Janice & Bud played in a bluegrass band for many years. I played in a country band for many years. But for us it all begins and ends with the blues. We hope you like it! Tom



Vocal, Janice Merritt
Electric Guitar, Tom Adams
Recorded in Logic Pro X
Plug Ins : Nectar 2, Neutron 2, Ozone 8, Tonal Balance, Waves LinMB, Waves, L3-LL Multi Limiter, Scuffam Amps S-Gear, Waves Vocal Rider
RealTracks in song: ~571:Harmonica, Background Blues Monday Sw 065
Royalty free loops


https://soundcloud.com/tommyad/tom-adams-id-rather-be-lucky

https://tommyadamsmusic.com/music





I’d Rather Be Lucky

They say you can’t win if you don’t play

That’s a rule I live by every day

When you cash that winning ticket

It’ll just about blow your mind

take that last nickel

Turn it to a dime

Cross your fingers knock on wood

I’d rather be lucky than good


Sometimes for you to win

you have to take a chance

You can’t always leave

with who brought you to the dance

walk through a little fire Go out on limb

When they tell you don’t go gamblin Don’t listen to them

Cross your fingers knock on wood

I’d rather be lucky than good


My Mama and my Daddy said go and learn a skill

But I’ve been living by the seat of my pants and I guess I always will

Shot pool bet the horses played a little bit of cards

Fell in love a couple of times And survived a broken heart

Cross your fingers knock on wood

I’d rather be lucky than good


© 2018 Thomas Adams/Janice Merritt

Loved the whole take on luck and betting...great work selecting the words and phrases that move this idea forward!!

RT’s solo’s were perfect for your track..as usual, great vocal performance and guitar work.

Thanks for letting me listen in.

Love it!

I heard this a while back over on Janice and Buds page.

This is blues the way blues *should* be IMHO. Cool lyrics all over the place, "Cross your fingers knock on wood, I’d rather be lucky than good" for example.

Janice is just over the top good on this one, vocal is perfect, and man, that phrasing!

And the guitar is so tasteful! Great tone too. Love the trade offs with the harp.

Great intro and super cool ending too!

Nice one guys and gal!

O.M.G.

Over-the-top good. Music truly does not get better than this.

Everything about this is PERFECT. Little reason to parse out anything else. But... why not.

Janice - The. Best. Vocal. Ever. This leaves no question - You should be a STAR.

Tom - your guitar in this is hang-on-every-note worthy. Your Chicago is showing. Sweet.

The mix is I M P E C C A B L E. And just to be clear, here are listed synonyms for IMPECCABLE: flawless, faultless, unblemished, spotless, immaculate, pristine, stainless, perfect, exemplary; squeaky clean

WOW.

Just.... WOW.

fj

Wow, this song sounds so fantastic! Janice really sounds like one of those wonderful, classy club singers. I could see her singing for Post Modern Jukebox.

I especially love "you can’t always leave with who brought you to the dance". I think it's a really cool line.

Really great job guys!

Tom,J&B,
After the neat drumroll intro what struck me was the clever, well written lyric(so many cool twists on common phrases).
I agree with the plaudits coming in for Janice`s vocal- this is one of your finest!
Nice biting guitar lead, Tom, and a great mix.
I`m not a blues man, but I enjoyed this very much!

Robert

Thank you!

Janice

Hey good work, sure it's a blues tune but what sets it apart are first class vocals and clever lyrics. Nice mixtoo.
WSS

There you go....raising the bar again. All of you.....

Nice work.

Really "pro" in every sense of the word. As a guitarist. I really appreciated the tasty, pure tone, on the solo and the fills here and there and in the background.

Thanks for the wonderful review. We appreciate it, Tom

Wow! Sounds to me like the Band in a box Super group.
You guys never cease to amaze. Although the vocals are the real stand out the mix is exceptional. Gives me a goal to reach for. Thank you all for the inspiration. Rob

"take that last nickel

Turn it to a dime

Cross your fingers knock on wood

I’d rather be lucky than good"

Tom/J&B, it doesn't get any better than that!! This song is pure greatness as far as I'm concerned! Janice has given some great vocal performances here on the forum, but to me this one sounds the best! The production could not possibly be any better! You guys have set the bar very high for all of us! Oh and by the way, the guitar was fantastic! A very fine offering! Thanks, Torrey

That is a GREAT line, one of those little nuggets that I wish I had written myself!

Tom & Janice,

Damn fine blues - everything about it is superb (need some new superlatives).
Wonderful blues playing beautiful singing and a a great memorable write.

So - consummate, outstanding, stellar, peerless (online thesaurus) work.

Peter

p.s that drum intro sounds excellent

Thanks Dave. That is very kind of you and is much appreciated!

Janice

This has the sound of a time-worn classic, with a killer title.

I'm not sure there are any adjectives left at this point. Great stuff!

Tom / Janice,

This is truly outstanding in every way. I love how Tom's guitar sounds like it's about to go off the rails and Janice's vocal pulls it back in.

Tremendous sound guys...

Bob

Wow - just wow. As people have pointed out, this is absolutely outstanding. This track has everything! I love the smooth groove throughout it. I love Janice smoky vocals. I love the lyrics. This had my attention from the first second to the very last. You nailed it.

Not a thing I'd change here - thanks so much for sharing

Well, wow back to you! I am overwhelmed. It put a big smile on my mother's face when I read it to her.

Tom really did an amazing job with this. Thank you so much!

