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Hi.
I wonder if I can get some suggestions as to what genre this song might have the best fit with. My co-writer and I were shooting for Contemporary Country
but when we brought in the piano player he gave it a little jazz flair which we loved but it changed the feel of the song. Now I'm thinking it is more Singer-Songwriter.
Can I get your opinion?
Listen to"Someone I Can't Live Without" at www.taxi.com/jsarasmusic
Thanks

I don't think the jazz voicings in the piano takes away from it. It can still work in a country context, many country players and artists are playing and listening to jazz after hours.

Artists like Clint Black, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and others have done jazzy stuff, so I think it could actually make the song stand out among the many southern rock clones at the moment. I could hear artists like Tim McGraw or Brad Paisley doing a jazzy tune someday soon, but true, there are not too many at this particular point in time. But that's not to say they don't suddenly decide to do a country jazzy album.

It's important to have songs that sounds a little different in your portfolio IMO

For this, I would consider a more country sounding demo singer and adding a pedal steel, though (maybe take the 'pluncking' lead in there out).

Jes' needs some pedal steel, (and possibly a different sort of singer, sorry) if you're shootin' for a country sound, and no, the piano's not too jazzy.

Thanks for the help. The singer is my co-writer and he really doesn't have a country style. I thought of adding some dobro. The review I got from 2 screeners said it wasn't contemporary country. They always ask for something new and different and when you give it to them they freak out.

People don't really want new and different; they jes' think they do, heh. Anyways, contemporary country is kind of a special case; it really means refried southern rock, jes' mixed better.

Mojo hits the nail in the coffin', I think. 'New' is one of those blank words you can fill your own meaning into. In music, it means filling out the 20% of a song that's open to creative efforts, with experiments. 80% of the song still needs to be 100% recognizeable (sometimes we call that honoring 'tradition', sometimes we say that you can't alienate your audience, sometime we say it needs to have a clear genre identity.. all of which means the same thing), and it ALL has to sound great

Okay,

I'm a genre-challenged individual myself, however, I feel like country from beginning to end. Powerful lyrics and vocals. Musical Arrangement, right-on.

Thanks for sharing