Hi All
Here is the video for my song "You've Been Out On The Winter Nights".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAinyNXsk4o

"You've Been Out On The Winter Nights" is a Norwegian Saying basically meaning "You've Been Through A Hard Time"
The Song is inspired from an Interview between Norwegian Talkshow host Fredrick Skavlan and Frida Lyngstad from Supergroup ABBA fame
With that in mind it was produced in the style of ABBA as much as that is even possible.In particular the longer version of the song follows very closely to the structure of "The Winner Takes It All" .It tries hopefully sucessfully to combine the melancholic lyrics with the catchy music,added to a beautiful vocal which are three main characteristics of an ABBA Production.
I used Band in a Box for Electric Guitar and Ahh Chorus Overdubs.Realband was also used(very importantly) in the overdubbing process.
I put the song up before and I used the feedback I got from the brilliant members of the forum to re jig a few things.Thanks to all for the advice and I hope you are entertained by the video.Its taken since 2015 for "Winter Nights" as its effectionately known by my family to get to market(my first)and Im pretty happy ,Hugh

Hugh, this is refreshing, vibrant, and just so well done.

The build is fantastic. The vocal delivery clean and superb.

There is just so much to really admire about your production.

Excellent, really excellent.

Hi Hugh ...

This is very lovely. The vocal is outstanding and the backing tracks perfect. I really enjoyed the leaves at the beginning but not so much the fire balls. Regardless, this is a wonderful production and I enjoyed it very much! Wishing you the very best ...

Alan

Excellent vocals and interesting arrangement. Nice mix.

Fun video - not sure about the fireball as well, but certainly eye-catching and contrasted with the snow.

At times the vocal didn't seem to align with the backing, but I'm assuming that were intentionally going for a sort of funky ABBA sound there.

I enjoyed the listen.

Hi Alan,David and Videotrack
Thanks glad you enjoyed the song and the vocals .The video surprized me that I got so much out of a free programme on my laptop that I didnt know I had.It was a fun thing to do I have to say but again time consuming.The fireball was really to keep some movement in the video and contrast ie fire and ice kinda of thing,
Big credit goes to the vocalist who has a unique beautiful voice with a child like quality I think which I like.Anyway thanks for listening and have a good Winter and stay out of the cold!Hugh

Hugh

Certainly as that big pop feel in the style of ABBA and a catchy sound. Nicely produced and an entertaining video.

Nice work.

Peter

Thanks Peter and as you and David C know Australia had their biggest fan following ,home from home fan wise H

Wow, great job, lot of work but the final product was worth it. The vocalist was the highlight, she goes unnamed but maybe deserves a credit? Really enjoyed it, keep up the good work.

Hi TuneMonger thanks for listening,glad u enjoyed it.Yeah would gladly put her name too it if she wanted in fact it would be better for me if she did.So perhaps with the finished product now done I should ask again H

Hi Hugh,

This production sizzles! It's fantastic.

As I journeyed along on Youtube, it was very easy to hear and to see that you've put a great deal of time into getting this ready for presentation. Your, your writing and your arrangement are all creative and captivating.

Listening to this was definitely time well spent.

All the best,
Noel

What a tune - refreshingly vibrant and nicely catchy. I found it flows really well and the vocals are top notch here. You should be proud of this one!

Thanks Noel and Deryk,
Glad you enjoyed the listen.I dont expect to have a better song again but never say never Hugh

Great job on both the video & the song...
I really enjoyed watching & listening to your wonderful work...
Merry Christmas to you & your family

Wow! Great song production. Great video production. Your vocalist is fantastic. Beautiful melody too.

This is really a gorgeous production......music and video!! Quite a project! I like everything about it!! I do feel the vocal could be a little wetter and the EQ on the higher range of the spectrum turned up a bit....she has a great voice! Really nice!! Take care. Greg

Thanks Jim,Ezekiel and Greg glad you enjoyed the show.
I redid her vocal through Nectar 3 from izotope and I didnt fidget too much with it from a reverb or Eq point of view as I remember.I had processed her vocal level and de ess wise manually before I put it through Nectar(I find it therapeutic lol)
The video had a budget of zero dollars so I had to be inventive and use what I had ,similar to Apollo 13 with Tom hanks lol Great you enjoyed H

Hi Hugh,

A very nice song, with a kind of Christmas-melody. The vocals are really good. Not Abba though, but that is not at all meant to be negative. It's a fresh way of singing and a style of its own.
i think in the video you show a bit too much how hard time it is being out on a winter night in Norway. Never thought there would be explosions if you do that.
But as I said I find it a very nice song sung with very nice vocals!

Hans

Thanks Hans
The longer version has a slower tempo and is structured like"The Winner Takes It All" and the arpeggio of the Piano is very similar and is more noticeable .I dont have the overdub electric guitar either which hides that a bit.The structure of the Winner Takes it all is very interesting when you break it down ,not the usual verse chorus but its verse chorus verse verse chorus verse verse verse chorus and then verse outro as far as I can remember,An Abba song can only be an Abba song with Agnetha and Frida singing I'm sure ul agree.The video is really about continued movement and not having the audience bored and keep them on their toes as they watch.ABBA have 5 songs recorded in the studio awaiting release,it will be interesting how modern the sound will be .Great you enjoyed it H