Here is another Rocker. Comments/suggestions encouraged as always. Tom



http://tommyadamsmusic.com/music


http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13124500


Style MIDI Instruments are : Acoustic Piano (1),
RealTracks in style: 1255:Bass, Electric, PopShiningA-B Ev 120
MIDI SuperTracks in style: 2103:Piano, Rhythm PopShiningA-B Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1850:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopShiningGrittyMuted Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1257:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopShiningRock8ths Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1258:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopShiningRockSync Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1729:Piano, Acoustic, Solo-Accompaniment PopBalladJohn Ev 110
RealDrums: RealDrums in Style: PraiseWorshipShine^01-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride


When I Saw You

Guess I didn’t walk in here expecting anything

kinda tagged along for the ride

My friends said don’t just stay at home there’s nothing for you there

you won’t find her if you never try


too many nights alone not doing anything

it can do some damage to your soul

finding you has shown me that what i heard was true

best live our lives before we get old



When I saw you standing here tonight

For a moment there I thought I couldn't breathe

never have i seen a girl as beautiful as you

I hope i never wake up from this dream


I’ve thought a lot about it there’s things i’d like to do

a mental list of places to see

The more we share the more we have this is also true

I hope you’ll come and share this life with me


When I saw you standing here tonight

For a moment there I thought I couldn't breathe

never have i seen a girl as beautiful as you

I hope i never wake up from this dream


©2015 Thomas Adams

Killer song!! Great groove, great arrangement, great vocal, and a chorus that really delivers. Really feels good-lively, energetic, and inspirational. Guitar solo rocks!! This song should be a hit. Love all your stuff Tom, but from a commercial standpoint, this is the best!! Take care. Greg

Now...see what ya started...Greg is just gonna sneak in and write the perfect review just so we will quote him.. He said all the things I thought as I listened...
but from a commercial standpoint, this is the best!!
...especially that..

Radio ear candy.

I've already listened 5 times. There will be more...

floyd

hi,
good song and great guitar solo.

Hello.

Hi Tom,

Yes, definitely another rocker, melodic and with a great chorus.
Above all, a crystal clear sound on the mix. How do you do this?

Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi Tommy,
May I quote the master reviewer, too?
I really enjoyed this.

Guenter

Tommy,

Nice song. I like the groove. There's very little not to like about this. It moves along nicely and has a cool story line in it. I like the grittiness in your vocals. Phrasing is excellent and nice lyrical craftsmanship contribute to a well played song.

I would like to comment a bit the production and structure. Keep in mind that what I say here is simply and totally MY opinion on what could be done with a little bit of effort in the editing room. I think it would give you a nicer way to end the song.


2:11 you start the final chorus...at 2:44 you repeat it... then at 3:15 you kick into the solo......and solo to the end. Soloing to the end.... 16 or so measures, kinda lets the energy dissipate as it goes towards the ending. You wanna keep the energy high right up to the final note.

3:34.... would be a perfect place to hit the chorus for a final time, however doing so might take it over 4 minutes in length. That may or may not be an issue. You;ll lose 8 measures of the solo so that might keep you in the same total time..... or close.

Personally, I would take this to the editor and restructure the song slightly.... hit the final approach to the end with the chorus as you do at 2:11.... at the end of that, go into that cool solo.... but cut it a bit shorter...make it 8 measures to be precise.... that gives you the perfect place to go back to a final vocal chorus.... tag the chorus and end the song in a buttoned ending with a held chord. I would even look at slowing it down into the hold.....a one measure slowdown to the held chord would be killer. Make it a serious slowdown.

....If you tag it... sing the last line of the full chorus like you do now.... use that melody that ends on an upward movement....and on the last tagged line of the last chorus, take the last notes down... not up. Combined with a slow down, and the notes going down, that would be an amazing ending to the song.

This ^^^^^^ is nit picking..... It's a great song as-is and I'd have been proud to have written it...so rock on Tommy!!

Well Greg, You've already had two reviews of your review. That says it all. I am knocked out by your words. I got a great feeling when I read what you took the time to type. Thanks man, Tom What radio are you guys listening to? Maybe someday on BiAB radio. Thanks floyd. Tom Sergio, Thanks from one guitar man to another. Tom Rob and Ann-Marie, first of all Thanks. As far as the clarity on the mix, it is a several step process. I use plug ins on all the instruments on almost every song. The real clarity comes in the mastering phase. My philosophy is mids are the enemy. So I concentrate on lows and highs and drop mids. Also I use an analog limiter turned up to just before it distorts too much as the final phase. I use Ozone 5 for mastering and tweak 6 out of eight modules to fit the song. Tom

Think this is really one of your best rockers so far. The reviews have been spot on to the commercial appeal and the absolute sparkle of the mix.


Enjoyed this one a lot and will be going back for more listens.


Charlie

Well, they've said it all. One thing I was especially impressed with were the vocals . They are simply perfectly mixed and delivered here.

Well the neighbours got to listen to your song this morning as I opened the doors and blasted it!
It needs to be LOUD!!

Was wondering where the solo was and then it appeared at 3.13, worth the wait tho'

YEH!! an excellent Tom song as usual

Alyn

I was going to say this and then I was going to say that then add.
Its all been used.
If only I could speak another lingo.

Just loved it Tommy.
Rob

Guenter, Greg's review was great. So thank's for the +1. Tom Herb, First of all Thanks for the kind words. Secondly, I listen very carefully to everything you have to say. I agree that I should have spent more time on the arrangement, especially the ending. I do like all your suggestions and they would make it a better song. I most likely won't revisit as I keep moving forward. But never say never! This song was put together a little at a time over the course of several months. I think I got a little lazy on the arrangement, but I started to get excited when it was coming together so I just pushed it out in order to get to the next one. That is not the way to achieve excellence. Thanks for reminding me. I will continue to look back at your comments and you will no doubt hear that ending you suggested in another song. You have made me realize that I need to spend more time on arranging. I appreciate the value of your comments. Tom

Tommy! Wow!!

