Back after a while. Busy winter months + writer's block = not the best of combinations for me. Plus, my way of coping with writer's block is to disappear into the silence for a while, not listening to much music at all, in order to "clear the mind" and get back to the reasons why I write in the first place. Who knows if it works! it probably sounds more pretentious than it is. But ... I have a free day today, so I woke up at 6 a.m. to get this one done - hope it was worth it.

https://soundcloud.com/jamesdelsono/ballad-of-the-memories

A special "thank you" and "hats off" to Brent Mason and his superb playing which is the solo on this track - it's exactly what I felt this track needed and it would have been a very much poorer track without it. Aren't we so, so lucky to have these extraordinary artists "on tap", so to speak, with Band-in-a-Box? :-)

Hope you enjoy - thanks for listening and for any comments!

****** Song Summary *************
Title: Ballad of the Memories - 10 February 2020
File:Ballad of the Memories - 10 February 2020.SGU
Key=D , Tempo 65, Length (m:s)=4:55
No intro. 76 bar chorus, from bar 1 to bar 76. Repeat x1 chorus
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Style is _BALBMS1.STY (Rock Ballad w/ Brent Mason)

RealTracks in style: 1036:Bass, Electric, NorthernRockBallad Ev 065
RealTracks in style: ~367:Guitar, Electric, Background Dreamy Ev 065
RealTracks in style: 1037:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm NorthernRockBallad Ev 065
RealTracks in style: 1167:Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockBalladBrent Ev 065
RealDrums [in style:NashvilleEven16^5-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

*******************

That's a really nice chord progression.
The acoustic guitar really is excellent.
The dreamy electric guitar is reminiscent of a Rhodes el. Piano and slots into the arrangement like one.
I'm not a fan of Brent's BIAB stuff usually but this one proved a step above.
Currently I enjoy playing with Mike Durham's BritPsyc March solos - a enjoyable ride of long notes etc.
Not sudden BIAB shocks on this one - you've really put in the extra effort to make it flow James, well done.

Thanks Ray! I really just wrote the chords, fiddled a little with the arrangement because I couldn't find one that I thought would fit until I stumbled onto this one, and Brent's playing did the rest! I agree, this one was really great and a perfect fit for what I was trying to do with this track. So happy you enjoyed it - and thanks for taking the time! :-)

Cool progression, and, yes, Brent is superb. Well done! Enjoy the rest of your free day --there's still time for another!

Nicely done, James. A really nice listen.

Yes, that guitar solo works really well. It's often a struggle to
get a solo RT to suggest the melody you have in your head
over your chord progression. Luck and comping helps It amazing
what these RT's can do when given the chance - with some effort on
the producers behalf!

And having blathered all that we'll say that is is an excellent
example of RT's/RD's in the hands of a talented user.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

Thanks everyone - many, many thanks!



Janice & Bud, I am genuinely amazed and grateful for that comment - thanks :-) So happy you liked the end effort - it was fun to experiment with it all! Again, thanks :-)

James,

Not generally being a great judge of instrumentals, my measuring stick is simply whether it keeps me listening . . . and yours does. Super lead guitar and some nice, well-accented chord changes does it for me.

As J&B note, really tough to get a guitar solo to follow a melody—I do find it’s more luck than anything for me given I often lack the discipline to do the comping (i.e., I’m too lazy, LOL). But it works so well here.

Pretty piece of work.

All my best,

Deej

Writers block sucks, It happens to me a lot. Anyways, nicely put together, must try that sometime when I'm bored.

Thanks Deej and Graham!

Wow - this is a really great write. I loved the guitar work on this, and the arrangement is top notch. The way you implemented the realtracks on this is perfect, and the entire thing flows super well.

Thanks for sharing

Oh wow! Thanks Deryk!

You did a really lovely job with the RealTracks, and I think this song has a wonderful flow to it and a great chord progression. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Thanks Ember!

Yes, James, I did enjoy this one. A lot.

I thin you're well-known here om the forum for developping most interesting chord progressions and this tune is just another example for your ability.

And Brent Mason - well, he's simply unbelievable. I had never heard about him before, but when I heard his first soloist RealTrack here I searched YouTube for his work - stunning. And after that I seriously considered using all my guitars exclusively as decoration.

Very well and tastefully done, James - liked it a lot.

Cheers,

Stefan

A good flow to this James, and so easy to drift away with that guitar.
Well done.

Robert

Thanks Stefan and Robert!

Stefan: thanks so much for your very kind words! I will have to listen to more of Brent Masons' work, but all I know is that whenever I rely on him for a RealTrack solo, he really doesn't disappoint (to understate things!). But, of course, never ever give up on what you enjoy. I play music myself and, although there are so many that are so much more proficient than me (at least technically, haha), I play regardless. Seeing someone better only motivates me to practice more ;-) - and I'm also under the very persistent illusion that I have something to contribute, something to say :-). Anyway, thanks again - it's a joy to be on this forum and hear people like you and many others give such thoughtful responses to tracks they listen to in such a music community spirit. Long may it continue :-)

Well done James...
Yet kind of different from your many other compositions...
I enjoyed listening!

Thanks Jim! Your words genuinely do mean a lot ... you're an amazing musician, so, if you like my stuff, it means I can relax a little more about it :-) Thanks!