Janice

Thanks Ember! That is very kind of you and I love that style. We will definitely check out that site.

Janice

Hey you guys sound great on this one. Very sultry.

I like the line:

"I'd rather be lucky than good."

Pretty funny!

Enjoyed this one a bunch. Great guitar.

Dave, glad you liked it. Thanks for great comments,Tom Thanks! That is a knockout review. I sure do appreciate your strong support, Tom

Tom, Janice & Bud,

Great Jazz Blues!
Great collaboration!
You have a wonderful common language called "Blues" and I am truly envious from my perspective.
Janice's vocal is wonderful ever on this tune.
The true blues feel is overwhelmed from the whole voice and it is a masterpiece.
Tom's guitar work is fantastic and outstanding.
The mix is also exceptional.
I’m not a blues man as same as Robert, but I enjoyed this very much!

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Ember, No doubt Janice nailed it. Thanks for mentioning the lyrics, Tom Robert, I agree this is one of Janice's best melodies and performances. Thanks for recognizing the lyrics in your fine review. We appreciate it, Tom

Thanks Robert. I’m glad you liked it. Give us time we’ll convert you yet

Janice

I don't think I could put it any better. Love this one!

Steve

Just a great blues song in every way, janice great job on the vocals, love the lead guitar and the drums just right in the mix.!!!!

I love the blues and this is blues at its best!

If you would put out a CD of blues like this I would be the first to buy it!

This puts some of the new so-called blues artists to shame.

This is definitely a keeper.

PS- you all are not lucky you are absolutely good great!

Thanks for mentioning the vocals Steve. We appreciate you listening.

Janice



Thank you Herb. I was delighted to be part of this.

Janice

Thanks for those kind remarks Rob!

Janice

Hi, Tom & Bud & Janice !


I love this ! and that goes
for every aspect of it, the
tune and superb playing, the
super vocal and the mix, in short
everything !:))

Wonderful !

Cheers
Dani

Steve, thanks for giving it a spin. Appreciate the kind comments, Tom Herb, I was trying to show a little restraint with the guitar in this one. It would have been too easy to just let it rip. Thanks for mentioning the clean tone, Tom

Rob, glad you liked it. Your mixes lately with Studio one have sounded great, Tom Torrey, your review is everything we could have hoped for. Thank you very much for your generous words, Tom

Thank you so much Torrey. I very much appreciate you saying that about my vocal...you are too kind!

J&B

Jim. That line happened when I was thanking someone for commenting on one of my songs. As soon as I wrote it, I added it to my long list of song ideas. Thanks for stopping by, Tom Peter, I like that word memorable. That's what we're shooting for. Thanks, Tom

Thanks David. Glad you liked it, Tom Bob, you picked up on how I was really trying to hold back a bit and keep it restrained. The star here is Janice and I wanted to compliment and let here shine. Thanks, Tom

Thanks Peter! I got lucky being invited to participate!

J&B

Fabulous perfect vocal. Great playing and production. But most of all that hook is a real life honest to goodness HIT

Bob

Thanks! And, yes, Tom’s hook is so cool.

Janice

Deryk, thanks man. We appreciate your fine review, Tom

Glad you liked it. Tom Yes Shigeki, we definitely are on the same page when it comes to blues. I have complete faith in Janice’s abilities. Thank you for the kind words, Tom

Bob, what a cool description! Thanks so much.

Janice

Thanks Steve, Tom Glad you stopped by, Tom Thank you Mario. Your comments are always appreciated, Tom

Thanks for the wonderful review, Tom

Thanks Deryk for the wonderful comments!

J&B

There's nothing I enjoy more than sitting in some smoky bar (well, they used to be smoky, not so much any more), sipping a scotch and listening to a great blues band do a great blues song. This hits that nail on the head. So much great stuff here...the lyrics are awesome, fantastic phrasing, and the performances are awesome. KUDOS!!!

Hi Tom and Janice.

This flows so smoothly and sounds so clear, clean and uncluttered.
Fantastic.
Thumbs up.

Cheers.

Thanks David. I was “lucky” to get invited in on this

Janice

Thanks Shigeki for the kind words and for allowing us to share the blues with you!

J&B

Very nice.
Well done all around.
(really like the snare)

Thanks guys. I very much appreciate your comments!

Janice

Bob, Thanks for all that. Glad you liked it, Tom

Thanks Mario. Our hearts live in the blues. We love to experiment but always come back. And it's icing on the cake that you with your love of blues like it.

Janice



Thanks Dani. You are very kind to say that.

Janice



Bob, thanks so much for saying that about my vocal and, yes, that hook hooked me before I even began to work on my melody. Thanks again,

Janice

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to listen and comment. We sure do appreciate it, Tom Thanks for the kind words Rich, Tom rharv, Thank you for giving it a spin and taking the time to leave us the nice note, Tom

Tom and Janice,

I don't know what to say about this. It's such a good listen.

Blues really sits so very comfortably with the two of you. From that attention-grabbing opening through every syllable of lyric and every note of guitar, this musical trip is completely engaging and professionally presented. I never cease to marvel at how talented the two of you are.

Wonderful music!

All the best,
Noel

Thanks Noel...dunno how we missed your very nice response.

Tom has been on a bit of a musical sabbatical of late so we're gonna bounce this one. His work needs to be around

He did such an AMAZING job on the entire production.

J&B

Glad you bounced it...
Nicely done & sung!

"You can't always leave with who you brought to the dance" - love it!

A pleasure as always!