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I wanted to check in and say how grateful I am to floyd for asking me to play on this one. He graciously waited several months until I got around to it. I loved this song from the first time I heard it. I believe the imagery is some of the best of any song he has posted. This one takes you right out west. For those wondering Bob's post alludes to my former band Fakahatchee. Thanks to all that have commented on my playing and I hope everyone enjoys this song as much as I do. Tom @Tommy, you are a first class musician, but even more than that, you are a first class human being and forum friend. Floyd's willingness to wait for you says it all. as far as your hope that everyone else enjoys the song as much as you do... based on the reviews so far... I'm thinking "YES!" ==================== @Floyd... I finished the review I started at the beginning of the thread... so it won't appear at the end like all the other reviews.
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hi Floyd excellent peace all who took part in this awesome work thanks eric
AMD (TM) 5950 4.9 GHz 16Core Processor 64 bit 32 bits of ram windows 10 pro 64 bit os. sound card Antelope ZenQ guitars Ibanez 2202a 1968 les Paul Custom and Cavin ae 185 Guitar boss Gt-100,GT1000 pedal Yamaha HS8 studio monitors
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Wow! What a great recording from start to finish, a good tune with fabulous performances and a great-sounding mix to pull it all together. Nice work - including the guest steel and harmonies!
Thanks,
Bruce
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Apprentice
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Floyd, forgive me, but I can only repeat what I always say to you. A beautiful song, a perfect arrangement, perfectly sung, always amazes me delicious craft work you do with the RealTracks and mixing, simply unsurpassed. The end of the song is a little work of art, so subtle ...
And the collaboration of Janice and Tom is at the same level.
I'll hear many times ...
Sorry, but you always compel me to repeat myself ;-)
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Ahem...
Hi Floyd. I think the song and vocals are magnificent and like the steel and the fiddle.
The backing a big screen major production. Beautifully done but is this what the song is about?
'this was no t.v. hero, he was the real thing'
I feel the subject matter of the song would lead to a more simple (cowboy) type backing.
More a home on the range kind of thing.
To me this arrangement makes him sound like an 'Oklahoma' musical or movie type cowboy.
Hesitantly but constructively offered opinion. Cheers. I appreciate your thoughts, Richard. I know you like things kept simple (sparse) for the most part... and this is probably a bit "slick" for your tastes, but it is "on the simple side" for me... I tend to lean a little more towards "commercial"... A great story bringing wild west images to us. Good write, mix and production from you guys. I'm really enjoying all of the collaboration seen recently here on the forum. I'm glad Tom has broken out that pedal steel. As good as the RT's are, his steel fills a void. Wouldn't it be great if he created some pedal steel user tracks to share.....
Can't ride off into the sunset without a wink towards the sharpshooters, Floyd, Janice and Bud.
Enjoyed this one from start to finish.
Charlie Thanks, Charlie. We all appreciate it. I would be willing to bet that creating a UT steel would be a lot of work....
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Floyd, Janice and Tommy - I just don't know how you do it so consistently. Just absolutely wonderful in everyway. As has been mentioned your work certainly sets a standard here. Love the harmonies and pedal steel. Well done team! Thanks, Joanne.... Hi Floyd, Janice and Tom,
this is a really good song in every way!
Tom's pedal steel is wonderful, your vocals are great and so are Janice's harmonies (as always).
Sweet tune and wonderful story. Congratulations on this beautiful collaberation. Guenter Thanks, Guenter... always appreciate your support.. Floyd, Janice & Tom,
Another winner! Loved everything about it.
Bob Appreciate it, Bob....
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My favorite part of this is your vocal especially on "he looked at me with one closed eye". Cool inflection. Love the sweet sounding steel. Nice harmonies. Very pretty weaving of the instruments in your arrangement. I might have a bit less out front piano starting in that second chorus but subjective - I realize there's lots going there for the build.
Solid definitively FJ writing and production style. Painted a cool picture. (Except for those painful saddle sores LOL! I rode a lot in my teens - ouch.)
Josie Thanks, cowgirl! A number of people of mention this vocal. Wish I knew what I did different.... Hi Floyd, Tom & Janice ... What a great song! And the performance was equally wonderful. It was a real nice blend of the Tom's pedal steel with the fiddle. And as always, your vocal shines. This is a great collab and with Janice's vocal harmony, it "Merrits" every possible accolade! great stuff, for sure! back in 2008, I wrote a poem called "The Last True Cowboy". As you might know, I'm a novelist and write a poetry. If you're interested, here's a link to it. http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting/sideman/the-last-true-cowboy-11802It's totally different than your song but expresses some similar thoughts. Again, this is a fabulous song and production. Any time I click onto anything with your name on it, I know I'm going to be thoroughly entertained ... and I was! Di is napping but want me to pass on her greetings, too. best to you ... Alan & Di Alan - Appreciate all that... "He doesn't have a sidekick Never sang a cowboy song" Nice. Excellent tune. Kudos to all involved. Like a said in the past posts.These collaborations are simply awesome. Merry Xmas to you and your band :-)
Thanks, Scott - and Merry Christmas to you, too....
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Thank you floyd for inviting me in on this. Your songs make it so easy for me to sing to. Bud can tell you all about me
dancing around the house (and outside) while working up my part. And the addition of Tom's steel guitar just makes this one of my favorite collaborations.
A big "thank you" and a smile to everybody who commented on my part in this. I appreciate y'all.
Janice
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Another good one guys. Love that Fakahatchee Tom pedal steel.
