https://soundcloud.com/torrey-bliss/whatcha-gonna-do

A quick song I put together today relying heavily on 70's influences and BIAB. Pablo Cruise fans can rest easy that this is not a cover! A lot of work remains to be done on this. Thanks for having a listen.
BIAB
Drums Country ev8 and Country Pop
Bass 684 Pop Half Notes Sync
Piano 2196 Electric Jazz Rock
Guitar 2933 Folk Slap Quinn
Guitar 2904 Gritty Bluesy Pop Brent
Guitar 1257 Pop Shining Rock 8ths
Organ 2692 Modern Pop Slow Mike
Me
Vocals
Guitar lead and rhythm
Synth

Whatcha Gonna Do
Words and Music by
Torrey Bliss copyright 2020
In the fall of '79 is when I last saw you
You left on a journey to find
A promised land just out of your view
A wound remained behind
A scar left for all time
Its sad how we prioritize the things we want in our lives
A promise made fades away
Honor traded for our gain
Pride will guide the fool
The wise embrace the truth
Whatcha gonna do
When the truth dawns on you
That you've missed the best days of your life
Chances you are taking
Have long been in the making
You know your well is gonna run dry
Things in life that were given
Now are taken away
It's a hard truth now that you're living
If only you knew how to pray
That long and winding road
Will never lead you home
Whatcha gonna do
When the truth dawns on you
That you've missed the best days of your life
Chances you are taking
Have long been in the making
You know your well is gonna run dry
Dreams that you are chasin'
With unreal expectations
Has kept the veil over your eyes
If you will awaken
You'll find love for the taking
So whatcha gonna do with your life

Torrey,

Very cool tune and terrific write. As it stands, outstanding work . . . love that little break at the end with the panned, fuzzed back up vocal. Great effect. Probably some opportunity to refine the mix in just a few spots, where the vocal seems to sit back a tad or the organ jumps out a bit too much. But that’s pretty nitty, if anything at all. Good stuff, Torrey!

Best regards,

Deej

Man, it's so good to see a new song from you! It's been too long

And what a song!

Absolutely love the chorus! And strong write overall.

That little breakdown at 3:12 ... brilliant!

I won't comment on the mix because you say you still have a lot of work to do on it, but sounds pretty good to me already.

Good to see you back, Torrey, the forum is a better place with you here.

Really liked this and enjoyed listening--I don't know how you can improve it, sounds excellent to me!
++ on that break late in the mix.
I first was going to suggest that on these lines:
A wound remained behind
A scar left for all time
..you might consider raising "all time" up a third, to avoid repetition and add interest..but after listening all the way through, I like it just the way it is.
I took away some production "lessons" by listening to your top-flight work...Thanks for working/posting!

Torrey, where are the A&R folks from Abbey Road? Man, you would fit right in at that studio. A great song. Pablo Cruise would be happy with the upgrade. You voices are outstanding, and your guitar is always captivating with excellent taste and tone. Perfect. Your mix is always so pleasing to the ear.

Hey Torrey....

It's coming together great and I echo all other favorable comments.
Another smooth, very appealing listen in all aspects.
Keep us informed of the progress.

Have a great day....

So good to hear from your Torrey. I saw this pop up on Soundcloud yesterday. Perfect delicate vocal. Really cool backtrack. Loved your chord progressions. This ones a hit !!!!! I loved the way the guitar teased than came in with that excellent guitar break. Well done....

Thanks Deej for the kind feedback! I have a ton of work to do on this still! Fixing flat notes in places on the vocals and switching out some of the instrumentation etc! I rushed this having so little time to work on it. It may be quite a while until It's finished! Thanks, for the listen! T

I really like what I'm hearing!

Torrey,
Fabulous stuff...in parts it reminded me of the build in Purple rain.
I'd have loved a little longer/more extended solo from you as you do it so well.
Sounds fantastic, good narrative, nice hooks in the verse as well as chorus.
Great.

Thanks Dave for taking a moment to check out the tune! Yeah I need to go in and "fix' a few things here, I rushed it a bit! I highly value your comments! Thanks, T

Great to hear your music again Torrey.
This is such a strong song and performance, with a standout chorus.
Agree with Dave about the change-up at 3.12. Very nice!
Cheers,
Mike

Hey Torrey ...

Your music is always such a treat! You are one of the very best talents. You always amaze me with your music. And yeah ... that unexpected surprise at 3:12 is the cherry topping this treat. As has been mentioned by previous forum members ... the User's Showcase is a better place when your music rings down the halls. Amazing song by an amazing talent.

Wishing you the very best. Take care and be safe ...

Alan

Torrey,

This does not sound like "A quick song I put together today..." OR "...A lot of work remains to be done on this." This sounds great. As is.

One of your best, I think. My favorite, certainly. An excellent write. An exquisite arrangement. A Solid mix. Terrific vocals.

An excellent listen. Worth cuing up many times.

fj

Torrey,

I can tell you what I'm gonna do: Listen to this marvellous song again and again. And again. That's radio stuff (like so many of your songs) - no doubt about that.
The whole song is very well written - the chorus is so incredibly catchy... Everything sounds so smooth, and I do love your singing anyway. You're a heckuva song writer and an enormously talented musician.
Definitely a 10 !

