By: Sundance Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 02:13 AM
Rob and Anne Marie,

Best video yet! Anne Marie always does wonderful videos but live performance (synced or not) is SO much more powerful. And the shadow was brilliant. Loved this video - it really drew me into the song.

Great sound as always. Arrangement spot on to me.

Totally enjoyed.

Josie
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 02:03 PM
Thanks Greg!

Simulating the guitarsolo was great fun for me!
And I have a job, but Anne-Marie is in the position that she doesn't have to work, so... she has lots of time for the videos. whistle

Regards,
Rob and Anne-Marie
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 02:04 PM
Originally Posted By: tommyad
Rob & AM, This is another fine production. I enjoyed the video-I especially liked the finger syncing on the guitar solo. It looked very realistic. Really nice write and as usual very well sung. You guys are cranking out some very high quality material. I enjoyed it a lot! Tom


Thanks Tom, much appreciated!
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 04:07 PM
Rob and Ann-Marie,

Awesome.

I had to listen several times. Watching the video (super!) makes you miss a lot of the artistry of the song. So listen again... Listening to the amazing production - the instruments, how they fit together, the flow of the mix - made me forget to pay attention to the lyric... Listen again... and then I got "lost" in the vocal - Rob, your singing in this is magnificent!

Hip hop drums, Texas bass, pop guitars, disco synth, crossover solo. What an amazing combination!!!

I enjoyed ALL my listens. This is Top-Notch!

floyd
Posted By: Pat Marr Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 04:20 PM
Lots to like here!

First of all, I just want to comment that your singing is quite good.. and it seems to flow naturally, without having to stretch for the notes. Seeing the video drives that home more than just listening to a track.

One of the tough project decisions is coming up with a topic worth the time to develop as a song. You have a pretty good track record (pun intended) of picking good relationship topics that hold interest for both male and female listeners. This song is a good example of that.

I agree that your finger-synching of Brent solos was pretty close, and must have taken you some time to get familiar enough with the passages to mimic that closely. But being a guitar player, I could tell you weren't actually playing what I was hearing. Good fake though! For the sake of the video, it was definitely a good production choice!

I also thought it was interesting the way each verse was introduced by a brief instruments-only passage. Usually song writers want to get straight to the lyrics. The pauses worked well for me. And I also notice the only time you didn't use the pause was at the end when you sang both choruses back to back... because the use of guitar solos made up for the pause. Interesting.

Anne-Marie... I liked a lot about your video too. The singing shadow on the wall was very interesting and clever. Reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's method of framing shots. He was famous for substituting direct reality with reflections, shadows, implied shapes etc. I'm guessing you already know that, because I see it all the time in your videos.

The country lane at the beginning and end of the video with (I guess it's you?) the female character walking toward and away from the camera.. its a beautiful scene. It is another interesting shot, because compositionally the lane leads the eye to the moving human form in the foreground, which is balanced by the brighter background at the other end of the lane (which is quite striking). Have you studied scene composition and film making? If not, you intuitively do many of the same things that professional film makers intentionally strive for.

Those are just a few of the favorable comments that come to mind on the spur of the moment... there are more, but I'm old and can't remember what I just watched by the time I get to the forum to write down my thoughts. smile

I'm curious to know... is your music mostly a commercial venture or more of an incredibly well-developed hobby?

Posted By: molsenhouse Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 04:46 PM
Great song and nice video! Enjoyed the singing, and I was really fooled by your guitar playing ;-)

Well done!
Posted By: Pat Marr Re: Not like your Love - 11/10/14 06:12 PM
Anne-Marie,

I think you'll find THIS ARTICLE interesting

I'm guessing you've already seen it.
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 05:06 PM
Hi Patt,

First... thank you very much for the link, I hadn't seen this before.
I've just watched the first video (later on I will watch more of these, at the end there are a lot more video's about different interesting "video subjects").
I knew about the "dividing in thirds" and the Golden Ratio, but as a whole the video is a very good short lesson about the basic principles of composing images. I'll keep them in mind.

Creating video's is just a hobby of mine (as is singing for both of us) I've been doing this for 2 years now.
I met Rob at the end of 2012 (my husband died rather young in 2011) and it turned out we were both devoted to singing (Rob has been singing for over 20 years and I for over 10 years).
First I only created video's to accompany Rob's songs, later I started singing the backing vocals and when we found out about BIAB I started to occasionally create songs myself, which Rob engaged.
Next Friday we will post one of the songs I created with BiaB.

And yes, the woman in the video is me. Everything was shot at my place. The lane turns out to be a "pyramid" as is shown in the video above mentioned. The scenes were shot at sunset.
I hope I will learn a lot more about singing and videos!

Thanks again, as well as for your nice comments as for the link!

Anne-Marie
Posted By: Scott C Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 06:22 PM
Wow want an awesome song. Excellent lyrics, singing, playing, and the video was a really nice touch..
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:04 PM
Thanks J&B,

well actually, the guitar simulation was done in just one take. Since I so very much like to be able to play like Brent (but can't blush ), I could pretty much visualize how to make this look real.
Luckily, nobody noticed I was just playing some random notes whistle
Thanks (again) for your loyal support, it's always appreciated!