Regards, Bob Thanks, Bob... I wanted to check in and say how grateful I am to floyd for asking me to play on this one. He graciously waited several months until I got around to it. I loved this song from the first time I heard it. I believe the imagery is some of the best of any song he has posted. This one takes you right out west. For those wondering Bob's post alludes to my former band Fakahatchee. Thanks to all that have commented on my playing and I hope everyone enjoys this song as much as I do. Tom Tom - Thank you, SO VERY much for joining me on this. Your playing was "just what the cowboy ordered"... would not have been the same without it - what's a cowboy song without steel??? You are a treasure.
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hi Floyd excellent peace all who took part in this awesome work thanks eric Thanks, eric... Wow! What a great recording from start to finish, a good tune with fabulous performances and a great-sounding mix to pull it all together. Nice work - including the guest steel and harmonies!
Thanks, Bruce Bruce - I appreciate you dropping by for a listen.... time for your next one, I think...
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Hi Floyd.
A heart-warming tale which brought a tear to my eye. With the right video ....?
Great performances from all the usual team.
Perfect arrangement and mix, as ever.
ROG.
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There is a new 'Million Dollar Band'!
You guys and gal are just plain super together. You are better than any artists that I have heard on our country stations.
This is a keeper.
Principal: Your child always causes trouble in school.
Me: My child causes trouble at home, do I ever call you?
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back to the song...
Floyd, this song is "Classic FJ"... radio ready and mixed beautifully. I listened with headphones, and the spread was just off center enough to be interesting and separated, but not so extreme as to sound overdone.
I've had a lot of practice. Since getting BIAB two and a half years ago, I've mixed about 100 songs....
Your image painting in this song is (IMHO) some of the best you've brought to the forum. Your descriptions not only evoke very graphic and unique visuals, but even more importantly, your way with words lets you do it without sacrificing any of the elements of style that make lyrics great. Upshot is that these lyrics excel on multiple levels at once. It would be impressive if it were the occasional accident that some of us experience through sheer luck... but I know that you are fully conscious of your craft... how to change this in order to accomplish that... and therein lies the real magic in your productions. yes, they consistently sound good, they are consistently mixed perfectly, they are consistently accompanied by the best of the best collaborators... but the fact that you know how to repeat the phenomenon time after time is the deal.
What a nice thing to say. And thanks for noticing. When doing a song like this it's important to paint quick pictures - that evoke emotions. And to do it without using all the cliché images that have been used a bazillion times before. The "cowboy clichés" are used (overused) so often for things like this. And they are often cartoonish - not real life stuff..
I thought the piano perfected the mood you crafted for this song. Rich mentioned that the piano changed it from being a "real cowboy" kind of song from his perspective... but there are a bunch of different ways you could have ridden to the topic, and you seem to have taken the scenic route. The combination of the piano and the pedal steel gave it a wistful feel that works well with the idea of being the last of a dying breed. To me the piano recreated a similar mood that was achieved by Michael Murphy in the song WILDFIRE
That actually was another attempt to avoid "the usual". Cowboy song=acoustic fingerpick guitar. Adding a piano into the mix changed that up considerably. The NewAge piano is really versatile - I've used it in all kinds of songs and it never sounds repetitive from one song to the next....
The transition from 3rd person to first person was a great way to wrap up the story after the changeup in the middle. It left me thinking. "yeah.. that's a good resolution to the story.. he's not the last after all.. the story lives on in the 1st person character. "
Passing the torch.... It's good to be able to add a new dimension to a song while still keeping it focused.
When Tommy's pedal steel swelled into the mix... and I mean every single time... I got chills up my back! It's kind of scary to turn the reins over to a collaborator, because you relinquish a bit of control. But I'd guess that by now you trust Tommy and Janice completely to send you something that can be used with very little change.
It was great to have Tom to turn to - to get the steel done specifically for this song (instead of piecing one together). He did a great job and his playing in each chorus is similar, so it helps give the overall song a cohesive feel. And Janice (and Bud) and I have been doing back and forths for a couple of years now. And hopefully, will continue on for a long time...She's always spot-on.
I like the change in style when "he came back into town the other day". It is easy to miss the opportunity to change things up in the middle, but this really accented the fact that you were introducing a change in the flow of the story, not just in the flow of the chords.
That's what all the electric guitars were for. For that change-up chucka-chunka sound in the bridge...break the monotony a bit...
My hat is off to the "REAL" band that consistently cranks out hits on radio WPGM!
I assume that is a cowboy hat? We do appreciate your delightful review!
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Floyd, forgive me, but I can only repeat what I always say to you. A beautiful song, a perfect arrangement, perfectly sung, always amazes me delicious craft work you do with the RealTracks and mixing, simply unsurpassed. The end of the song is a little work of art, so subtle ...
And the collaboration of Janice and Tom is at the same level.
I'll hear many times ...
Sorry, but you always compel me to repeat myself ;-) Rafa - sorry... can't forgive you for being so nice  We do appreciate it... Thanks, lambada... Thank you floyd for inviting me in on this. Your songs make it so easy for me to sing to. Bud can tell you all about me
dancing around the house (and outside) while working up my part. And the addition of Tom's steel guitar just makes this one of my favorite collaborations.
A big "thank you" and a smile to everybody who commented on my part in this. I appreciate y'all.
Janice ... let's do this again! (and again and again...) - you guys are treasures, as well....
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Hi Floyd.
A heart-warming tale which brought a tear to my eye. With the right video ....?
Great performances from all the usual team.
Perfect arrangement and mix, as ever.
ROG. ROG - always appreciate your support. There is a new 'Million Dollar Band'!
You guys and gal are just plain super together. You are better than any artists that I have heard on our country stations.
This is a keeper. Thanks, Mario!
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Late to the party, as usual. Floyd, EXCELLENT song. Great everyman lyrics, visials. Tright production. And your voice is made for this song. You really sell it.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra
Windows 8 and 10
Scarlet 18i8
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