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Hi J&B,
Simply stunning.
The lyrics would be good anyway, but Janice's incredible vocal delivery
wrings every ounce of emotion out of them, leaving the listener completely
immersed in the futility of it all.
In addition to that, it's a fabulous backing track with a super mix.
And what about Floyd singing top register, in all senses of the word!
Congrats to all involved.
ROG. Rog, given your production experience and attention to detail we are much appreciative of your review. Janice’s vocal was to be a scratch placeholder but ended up staying in the mix. We are delighted that you liked it. And floyd did nail that part! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Incredible - this is astonishing  Simply put, this is a beautiful song. The way the instruments and those vocals work together is flawless. It sounds sincere and heartfelt. And even though it is slightly unconventional, I love the drums you chose here! The stomping sort of groove help bring the whole thing together. You guys outdid yourself - thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Deryk
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This is great. Very powerful. Great job people. Makes me want to write a song called Captain Midnight now. Oh wait, already did that. 
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Janice / Bud / Floyd,
I'm running out of superlatives. Stirring, brilliant, engaging, rousing....
The song sounds wonderful, the performances by all are world class. Great video, excellent percussion.
Superb song writing.
Peter Thanks Peter and thanks again for those three notes! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Journeyman
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Loved the emotion and the message of the song. Great imagery. Well done compilation.
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Wow, what an excellent delivery. The mix is absolutely perfect.
This tells the story just so well.
Another top effort to the collaboration team. Well done.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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This is just an awesome piece of music. I like to read the lyrics before I listen to the song. IT helps me relate to the music. What a beautiful tribute to such a horrible event. I was lucky enough to spend some time in Puerto Rico. The memory I took home was such a beautiful place and such beautiful people.. Was so sad to see what happened and how they were left in the dark.
Janice vocal was so clear and heartfelt. The new mix tools you got for Christmas :-) and you skill at mixing left a professionally lever master song. The sound was so pure. All the instruments and harmonies were blended so well and identifiable. You, Janice and Floyd set the bar high on this one. Well done
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Just stunning! Everything about this is so well done. Even the "beats". The video really works with the song. Such a devastating event. Prayers continue to go up for all the victims. Thanks so much for sharing this one. Great work by all involved in this very impressive collab! Steve
Steve Young Music"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." - Robert Schumann
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Well, everything has already been said by now.
Not a "pretty" song, but definitely fitting the feel of the subject.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hello, Janice & Bud, floyd,
Regarding Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, it was reported in detail also in Japan at that time. Since Japan is also a natural disaster-rich country, we cannot think like a very different incident.
Recently it has been reported that further misfortune may await the Puerto Ricans in the United States due to President Trump's policy. (Immigration policy is a very delicate matter, so I will withhold any opinion on this.)
And the video at that time was also aired again.
When you pick up such a miserable theme, you can express it extremely well by song.
I can see well that the tradition of folk songs is stuck to the corners of your bodies and souls.
Janice's vocal completely fits this tune.
The cajon is very effective.
Your performance and video were very impressive.
Best regards.
Shigeki Adachi
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When two of the best performing acts on the forum team up - this is what happens. Powerful - poignant - a lesson in collaborative writing and producing. There are some amazing compositions and performances on the forum right now (as usual) - this one ranks right up there among the very best.
Alan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*32GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
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A lovely comment on a tragic situation.
All very well done.
Great backing band.
Cheers.
Nice collab.
Maria sure was a storm that they will never forget in PR. Nice work on the song and the video.
Thanks y’all! Glad you liked it. Herb, appreciate you mentioning the video. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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FJB. That combination seems to work SO well. I'm not kidding when I say I feel like I could almost write the comment THEN listen to the song. There is a standard that I, and I'm sure others have come to expect. Great job! Thank you or including the video. Many times I don't like the distraction of a video that takes you somewhere you wouldn't have gone just listening. In this case, it brought me to where I wouldn't have known to go. So again, thank you for including it. I'm always amazed at every aspect of your songs. You can hear everything. The old "you could hear a pin drop"...if it was in there, you would manage to have it heard. The other side of that coin is, you would do it in a way that wouldn't distract or beat us over the head with. I can't do that! This is one jealous dude typing right now. Great song, great video, great production, great performance. Ladies and gentlemen...FJB Thanks, a lot, for mentioning the video and the audio production. I was surprised at how few pictures of the aftermath were available in the public domain...and I never use copyrighted material so I felt a bit limited. I used the effects on them to try and reduce the distraction. Thanks for noting that! The mix was a challenge with that number of tracks - not used to that at all - but floyd was assuredly the right person to get feedback from and to offer suggestions...like the held chords. We appreciate your nice comments! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Always love working with you guys - from whatever angle.
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A beautiful tribute to a tragic event. Nobody can hold nature back.
Every level of this song and recording are top shelf! Heartfelt delivery of pensive and melancholy lyrics. All captured by a well crafted arrangement and spot on mix.
Well done all!
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B,J&F, This is a great write and a brilliant performance. The vocals convey the emotion of the tragedy. The mix is spot on and really comes to light with the cajon and handclaps. Nice call. I would be kicking myself if I didn’t say that I think we completely failed the island in the recovery efforts. I won’t get political and I know this year has decimated the resources available for help due to these devastating storms, but I still think we could have done more. Thanks to all three of you for your socially conscious decision to create this song, Tom Thanks Tom. Yes, it's easy to envision how many Puerto Ricans might wonder why as US citizens they are continuing to suffer months afterwards. As I mentioned it was it not our intent to disparage any of the folks who were early on the ground to help. But I think not so many kudos to some governmental entities in both Puerto Rico and the mainland. Glad you liked it and thanks for mentioning the percussion and the mix! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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That is a beautiful song, you guys put the right touch to it, production, vocals all so good!!!
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J&B,
The first thing that struck me was: a great arrangement - how can there be so much space in there with all the tracks?
Inspired percussion choices.
There`s a heart to the social commentary of your lyrics Bud, which cuts through the politics... and Janice makes us feel that with another fine vocal.
Love the sweet sound of Floyd`s high harmony too.
Robert Thank you Robert. There are a lot of tracks but often they aren’t playing at the same time and the handclaps while 4 tracks take up little of the soundstage. Same with Janice’s doubled vocal. We appreciate you mentioning the commentary and the vocals both of which floyd greatly enhanced. floyd really surprised us with harmony part! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Serious but very good song J&B!! Once again you folks have produced totally pro sounding results! Janice just sounds great song after song! Floyd's parts work so well also! Final production is good enough for anyone considering this for any project! Thanks, Torrey That is much appreciated Torrey. And even more so as we are big fans of your productions. Thank you! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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A quick "Thanks" to all who listened and commented... fj
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Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
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