Take care,

Stefan (still the chairman of the German section of the Torrey Bliss fan club)

Really, really well done - superbly catchy without being overbearing, amazingly mixed too. Honestly wouldn't change a thing - I could hear this playing on the radio no problem. Thanks for sharing

Very good song!
Some good words there!
Well mixed and performed.

I see someone else heard some Pablo Cruise in there as did I..... Great job....

I too think the vocals could come up out of the mix a bit more. Aside from that, everything else is pretty much finished.

Thanks Tano for taking time to listen and comment! It's means a lot to me! I am still thinking of ways to possibly change the delivery of some of the vocal lines. The song will evolve a little in the coming weeks! T

Excellent song and performance, Torrey. The fact that you feel there's a lot of work still to be done demonstrates the very high standards you set for yourself. To me it already sounds like a professional product.
Regards,
Leon

Fantastic hook in a great song. Hit written all over it. Great work!!!!

The drums you selected were an excellent choice for this arrangement. Thanks for sharing!

You really kicked butt on this. You aced the vocal and lead guitar parts. VERY engaging chorus! Loved it.

Hi Torrey,

Your ability to create and present fine music keeps on getting better and better. It's been a while since I last listened to one of your songs. Today, when I set this one in motion on Soundcloud, I sat here thinking: "This is such a good sound! And such a good song." You talent shines.

All the best,
Noel

Marty, you got me smiling a bit with some of those wonderful comments! I really appreciate your input and your contributions to this forum! You are a valuable part of this community! Take care, T

Fine job, Torrey, as we have grown accustomed to expecting.

Thank you sir! I will have limited opportunity to tighten this one up over the next week or 2 but will work on it as I can. T

Torrey

Impressive! Lovely writing,pro sound and superbly arranged.
Great chorus and loved the guitar playing.

Great to hear a new one from you.

Peter

Thanks Scott! I always appreciate your comments! T

Professional sounding pop-rock song with very catchy chorus and very nice chord progression. The organ leads this nicely to the 70's. Very good guitar work, especially adding nice layer in the 2nd verse. Vocal track is enjoyable once again. Good story talks to me "you've missed the best days of your life", melancholy overall but nice hope in the end.

Janne

Always love to hear your stuff Torrey!! I was a Pablo Cruise fan myself! They are from San Pablo in the east SF bay region, close to where I grew up. Within a few miles of San Pablo is El Cerrito, where Creedence is from, and within a pretty close distance is Oakland (Tower of Power), and Vallejo (Sly and the Family Stone).......rich in musical history in that area!
This is a great tune......lovely melody, great vibe, and a cool lyric!! You always nail it!!! Take care. Greg

Thanks David for taking the time to listen and comment! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Ray! I really appreciate that fact that you really listen to the tunes and offer expert advice on things to help others! Thanks so much for taking time to listen and comment again! T

"That long and winding road
Will never lead you home"

Janice immediately noted how cool your vocal and guitar phrasing is on that line.

We're late to the party and much has been said.

We can add that, irrespective of the mix status, it sounds excellent to us. We'd be proud to call this finished production were it ours.

It's nice to see you back ... we've missed those fine vocals and guitar chops.
And lyrics and melodies and arrangements and mixes

Be safe,

J&B

I'm also late to the party and a lot of what I was thinking already has been said. So all I can add is that this is very professional sounding and is air play ready as it stands.

I think this is absolutely your best to date. I am in anticipation in hearing how you can top this!

Thanks Mike for taking the time to listen and comment! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Alan for all the kind words! I really appreciate it! T

Love the melody and vocal delivery. Nice and smooth. You always do such good work.

Thanks Floyd! The song was a write it on the spot thing as far as the lyrics go except for the title line and the melody of the chorus. That came to me in a dream a couple months back and I recorded it on my phone's voice recorder so I wouldn't forget it! Since you posted your comments I have tightened this up quit a bit fixing flat notes, editing instrument phrases and changing a word or two. I appreciate the listen! T

Thanks Stefan for all of the most kind words! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Deryk for having a listen and commenting! I appreciate it! T

Torrey, You are definitely the man when it comes to this genre. Great vocals and guitar. Super production and mix. A real pleasure listening. Stay well, Tom

Thanks Cap'n for having a listen! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Herb! I have done some remixing. T

An uplifting, melancholy song, yeah that is hard to do, but, Torrey did it. Awesome, chord progression thru this song, harmonies are dot on The vocal is just right, I suppose you doubled it, or used a harmonizer, anyway , i love it. Cliff yeah, and the megaphone was brilliant.

Thanks Leon! I appreciate that so much! T

Thanks TuneMonger for checking out the tune! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Ember! T

Thanks Scott for taking time to listen and comment! I appreciate it! T

Hi Torrey this is most excellent great write and vocals love this style very pro sounding well done Eric

Thanks Noel! I always appreciate your comments! T

Thanks Ed for taking time to listen and comment! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Peter for your kind words! T

Thanks Janne for taking time to listen and comment! I appreciate it! T

Torrey,
This was on my "listen to" list for a long time.
Outstanding write, especially for a "quick song", as you put it. You captured period very well. Really cool stuff going on at about 3:00. Enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Thanks Greg I appreciate it! T

Thanks J&B! I always appreciate your comments! T

Thanks Mario! I really appreciate that! T

Thanks Donna! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Tom! I appreciate those kind words! T

Thanks Cliff for taking the time to listen and comment! T

Thanks Eric for listening and commenting! I appreciate it! T

Thanks Misha! I appreciate it! T