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Very cool! Yes, Janice certainly has the voice for this. Floyd's guitar is very functional here. I'm especially struck by the clarity of the Jazz Brushes. Sounds very, very clear through my speakers. Another great one!
Regards, Rob
Last edited by R & AM; 10/01/14 11:55 AM.
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Now that's the blues....Great stuff!
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Hi, Bud, Janice and Floyd !:))
I also love everything about this production ! Can´t say it any better than already said so I just say congrats to all involved !:))
Cheers Dani
Thanks Dani -- we appreciate you. What a voice (may I please say sexy), LOVE that the vocal was right up front, so clear. Can you imagine if Brit Spears tried that? Guitar work is outstanding. Thank you, Janice smiled hugely as she read this. Yes you can use the "S" word :-) Thanks for commenting on the mix. I thought the vocal was deserving of being out there in the front. Glad you noted that in a positive way. Love the Brit statement! Thanks again Bud
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 are here on our website.
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Very cool! Yes, Janice certainly has the voice for this. Floyd's guitar is very functional here. I'm especially struck by the clarity of the Jazz Brushes. Sounds very, very clear through my speakers. Another great one!
Regards, Rob
Thanks a Rob. We appreciate your comments very much. I've been using Necter2's reverb module on the drums lately. It's an EMT 140 plate reverb emulation.
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 are here on our website.
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Thanks Joanne, yes, the blues!
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 are here on our website.
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Ah, yes. Dat's da blues. Just the way I like it. Slow swinging easy like a nice stroll down by the river. Another stellar vocal, write and production. And Preacher man floyd has definitely converted me. Who Knew? After I got over the initial shock, I was able to ride along and what a nice ride it was. First class job by all ! Tom
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Great track, smooth as silk vocals, nice groove. Very cool!
Thanks, Bruce
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Ah, yes. Dat's da blues. Just the way I like it. Slow swinging easy like a nice stroll down by the river. Another stellar vocal, write and production. And Preacher man floyd has definitely converted me. Who Knew? After I got over the initial shock, I was able to ride along and what a nice ride it was. First class job by all ! Tom Thanks Tom! And welcome back. We missed ya. Great track, smooth as silk vocals, nice groove. Very cool!
Thanks, Bruce We appreciate that Bruce.
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 are here on our website.
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Hi Janice and Bud, "Conversion Blues" is songwriting at its awesomnest! I actually heard this song a long time back (I seem to recall there were lyrics available at that time) and I was struck by just how well written these lyrics and this song were. Tonight, I sat down and typed the words as I listened to Janice's exquisite vocals. Writing lyrics down by listening is an extremely good test for assessing prosody; in this instance, by prosody, I mean the accuracy with which the syllables of speech align and match musical note-strength. When there's a mismatch, and a syllable is placed on a beat or fraction of a beat that doesn't properly reflect the syllabic strength of how it would be spoken in the phrase, words are often difficult to understand. Every syllable in "Conversion Blues" was expertly aligned! What struck me most, when I first heard the song and read the lyrics, was the attention to rhyming detail. Three out of the four verses have the first and third lines rhyming with a weak rhyme-type (again/boatman, hill/girl, preacher/river). This gives those lines a sonic connection that holds the lyric together well but doesn't outshine the more definite rhymes for lines two and four (time/line, light/right, soul/whole). This kind of lyric-writing consistency shows great skill! - Actually, as I'm sitting here thinking about it, the fourth verse (with an American accent) also kind of has the weaker rhyme type for lines one and three with new/you. In Australia, these are perfect rhymes because we say "nyou/you" but in USA-speak, the "noo/you" is not quite perfect.
- That makes four verses out of four verses! Wow! Now THAT'S consistency

Also, the fact that the first line of each of the first three verses (and arguably the fourth verse, too) consists of two short phrases is also the kind of attention to detail that's found amongst the world's top lyricists! You're in great company. Lastly, even though this song is 8-bar blues (which works incredibly amazingly, by the way), the melody is only 7 bars long. This creates an interesting tension between the balanced feeling of 8 bars of harmony and the unbalanced feeling of 7 bars of melody. Very clever! It got me wondering what this song would sound like as a 7-bar blues. (For what it's worth, The Beatles' "Yesterday" consists of 7-bar verses.) All in all, as I said at the outset, this is songwriting at its awesomnest! Definitely inspired on all levels! All the best, Noel P.S. I have to add that floyd's playing is top class; it fits perfectly. He's a man of many talents! P.P.S. The ending really made me sit up and pay attention. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but then I guess that's the point! It is, indeed, a very interesting sound and one that has grown on me.
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2025
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Hi Janice and Bud, "Conversion Blues" is songwriting at its awesomnest! I actually heard this song a long time back (I seem to recall there were lyrics available at that time) and I was struck by just how well written these lyrics and this song were. Tonight, I sat down and typed the words as I listened to Janice's exquisite vocals. Writing lyrics down by listening is an extremely good test for assessing prosody; in this instance, by prosody, I mean the accuracy with which the syllables of speech align and match musical note-strength. When there's a mismatch, and a syllable is placed on a beat or fraction of a beat that doesn't properly reflect the syllabic strength of how it would be spoken in the phrase, words are often difficult to understand. Every syllable in "Conversion Blues" was expertly aligned! What struck me most, when I first heard the song and read the lyrics, was the attention to rhyming detail. Three out of the four verses have the first and third lines rhyming with a weak rhyme-type (again/boatman, hill/girl, preacher/river). This gives those lines a sonic connection that holds the lyric together well but doesn't outshine the more definite rhymes for lines two and four (time/line, light/right, soul/whole). This kind of lyric-writing consistency shows great skill! - Actually, as I'm sitting here thinking about it, the fourth verse (with an American accent) also kind of has the weaker rhyme type for lines one and three with new/you. In Australia, these are perfect rhymes because we say "nyou/you" but in USA-speak, the "noo/you" is not quite perfect.
- That makes four verses out of four verses! Wow! Now THAT'S consistency

Also, the fact that the first line of each of the first three verses (and arguably the fourth verse, too) consists of two short phrases is also the kind of attention to detail that's found amongst the world's top lyricists! You're in great company. Lastly, even though this song is 8-bar blues (which works incredibly amazingly, by the way), the melody is only 7 bars long. This creates an interesting tension between the balanced feeling of 8 bars of harmony and the unbalanced feeling of 7 bars of melody. Very clever! It got me wondering what this song would sound like as a 7-bar blues. (For what it's worth, The Beatles' "Yesterday" consists of 7-bar verses.) All in all, as I said at the outset, this is songwriting at its awesomnest! Definitely inspired on all levels! All the best, Noel P.S. I have to add that floyd's playing is top class; it fits perfectly. He's a man of many talents! P.P.S. The ending really made me sit up and pay attention. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but then I guess that's the point! It is, indeed, a very interesting sound and one that has grown on me. Noel, thank you for the nice remarks and for taking your time to write up your observations. I particulary appreciate your remarks about the rhyme structure as I have been working hard at that of late. And I must mention that you and floyd have offered me great guidance with that. I think that in a lot 8 bar blues that last bar is not sung over so as to provide space for the typical instrumental Blues turnaround which I'm not good at arranging for the RTs to do. I think with some more creative use of chords I could pull it off. Janice is most appreciative of your comments about the syllables. For a U.S. southern girl to enunciate like that is not easy  But above all I realize that her creative melodies and voice make my writes go down easier! Thank you so much. Bud
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 are here on our website.
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New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
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These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
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Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
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- Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
- Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
- Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
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New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
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Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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