There Ain't No Way

Henry Clarke recently posted a terrific RnB song, commenting there wasn't a lot of up tempo or medium tempo RnB on the boards. This is a mid tempo RnB song we wrote and recorded way back in 2011 using BIAB 11.5. I no longer have the tracks as all that was in a file I lost in a major computer blow-up that destroyed the info on more than 20 songs we'd written over a 2-year period. I was hoping to get something similar to a Lew Rawls sound.

This is the 2nd or 3rd song we ever created using BIAB. So the mix probably needs a lot of attention. But, without the original tracks, no can do. It'll have to live as it is. The biggest issue, other than my mediocre vocal, is that the sax should have been more centered in the mix and a little more forward. Also, my mic control could have been a little better ... needed to back off a little on some of the higher pitch notes. We were total rookies with mixing at the time ... probably not a lot better these days!

I think we posted this back in 2012 but some of the newer folks have asked us to repost some of our earlier submissions. Since I don't have a lot of time for "music making" these days, I thought this might be a good time to do a repost. Any comments welcome and thanks in advance. Will get back to replying to any comments you might care to leave as quickly as I can.


I'm not sure, but I think this is the Style and RTs we used:

Key=Eb

Style is NITELIFE.STY (Nite Life - Pop Rock St.8)
Style MIDI Instruments are : Electric Piano (5), Strings (49),
RealTracks in song: 1569:Bass, Electric, Soul60sA-B Ev 110
RealTracks in song: ~1435:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm JazzFunkGroovinChords Ev16 110
RealTracks in song: ~906:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothCool Sw16 100
RealTracks in song: ~1441:Sax, Alto, Soloist JazzFunkGroovin Ev16 110
RealDrums in Song: NashvilleSouthern^08-a:Snare, OpenHiHat , b:Snare, Ride


There Ain’t No Way
© 2011 Alan D. David, BMI / Diana Bowers, BMI – All Rights Reserved

(v1)
You never ask, but I know you have to wonder
If you’ll always be my heart’s only hunger
Well, don’t you worry, you’ll never have to grieve
You’re everything that I could ever need
When I’m feeling down, you’re my inspiration
When all is lost, you’re love is my salvation
I’ll never leave you, girl, there ain’t no way

(v2)
We both know, sometimes my eyes are lookin’
It’s nothing more, there ain’t nothing cookin’
Baby I know where my bread is buttered
My heart is locked, shackled up and shuttered
You’ll never have, to wonder bout me Baby
My love is real, ain’t no place for maybe
Girl I’ll never be untrue, there ain’t no way

CHORUS

Don’t you worry Honey, I’ll always be your man
If nothin’ else, I hope you understand
I ain’t goin’ nowhere, ain’t gonna play
No, there ain’t no way

INSTRUMENTAL

(v3)
Our love is Heaven, and you’re a perfect angel
Girl you’re so lovely, I wouldn’t want to change you
There’s not a thing, I need that you can’t give me
The love we share, is real not fake or glitzy
Oh it’s for real, no lies or pretensions
You always prove, the best of your intentions
So if you ever ask, there ain’t no way

REPEAT CHORUS

Alan "Lou" David...real nice song, esp given the 2011 conditions and tools that you describe! Loved the lyric engineering and the overall relaxed tone, perfect for a "smooth" RnB tune.

Maybe (if you had the files) with today's tools you could add enough bass vibrato to really fool people with a Rawls-like voice!!

Thanks for re-posting. I think it's interesting to hear the early work of our community.

Loved this song Alan. I have said this before but the ease that you move in and out of all the genres just blows me away. Well done. Super vocal

Alan, I love the chord progression in this. The way it walks down at the end of the verses is so cool. That is a pretty soulful vocal. Smooth all around, Tom

Hello Tano ...

Thanks for your times to listen and comment so nicely.

We were about as raw as could be back then, as far as mixing and arranging is concerned. I have, at best, a mediocre singing voice. I'm not sure how much any software could improve it!

Thanks again for the really nice comments. We sincerely appreciate them.