Can I just be speechless and listen to it over and over?

Standing ovation!!!

I can appreciate your attitude of moving on....I tend to do that a lot with songs.... sometimes it's just easier to write the next one. Very likely, knowing what it would take to do the changes I spoke about....it would likely involve a complete restart from square one.... I know because I have done this on several songs. Especially when you know there's a ton of time and effort to get to where you are....and now.... start over?

Sometimes you can make a few surgical split/copy/paste edits and get it to where it needs to be. I did that on a song... I forget which one that was now.... but it worked flawlessly. However, to incorporate a tempo change.... nope... that's a render the tracks again deal.

I'd probably move on too and incorporate a bit more oversight and planning in the next one too. Sometimes though, the inspiration hits after you think you have it done....to re-do or not to re-do.... that my friend, is the question. I will leave that one up to you to answer.

Me too, Tommy, me too. I've started to slow down and not rush the production, but man is that hard for me to do.

Herb,

Your comments hit home with me as well.

The cool thing about BB/RB is just how quickly you can throw a song together and get it up to speed in a decent mix.

But that can also be the downside to it as well. You get used to doing things quickly and you forget to slow down and think things through as deeply as you might otherwise. Finish one and you're chomping at the bit to get to the next one.

However... I look at it this way.... Back in the day when I used to have to attempt to make all the tracks myself, including the drums, (man I hated drum programming with a passion) it would take me weeks of work to get to a finished mix. I was very reluctant to toss something back then simply due to the huge amount of time already invested in it.

Now, I can pop one out literally in as short as a few hours of concentrated work. So.... what's the big deal with taking something that is "done" but has things that could have been done to make it better and scrapping it and re-working the project? What's that gonna take.... a few more hours.... perhaps a day or two? What else you got going on that has musical deadlines that don't permit you to fix something?

Now I do have to admit that I ran into that very thing with one song a while back.... there was a deadline to get it on for a particular listing to artists, and there literally wasn't time to make a change that I wanted to make. But things like that don't happen very often.

I like to let the songs set for a time in BB before I render them with RB and mix them. That way, maybe, I can avoid the entire..."wish I had thought of that earlier" syndrome. But if I miss something and think it would really take the song up a few notches, it's back to square one and get it done.

I agree with everything that has been said thus far but this line,

but from a commercial standpoint, this is the best!!

tells the whole story!

Great song!

Charlie, Thanks for the nice words. You know I value your opinion and appreciate your ongoing support. Tom Patrick, Vocals have always been a challenge for me. So for them to be picked out in a review makes it special to me. Thanks, Tom

A big plus one for all the accolades that have been laid down regarding the song. We think it's one of your strongest productions out of many great ones and that your vocal simply rocks.

Regarding the arrangement...I think, and I've said it here recently, that arrangements, writes, mixes, and vocal/instrumental tracks are never really finished...they just have to be abandoned at some point.

Where that happens is based on a zillion factors including "ready to move on," "had enough" and perhaps just reaching a point of diminishing returns compared to the effort being expended. Heck even if one thinks they've nailed perfection six months later it get's easy to question things. Heck you could stop tweaking anywhere along the line and some folks might like it better there than where you ultimately take it.

It amazes me how so many of us have the same tools in our arsenal yet only a very few get this quality of sound. Every instruments sits perfectly In the mix. Nothing gets stepped on. There is no mid range mud. The soundstage is amazing. Yeah I've got Ozone and other tools but can I do this?
Heck no. Do I try? Heck yeah. Will I get there? Hmmm. I've mentioned it but your voice seems to take a quantum leap with each production. OK, I'm rambling but there is so much to like about this.

J&B

Alyn, thanks for the neighborhood promotion. Loud is always better! Tom rob, Thanks very much. Tom Scott, I'll take that standing O from you any time I can get it. Thanks, Tom

Tommy,
A great rock tune. Nice work!
SD

You're getting to where, pretty much every time I hear another new song of yours, it's my new favorite of yours. I think it was Herb that commented on how he liked the grittiness of your voice. I agree, really fits the groove and feel of this song (one of my favorite aspects of pretty much all of your songs).

I really like the way the song just comes alive the instant you start the chorus every time.

Another hit!

Steve

Thanks Mario, Tom

B&J, Thanks for the nice comments about the vocal and the mix. I agree completely with your thoughts about moving on. There are a zillion factors involved in that decision. Thanks for your thoughts. Tom

Hi Tommy
You had me from those very few hits at the start. Your voice sounds amazing in this. Good job

Hey Dog, Glad you liked it. Tom Thanks for checking in on this one. Always glad to see around. Tom

Hi J, Thanks for the nice words regarding my vocals. Tom

great job – good singing and playing – nice use of biab tracks – and great lyrics!

MH, Thanks for the nice comments. I appreciate it. Tom

Tom,

I hope I haven't overdone it with my rubber stamp!

This song is a BRILLIANT creation. The lyrics, the music, your singing, your playing and your arranging are as professional as anything out there in the market place. I enjoyed everything about this.

What stood out to me the most was the clarity and the crispness of the production. This must have taken a bit of time to put together. Honestly (without any hint of flattery or hyperbole), this song sounds like it's come from a major studio.

In a phrase... absolutely mega-outstanding!!!

All the best,
Noel

• 90dB's version of my song, Brighter Than Any Star

My only suggestion is: Keep 'em coming!