VALENTINE
VALENTINE’s new studio album “The Most Beautiful Pain” is about to be released in Europe on March 24th. Robbie Valentine sent us a brief description of the songs included in the album in his “own words”:
I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
This is one of the pop-metal songs of the album. Like ‘New World’. A bit of nu-metal combined with clear harmonies/melodies and song structure . For months and months I was waiting for my girl to come back to me. We were, as I thought, temporary separated. Living 2000 km apart. As a result of this waiting I hardly worked or wrote anything. It felt my life was on hold and would start again once she would return. At one point I realized she didn’t have the intention to come back to me after all. That she was keeping secrets but for some reason kept me dangling. Big desperation and knowing deep down inside that it was over made me start recording and writing again. It was the only way for me to get through, to put my emotions into songs, as a safe haven to deal with the pain of losing her and deal with the fading hope. Making music was the only way not to go insane completely. In this song I can hear I still have hope , but being very upset.
A NEW WORLD
This was the first song I recorded for TMBP. It’s about hate towards how it generally works in life. That people lose their identity and become slaves to the system , and the need to belong. A melodic heavy guitar mid-tempo song. A pop metal-track. With my good old friend Johan Willems joining me in the harmonies.
I’M GOING UNDER (SEDATED)
My anti Anti-Depression medicine song. Beyond a ‘Most Beautiful Pain’ feeling, I couldn’t hardly make it through the day because of heavy depressions. This song is literally a constant fight against taking anti–depression medicine. But sometimes it feels like the only way. Got the medicine, but the fear it would numb me and take away the spare moments of creativity luckily kept me from taking it.
ONE OF THESE DAYS
This is my Backstreet Boys/Britney Spears - song. For all you metal-heads out there!
THE COLD AND LONELY LIE
Piano rock-ballad. Expressing my big desperation about losing the one I loved. I remember recording this track as a quick demo, with a drum-machine, for the drummer to rehearse. When I wanted to record the vocal on the final recording again, it couldn’t be done. It was just too painful to reproduce the ‘pain’ I captured on the quick vocal-take recorded for the demo that had the intention I wanted. So I used that vocal-track.
SHE (Abandoned Heart)
Inspired by some New Romantic bands from the mid 80’s and David Bowie from that era. First time I sang lower than I usually do.
MAGNUM OPUS
An ode to Magnum ice cream that became my addiction. In the past I wrote some long and epical pieces of music. I was asked frequently to record more of these rock opera type of tracks. Being fed up with recording long tracks and with that question I called this short song ‘Magnum opus’. The title suggests a big rock opera or something like it, while it’s just a silly 60’s type of song. It appears to be about a girl but in the end it turns out to be about Magnum Ice-cream. Maybe they can adopt it as their anthem. That would be my dream, full circle.
EVERYDAY HERO
One of my Tori Amos inspired songs. Like ‘Believing Is Seeing’ and ‘Not In A Million Years’ on my previous album. Recorded with my favourite drummer friend Juan van Emmerloot.
SUPERNOVA
Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” was the inspiration for the verses. The beat especially. It’s a diverse track, with a small piano-concert intermezzo, an up-tempo chorus and a boogie middle part that turns out in heavy-metal opera. Some ‘The Sweet ‘ like choirs done with the help of Johan Willems. I couldn’t get a good drum sound when mixing it. Technically I’m dramatic. Arjen Lucassen helped me out by mixing the song in his studio. It’s about getting alienated. Becoming a misanthrope while trying to get the spirit and hope up in times of huge insecurity.
MAGICAL MEMORIES
Three little pieces put together. The end part is an attempt of a mid 70’s Brian May type of solo on vaudeville type of music that I had in my head for 10 years. And the middle part , a happy 60’s sounding thing, about a trip to England with my love. And the first part a ballad about childhood memories. How my parents supported me, the music I grew up with, that became like a bible. Queen’s ‘a Night At The Opera’ was the first album I got. ‘Every time I think of You ‘ from the Babys, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ from ELO… My favourite songs.
HOW MANY TIMES
A typical AOR mid tempo song. With the typical harmonies in the choirs I did with Johan again. With Noppy Ton from my old late 80’s band 1st Avenue on drums.
MICKEY
I was messing around with a drum-loop, singing some lines over it that reminded me a bit of a Prince type of sound. Maybe because of his song ‘Darling Nikki’ I began to sing ‘Mickey’. It made perfect sense because it was the nickname of the girl that really broke my heart for the first time. I concluded the song with a mid tempo-rock bridge and chorus. Though I must say to regret that. I simply couldn’t come up with something good that really would have fitted the idea and the feel the verse has.
HOW CAN I LIVE WITHOUT YOU
A little sad piano ballad. The first of 5 tracks glued together.
ONE HEART
A Roy Orbison bolero. Like ‘Running Scared’.
BACK TO THE FUTURE theme
My Brian May version of the theme of the ‘Back To The Future’ movie. It’s one of my all time favourite movies. Coming from ‘One Heart’ it’s the perfect intro for the next song ‘Now Or Never’. Also the meaning. The whole album I’ve been mourning and moaning about losing my girl. And now it’s time to get back to the future. Get on with life.
NOW OR NEVER
An up beat up-tempo rock song with a slice of bombast. Positive lyrics for a change : “Yesterday’s gone forever, live your life it’s now or never”. The whole song’s very much inspired by Brian May’s ‘Back to The Light’ period. With my friend Johan Willems again joining me in the harmonies and singing the lead in the bridges.
EXODUS ELEPHANTES
An instrumental slow, heavy-beat track based on a metal guitar rif . It sounds like an exodus of elephants. Trying to say with this: habits die hard in the mind of an elephant. The creature with the biggest memory. The ‘exodus’ of moving on in life doesn’t happen over night. Gone is the new positive attitude like in the song before. Back in the rain again that leads into the next solitary track.
I CAN’T GET OVER YOU
Just piano and vocal . I had the grand-piano tuned for recording most of the piano’s on the album. Once that was done I kept on playing through the night because the sound of the piano, all mic’ed up, through the headphones , was very inspiring. Instantly I wrote this song and recorded it. Captured the atmosphere at the moment the song was as close as possible. I wanted this to be a hidden track but mentioned it on the track-list after all, because I don’t want it to be missed. The quickest song I’ve ever written and the first I recorded right after writing it. It’s actually one of my favourites on this record.