I really like the production and the mix, and the song. You know me, I'll take all the hate mail and a complete banning just to be honest about what I have to say.

"Great tune, great production!".

Bobby

Yo Robby, Janet, Carlista, & Jon B,

Really strong Christian powerpop ballad. It works for a lot of reasons. There is good song craft here, for one. The repitition of the the 3 syllable phrases really builds through-out. Good hook, there- you can't wait to get back to it. And though the message has been expressed before many times, the lyrics in this song put the good word across in a fresh way. Its kind of like the challenge of writing a good love ballad; its really hard to say "I love you" in fresh and original way.

And the arrangement is spot on- the drums and bass give it power and a swaying feel.

My only quibble is with the vocal processing- there is a kind of phased effect others have noted. Slightly harsh at the edges. Doesn't really diminish the overall quality much. I think a lot of people would like to hear this one.

Cheers,

Bert

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=587673

Nice song !

It's got some kind of 80's vibe to me... but don't get me wrong , i like that vibe.

Nice song. Robby, in addition to bringing your vocal down, perhaps you could do a soft harmony part along with her. I'm thinking that might help your other part not seem so "out of nowhere".

The strings, guitars and drums are a nice addition to this. Good work.

Randy

Bert--Callista will be very happy to hear that. Thanks!

Tom--Thanks. I'll pass that on to her too. Any problems with the vocals are because I don't know how to record yet. Still learning!

Alexis--thanks. She'll be glad to hear you like it too!

Randy--I like that idea too.

Herb--so nice to have you back! Callista wrote the words and the basic tune. I just helped her pull it together and figured out the chords. Again, on the vocals, chalk it up to not knowing what I'm doing. Still learning!

Thanks Hacker, actually I have done this, and it does fit much better, but then did my upgrade to 8? But I can't complete it, because I can't log in to the main support/account page because I no longer have access to that email account :-( So I've sent them a request to update my mail to my current account, and when they do, I can log in and get the SN and finish my upgrade, and THEN post the remix! I got the cart ahead of the horse on my upgrade...

ORIGINAL: Tom Riggs

This is a really great song. I did not hear the original so I can't comment on any comparison.

The lead vocal is very well sung I agree with the comments about the processing but I also understand how hard it can be to try to bring something out that may not have been in the source material.

Robby I like the vocals that you added they fit the song ....but.... I would suggest doing something to them to make them sound a bit more distant. They sound clean and up front compared to the lead. That is only a very minor crit and as I said I like this a lot.

--I wanted to state this, too; but I studied the original and felt I was already too lovingly biased toward the fragile (though strong) female lead, to comment objectively. Also, I must honor what Robby and Jon have done and shut my beak.

--The instruments give generous room for Carlista's delivery. So might the backing vocal(s) be widened and/or pushed back a bit (reverbed, softened, broken-up, lightened (not-brightened), chorused back, lowered volume, de-harshed, or such) ... so as to afford the lead more exqusite clarity. But if this were the first time I heard the song I might like it as is.

(--Another riskier thought might be to add more parallel compression (squashed clone(s)), brightness, upper presence, tape-saturation, and/or monophonic presence to the lead and keep the counter backing vocal as is. And/Or do some more soft addition(s), as Randy suggests ... though not necessarily turning this redemptive piece into a duet ... ?)

--Or just live with the song as is, which is so beautiful: and I'll certainly get used to the excellent counter vox.

--Robby, I have an aweful lot of awesome respect and admiration for your great heart, your great songs, your expertise, patience, multiple encouraging crits on Song forum, and now this: redeeming this song about redemption! Wow! Please allow me to thank you! This song is awesome for me.

(Just my 2 cents)

I think the biggest difference for me between to old version is not from a technical aspect but emotional. We all know there is always a neverending stream of things to tweak or change in songs but this version feels like the emotion is much more prominent. I dont think it's any 1 thing that was changed but it is coming across alot better now. As for the technical, the male bgv's were a little jarring, might could be blended better. It's too bad about the recording of the voice on this song, after repeated fixes to it, it's obvious that the problem is tracking related. Cheap mic?, phase issues?, reflections? it could be a number of different things. The song still comes across nicely though but if you get a chance to re-record them it would probably bring the production up a few notches. Jon's drums added alot to this. great collab.

I didn't read all the comments so if I repeated anything, sorry.

"Robby, Mamabear, Calista & JonBouy:
Indeed folks, a tune to be proud of. A very passionate delivery on vox and good performances by all make this one shine very brightly. Nice collab, congrats!"

CreatingNoise: Thank you kind sir, I would have liked to have posted the remix by now but I'm hosed until support gets me my pwd. As I've said repeatedly, this is just a really beautiful song by Calista. And Janet did a masterful job on the keys and orchestra, and the drums took it up a notch. I was just glad to be able to play on it. Thanks very much, I couldn't agree more, I really love this song.

After all the hype..................
Great song! Dang, now what am I gonna do with all this rotten produce I was hoping to hurl at someone?

Mabs: Well written, great piano (as always!), very nice melody in the chorus, and Callista's voice is perfect. Robo: your voice sounds great doubling her @ 5:05. But you only did it once, you big tease. I agree with rsp & hack... more harmonies! (but it sounds like you've already done this, so I'll just wait patiently for the update). JB: very tasty & thoughtful drumming. I LOVE that fill @ 4:11 to 4:18

Callista's vocals did sound a bit mid-rangey to me, but I'm on PC speakers. Also I didn't hear much bass. I could "feel" it, but I was hoping to hear more string attack to compliment JB's kick drum. Maybe I just need to listen on a better sound system. The power & beauty of the song came through loud n clear though

ORIGINAL: robby

my brains were definately sucking at the end of this

Fair enough! Can't wait for the next one. Any chance we'll hear that guitar cello.... er... guitello thing of yours?

Ok, I tamed the male vox. And also re-eq'ed the fem vox a little. And the bass and guitar are up a bit, I used the transient shaper on the drums, etc.. Many little tweaks, I think this version is much better. Thanks everyone. Smell the peace - out...

I really appreciate everyone's input. It is this that is the power of this forum, the constructive and positive input received from both new and seasoned is really invaluable. Thank you all, I appreciate ALL input, both good and bad.

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion, it is by the juice of Safuu that I acquire thoughts, the thoughts acquire speed the speed acquires sound the sound becomes a warning, it is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

This one is a really beautiful song and all who were a part of it did an excellent job. Robby, I think you're right, this one could make some noise on the charts somewhere, Christian rock, I guess. Very enjoyable.

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion, it is by the juice of Safuu that I acquire thoughts, the thoughts acquire speed the speed acquires sound the sound becomes a warning, it is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

The Mentat Mantra, Piter De Vries you're a DUNE fan, Robby?

I'll listen to the remix tonite - all I got at work is a soundmax and $5 headphones!

Much better mix... Lovely song...