Hi everyone,

I made a Blues (kind of) and it's called For Emily
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130/emily

After a sad song like 'Listen' I felt a need for something spicier. And I even introduced trumpets in it. I never did this before. That makes the song very special ;-).

The story behind it: When I was in Mexico some months ago I promised to make a song for the sister of my sons' girlfriend. But it almost turned into a broken promise. Until now. Although the song is for her, it is not about her. I am curious what she'll think of it.
But I am even more curious what you think of this song...

Let me know what what you think or what I can improve,
Hans

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Style and instruments
Style: BROOD.STY (Brood Blues Solist)

RealTracks: 1190:Bas
RealTracks: 2260:Bas
RealTracks: ~673:Orgel, B3
RealTracks: 3334: Guitar, El. rhythm
RealTracks: 2623: Piano, El. rhytm Funk Swing (I had a lot of problems to get the sound of it right. I hoped there would be an update in time to solve these issues. that didn't happen, so I had to improvise)

RealTracks: 2625:Guitar, Bariton El. rhythm
RealTracks: 3333:Guitar, El. Solo
RealDrums [in Song:PopPromiseEv16^1-a: Snare op 4, HiHat , b: Snare, Open HiHat

Keyboard and loops: trumpets
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Lyrics:
For Emily
(c) HWBerkhout, feb 2021

I'm working on a melody
I need a song
I have to do this, you see?
It's for Emily

Now I'm getting more or less out of control
At least, it hurts my soul
This song is hiding somewhere in my head
And that worries me, it makes me mad

I'm looking for a melody, I need a song
And I want inspiration to go along
I'm looking for a cool tune, some Blues, maybe?
Need it all for Emily

=small solo=

It's my philosophy; don't blow no balloon
If you want a song, just find a tune
And I need to find it, deep down in me
with some nice words too, for Emily

=big solo=

I'm getting more or less out of control
At least it hurts my soul
This song keeps hiding somewhere in my head
And that worries me, it makes me mad

I'm looking for a melody, I need a song
I'm looking for a band too, to play along
I'm looking for a cool tune, some Blues, maybe?
with some nice words about Emily

I'm looking for a melody, I need a song
I'm looking for words too, to sing along
I'm looking for a melody, a real nice tune
It gives me inspiration to get it soon
But I want my melody
be there in time to please Emily

Hans, there’s a lot to like in this one. The cold open with the guitar and kick is way cool. Very well sung and I enjoyed the production, Tom

Very cool intro Hans. Loved the vibe to this song. Excellent vocal and lyric well done

Reminds me of 25 Or 6 To 4 by Chicago - a song about needing lyrics for a song.

It's blues! You can't go wrong by me!

I enjoyed the song, and hopefully Emily will also!

Hans ...

You make some really nice music. And this one continues that streak. Love the short, abrupt stops along the way. They create a sense of excitement and anticipation. The lyric is really cool and your vocal is perfect. Really really sweet listen! Best to you. Take care ...

Alan

Hello Hans.
It kept my interest interested :-)
I kept thinking throughout how cool it would be if the girl's name too was "Melody".

Vic

Songwriting is a good subject, nice to hear about the muse behind the story, you have cleverly positioned her in the song.
Great selection of instruments, especially the bassist and solo guitarist. And instrument stops and rests give a nice dynamic impression. Good mix and excellent vocals make the song truly rock.
I can imagine this would be a very good live song too, big crowd singing along the chorus

Janne

"I'm looking for a melody, I need a song
I'm looking for a band too, to play along
I'm looking for a cool tune, some Blues, maybe?
with some nice words about Emily"

This is an excellent write Hans.

We are big Stones fans and being US southerners we have always
appreciated Jagger's ability to throw in a southern accent here and there without it sounding unnatural or like a parody.

We feel that on this song you accomplished the same thing as Jagger and we mean that as a big compliment.
Check out their last album Blue & Lonesome for an example.

So....excellent vocal and we love the trumpets.

Great mix too that sets up a nice soundstage on the monitors.

Well done!

J&B

Hans,
fun tune! Lots of cool articulation. Overall solid composition, vocals. You done justice to the genre
One of your best mixes hands down. Two minor things I have noticed. I think solo guitar is a bit dry, compared to vocals and other instruments and I would put some reverb on trumpets too. I think Emily will like it. Good one Hans! Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Excellent production. Love the opening. Very soulful vocal performance. Let us know what Emily thinks.

Excellent groove, Hans. Trumpets are a nice touch. A good write about searching for inspiration. One of your best vocals, I think. Enjoyed this one a lot.
Regards,
Leon

I dig it!

I like the driving beat and the singing guitar.

Has Emily heard it?

moto

Hans, you never fail to please. This is a fun song to play along with. Good band, and vocal. There is a desperation in the music that fits the lyrics like an old glove. A very good write and performance.

Another Berkhout workout!
Good mix Hans.
The halo of vocal processing stands out a little more on this one though...perhaps reduce that a little.
It's a mid 80s British Blues Pop sound and works well with the melody and narrative.
Well done.

Love a good song about song-writing. This has great humor and grit. Production is superb and the sound overall is powerful. I hope Emily gets a real kick out of it. I sure did.

Hello Tom, Scott, David, Alan and Vic (and everyone else),

At first I can tell you 'Emily' was very very pleased with this song. So I did something good there ;-)
Thanks for you comments and compliments on this song. I appreciate it a lot.



Tom, I was hesitating for a time starting the song this way. And I had to do a lot of rendering to get it the way I want it to sound. at those moments I regret I can't play those solo's myself.
But it was nice to sing this way again after the other kind of songs.