Wishing you the very best. Bs safe ...

Alan

Hi Scott ...

Many thanks for the listen and super comments. My music composing somewhat mirrors my approach to writing novels. I currently have four novels on Amazon - they are in three different writing genres! I use a different pen name for each genre so the reader won't be negatively surprised with their purchase. They know the genre their getting by the pen name.

My wife and I don't use different names for our songs in various genres. We don't see a real value in that. And they're all copyrighted with our real names. I love variety in both music and novels. Somehow, it seems to work by moving back and forth among the possibilities.

Thanks so your really nice comments. Best to you. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi Tom ...

Always a sincere pleasure when you drop in for a listen and leave a few words for us.

Chord progressions are kind of "my thing". I experiment with arrangements on a regular basis when I practice. Sometimes I get some nice surprises!

Glad you enjoyed the song. My vocals are never particularly good. But, I think it's about as I can do on this song. I'm in the early stages of writing a song I'm going to title "If I Could Sing Like Bob". One of the lines is
"This song might be a hit if I could only sing like Bob". There are earl;y references to the Silver Bullet Band so listeners should easily understand the reference is Bob Seger.

Yeah, if only I could sing like Bob!

Best to you and please be safe ...

Alan

Alan, I'm like Tano. I hear Lou Rawls ALL OVER THIS !! Nice song !! I LIKE I LIKE :-)

Had me tapping! You, as others have said, slide so easily between styles - and yet there's your stamp on all of them. If I heard any of your songs anywhere, I could and would instantly be able to say: hey, there's one of Alan's songs! And that, for me, is a wonderful attribute to have, as a writer and as a singer.

Top notch! :-)

'We both know, sometimes my eyes are lookin’
It’s nothing more, there ain’t nothing cookin’
Baby I know where my bread is buttered
My heart is locked, shackled up and shuttered'

Golden lryics right there!

Everything fits together quite well in the mix, including your vocal.

I agree with Tom, this is smooth all around.

As we've so frequently said for us it's all about soul regardless of genre.

And this tune oozes it!

Irrespective of when it was done it sounded really good on the monitors.

Enjoyed it!

Be safe.

J&B

Alan,

I absolutely love this. So musical and just the right amount of swing... No one does this style better.

I'm a fan!

Bob

Alan & DI,
Very nice tune. I am a big fan of your arrangements and progressions. Strong lyrics and performance. Sax solo works very well. Considering this was one of your first dates with BIAB, A+. Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

R&B at its best.

Love that m,m7,m7Maj7 chord progression. In fact I like the entire chord progression in this song.

Super mix, good vocals, and lyrics make this a winner.

Hi Alan,

Back then you made a very nice swinging song. And you shouldn't be so hummble about your vocals and mixing skills. It all sounds very good! A pitty the individual tracks of this song were on that crashed computer/harddisk. I remember your last song was from that same crashed disk as well.
I was thinking if you can recall the, or some of the, chords maybe you can make a new version with new instruments and you behind that mike! Love to see you doing that!

Have a nice day the both of you,
Hans

Al,
This is so skillfully written, lyrically and musically- and who cares about rudimentary vocal processing- you sing this with great energy!
Like many here,I`ll keep listening to tracks from the masters` library.

Robert

A great mix for "total rookies" Al.
Nice song with a smooth vocal - I got the Lou (You'll Never Find) Rawls influence in those first few words "You never ask...".
The RTs sound great, especially that electric piano and sax - Jeff Lorber and Eric Marienthal are two of my favourite PG musos.
Thanks for sharing this one.
Hope you are both going ok in these weird and scary times.
Mike

Hello, Henry ...

I very much your time to listen and leave a few really nice words for this one. And, yeah, if I had a Lew Rawls voice, I'd b e eating a lot more steak than I do now! Actually, I was intending for this to have a Lew Rawls-type of sound. He was always one of my very favorite singers of his era. It's always been my thought He set the stage for the Barry White sound.

Again, thank you very much for your kind comments. I really admire your work and your thoughts on this mean a lot.

Wishing you the very best. Be safe ...