Regards,
Rob
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:05 PM
Originally Posted By: F.M.M.
hi rob this another great production very well done thanks for sharing eric


thank you Eric!
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:09 PM
Danke Guenter,

Nun, wir haben einige Zeit auf unseren Händen und Musik ist natürlich unser größtes Hobby.

thank you for your loyal support!

Regards,
Rob
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:11 PM
Thank you Charlie,

I have to say I also prefer the BIAB version.
And yes, Anne-Marie's backing vocals really work here.

Regards,
Rob
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:21 PM
Hi Alan & Di,

Thank you for your very kind words.
I really like to simulate a guitar solo like that, especially since my solo abilities go nowhere near that level. And my RSI problems aren't exactly getting better.
And yes, the shadow on the wall image is something that we like. We have used it before though.
It was Anne-Marie's idea to create the intro and outro for the song, which I really like. Looks pretty elegant doesn't it?
By the way, how's your condition, and how is Di doing?

Regards,
Rob

ps: thank you for your response on YouTube
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:26 PM
Thank you Herb,

yes, it is one of my favorites too, the video anyway.
Like I said in one of the previous responses: it didn't take much time to simulate the guitar solo. It's one of those things I like to do,haha.

Regards,
Rob
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:29 PM
Thank you Josie,

yes, I thought it would be a nice idea this time to do a real "live" kind of video. Would like to do this more often.
The entire recording actually didn't take all that much time. And faking a guitar solo is always so much fun to do!

Regards,
Rob
Posted By: PgFantastic Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:30 PM
Another fine piece of work here, vocal is superb; thanks for sharing!
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:37 PM
Thank you Floyd!
We are honored by such very positive comments.
This is one of my most personal songs, the lyrics were quite real, at some point in my life. Luckily those days are long gone.
About the style and the real tracks used: I had to do quite some searching in the program to get the style that came more or less close to the original recording.

Thanks again!
Regards,
Rob
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:51 PM
Hello Pat,

First I want to thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review on the song. You've done it before, and it is much appreciated.
Yes, I also felt that this song needed a 'live' video to enhance the emotion.
Like I responded to Floyd's comment, these lyrics were quite real to me at some point in my life. Trouble in relationships, anxiety to commit etc. it's always a thankful subject. Given the fact that at least one third of all relationship (probably more) break down at some point, it's something that many people can relate to.
About the guitar simulation, ha ha, you're the first to notice my totally fake tones. My guitar playing comes nowhere near Brent. I was glad I was able to at least simulate the speed of the playing, while I was playing totally random notes!
About the video intro and outro done by Anne-Marie: this was mainly her idea. I think she looks quite elegant here. I especially like her 'turning around' at the near end of the video. This reflects the ambivalence which the song's actually all about.
Our music than: you could describe it as a totally outgrown and time-consuming hobby, which we both enjoy a lot. We are open however to do something commercial with it, although we don't have a clue how to do this. Any ideas or hints on this are very welcome.

Thanks again for your very positive comments.

Regards,
Rob

By the way, I'm also anxiously looking forward to BIAB 2015, to be more precise: all the new real tracks!
Posted By: RnAM Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 10:54 PM
Originally Posted By: molsenhouse
Great song and nice video! Enjoyed the singing, and I was really fooled by your guitar playing ;-)

Well done!


thank you Molsenhouse, much appreciated!
Posted By: horsthartung Re: Not like your Love - 11/11/14 11:31 PM
I have to agree with Pat Marr on this....Except in my humble opinion I think you should lose the Keyboard track and add a good acoustic one instead.

And if your going to fake a lead solo on the video....better make sure you get it right.

But I love the song and your singing....Just wish it had a good driving acoustic Rhythm track instead of the keyboard.

I'm looking forward to hearing more from you guys....

Horst
Posted By: Pat Marr Re: Not like your Love - 11/12/14 05:34 PM
HEADS UP!

This song just got posted on PGMusic's Facebook page!

(good choice!)

Anne-Marie.. I'm looking forward to Friday when you said your own BIAB song will be posted!
Posted By: Al-David Re: Not like your Love - 11/12/14 07:41 PM
Rob,

You had inquired about my focal dystonia and Di's health. Thank you for your concern. You and Anne-Marie are classy and talented folks.

My focal dustonia is slowly progressing in intensity and has taken a toll on my ability to play guitar and to type. But I accept that that's the way it is and I don't fret over it. I've enjoyed 45+ good years in the music biz and made a pretty good living doing it. Di's health issues always have me concerned. She's almost died 3 times in the past 5 years. Her health is extremely fragile. She is making slow but steady progress from her recent stroke. She's in good spirits, though!

Thanks again for your concern. Wishing the two of you well ...

Alan & Di
Posted By: gibson Re: Not like your Love - 11/15/14 05:59 AM
Rob and Anne Marie,

EXCELLENT in all aspects and then you started playing guitar!!! An excellent effort at miming!

I do enjoy all your productions, you two are a prolific team and I have borrowed ideas for my future productions!!! laugh

keep them coming

Alyn
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