Scott, like I said to Tom, it wasn't so easy to get the right blend. I tried severall sologuitars in BiaB. And all the time the song changed more and more into this blues. It didn't start that way.



David, yes 'Emily' was very pleased, I heard. I think I don't know the song 6 to 4. I only know 9 till 5. But that can't be compared with this song ;-)



Alan, that is a nice compliment from you. At first I had more of those breaks, but then I thought 'less is best...' (normally I'm not that modest in music). and you confirmed that was good, so thanks!



Vic, a very nice thought of you. But I think it would have confused me when singing it...

So, thanks again for listening and all your nice comments,
Hans

Hans,

A real knockout!

A very cool sounding BAND and an excellent vocal.
The chorus is SO catchy!! Loved it. And when the horns joined in it was icing on the cake. There was a sort of Huey Lewis and the News vibe to it then - SO COOL!!! Ear candy.

Might be your best.

Excellent.


fj

Hans,
A good rocker with a very good vocal; this style suits that edge in your voice so well.
I like the inspiration: writing your way into a lyric that becomes the song you were looking to write...to please Emily. I hope its well received!
Excellent arrangement!

Robert

Hans, I love the blues and you knocked out of the park. The vocal was absolutely fantastic. Great backing tracks and a super mix.
I liked the trumpets, nice touch! The lyrics were also excellent.

Hello everyone, but especially Janne, Janice and Bud, Misha, Ezekiel and Leon,



Hi Janne, thanks for your nice comment. I agree this song needs more than one Emily, but that is a bit difficult these days. So I wrote and sang it on my attic on my own. Then I bothered several people with it, changed the melody and tempo a lot of times and there it was. And 'Emily' was very pleased to my relief. After that I took a rum and coke...



Hi Janice and Bud, well you gave me a really good feeling with your post! At first the compliment on the lyrics, while they didn't took me long to write them. It just came out of my head...
But secondly, at first you heard John lennon in my vocals, but now that got even bigger; Mick Jagger took his place!
Of course I told people here about my promotion, but those dutchies aren't very nice people. They made nasty remarks, start laughing or kept silence for the rest of their visit. Really nasty people. I'd rather stayed with you overthere...
It looks as if I am making fun of your post, but I don't! I know who is telling them and I really appreciated these so nice kind words.
So thanks a lot for writing this.



Hi Misha, I missed you for a while. Glad your here again! Thanks for your compliments. You know I come from far with all these mixing issues. And I still have them! But every time I read 'One of your best mixes' it gave me that feeling I'm wandering the right track (!)
About the lead and trumpets; You are the only one mentioning it like this, so you have bad luck! No, what I really want to say is that I had the same feeling when making this song. I added a lot of reverb on the trumpets, to the point I didn't dare to go further. They were much dryer. And with the guitar it was a decision, because I wanted it to sound close.



Hi Ezekiel, Thanks for your kind words. By now you must know Emily was very pleased and proud too! I made a song for her sister once (With love from Mexico), so she wanted one for her too she told me when we were there last november. So finaly I did. They also have a cousin I promised a song. He has to wait a little longer...



Hi Leon, thanks man! I am not fond of trumpets. I never used them in my songs till now. And in the last minute. I was listening to the concept and suddenly an image of KC and the Sunshine band came in my head. Don't really like their songs too, but they made moody songs (and a friend of mine loved it, so I couldn't escape). But their use of trumpets was what I missed in my song. That's how they came in. Still I wasn't very sure and didn't made them so loud. Maybe I should have...


So everyone, thanks a lot for your nice and good critics.
Stay safe and don't miss your vaccine!
Hans

Loved that intro Hans! Your vocals are very good as always! The horns are a nice addition! Good work! Thanks, T

Hi BirchWood,

Great Vocal, excellent arrangement. Very nice guitar solo. I appreciated. Well done

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Great sounding track!!! The music is fresh and interesting the whole way through!! The production/mix is excellent!! Man, that guitar player is killer!! LOVE IT!!! Take care. Greg

Hi Floyd, Robert, Mario, Torrey, Derochette and Greg,

At first my apologies for reacting so late to your nice comments.
And I have no real excuses for this too. I think these times don't make me feel to happy (once in a while).
The only thing i was busy with were upgrading some older songs sice I learned more about mixing and soundimprovements. And of course still have to learn more on that, so I can upgrade them all again in about a year.
And I had to rebuild my studio too and make a new song aswell. So I wasn't that lazy, but made some wrong choices with your posts.

But thanks for all you said. I receive all your comments the moment you post them and I really enjoyed reading them.
I had to search where my song was now on BiaB (page 4!), because so many new songs were posted.
I'll do my best to listen to lot of them, but that will take a while too.

Thanks for your writes,
Hans

Sorry I'm late getting here, Hans, you managed to slip this one by me I think

Love this, right up my alley actually. Cool intro, great groove, excellent vocal. Lead guitar is a bit busy for my tastes, especially while the vocal is happening, but that's just me.

One of your best, enjoyed the listen.

Oh Dave, I feared you left me foregood! I cried my eyes out for a week.
But after that I felt it was time to stand on my own feet.
So I made a sad song.
And I just posted it when I received your post on Emily.

I cried again, but out of pure joy; Dave didn't left me!
Then I read about the leadguitar...

But I did that mainly because the message in the lyrics were clear from the beginning, so not that important.
And I hoped it would sound a bit like your playing. So I keep it as it is, if you can live with that.

Thanks a lot for your so nice reaction,
Hans