Alan

Hello James ...

It's always a delight when you drop in to listen and comment. As always, I am deeply appreciative of the support you never fail to send my way. I'm delighted you enjoyed your listen. the various genres just sort of glide in and out as the mood strikes. I've always liked almost all genres of music.

Again, many thanks. Wishing you the best. Be safe ...

Alan

Hello Scott ...

It's so nice to see you hanging around the forums lately. That last song of yours was fabulous! I love story songs and that one hits the spot! That verse you annotated came pretty easily. Sometimes the muse is generous ... I always leave her an extra cookie when she's so nice to me!

Thank you so much! wishing you everything good. Be safe ...

Alan

Thank you for the very nice comments on this one.

Howdy Folks ...

I'm delighted the soul comes through so vividly. That's a really, really nice comment. I appreciate it so much. Wishing you both the very best. Be safe ...

Alan

Bob ...

You are much too kind. Thank you so much for all that. You put a big smile on old guy's face! I do appreciate it so much. All the very best and please be safe ...

Alan

Hi Misha ...

Thank you for taking a few minutes of your time to give this one a spin. And I do appreciate the kind comments. And yes, we were totally new to arranging, mixing and the like. Hopefully, we've improved a little bit over the years. And many thanks for the comments about the arrangements and chord progressions. It's a real treat for us to know you have a high regard for that.

Best to you. Be safe, my friend ...

Alan

HI Mario ...

Many thanks for your kindness to our music. I spend much of my free time ... what little there is ... playing around with chord progressions, arrangements and the like. I still practice my guitar at least an hour every day, except when circumstances prohibit.

Thank you so much. Take care abd be safe ...

Alan

Hello Hans ...

well, my vocals usually aren't real good. I do think, however, this one might be one of my best. I'm glad to hear you comment so nicely about it! I doubt I will ever have the time to redo this one ... I'm old and have many responsibilities outside of music. But I appreciate your thoughts about that.

Wishing you the very best. Be safe ...

Alan

Robert ...

Good early morning. It's about 3:30 am here in Alabama. Your words left such a wonderful feeling in out hearts as we read your comments. We both thank you so very much. And we're beyond delighted you enjoy our music so much.

We have a couple of dozen older songs we've either never posted here or posted them quite a few years ago. Some of the songs we cannot post here because they do not have any BIAB tracks in them. But, of the ones that do have BIAB elements in them, I'll be posting one every month or so. I don't want to put too much of the old stuff up when there's so much wonderful new music the folks here treat us with.

We deeply appreciate those kind words you left for us. Nothing but the best for you. Be safe ...

Alan

Hello Mike ...

I'm delighted the Lew Rawls sound was somewhat evident. That was the goal. And many thanks for the kind comments. And yes, those are BAIB artist I use on a fairly frequent basis ... they pretty dang good!

We appreciate those very nice words! Wishing you the very best. Be safe ...

Alan

Loved it, best thing I've heard from you, Al! Def got the smooth soul vibe. Vocal was strong. Composition was killer, too. Again, best thing I've heard from you. Way to deliver!

Yeah, definitely has the Lou Rawls vibe and attitude!! Very nicely done Alan!!! Take care. Greg

Hi TM ...

Why, thank you so much! I love this genre of music although in 50 years of playing professionally, I played nothing but whatever was contemporary country at the time. But I've always had an affection for RnB/Soul.

I appreciate the very nice comments! Wishing you well. Be safe ...

Alan

Hello Greg ...

First, I hope all is well in Davis. I haven't checked to see exactly where all the fires are ... I think they're north and west of Davis. Nonetheless, hope all is well with you and yours.

I always appreciate it when you drop in for a listen. And I sure do appreciate the very nice comments. Thank you so very much!

wishing all the very best. And please be safe ...

Alan

PS: Your latest is just so gorgeous, my friend! Absolutely loved my several listen!

Alan,

You always show sides of BIAB that need to see the light of day. This is no exception.

A very enjoyable listen. Funky mellow. Falls on the ear so nicely.

fj