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The Way Things Are Times are tough and this is not upbeat song but it was an enjoyable production and collaboration. Regardless of that caveat we hope you find it of interest and comments are both welcomed and appreciated. Big thanks to PeterF all the guitar parts and, as always, to PG Music for their products, support and this forum community. Lyrics are on SoundCloud. Janice: lead vocal, harmony vocal, melody & arrangement Peter: guitar solos / fills / rhythm & arrangement Bud: lyric, arrangement, mix & mastering Drums: RD AmericanaRoots16th-04-SdStk,Tms Bass: RT 2877 Acoustic, AmericanaSlow16thsByron Ev16 060 Piano: MidiSuperTrack / Logic Pro Grand Steinway sound RT/RD tracks comped from multiple generations Track Effects: Logic Pro X EQ / Nectar 2 / Waves CLA Drums / Neutron 2 / Waves CLA Unplugged / Waves Bass Rider Mastering: Logic Pro X EQ > Ozone Dynamics > Ozone Maximizer > Ozone Tonal Balance > YouLean Loudness Meter
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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Wow. One of the best I've heard from you. It feels like a long time since I've heard Janice sing a full song, as opposed to harmonies etc. for other people, so this was a real treat.
Who wrote the lyrics??? It's not clear from the SoundCloud post, but whoever did it ... hats off.
Please keep writing and creating ... these times are perhaps also an opportunity for us creators to create and alleviate some of the pain so many of us are going through, through music, lyrics ... in one word, through art. So let's do it. THANK YOU for regaling us with this beautiful, beautiful song!
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Wow. One of the best I've heard from you. It feels like a long time since I've heard Janice sing a full song, as opposed to harmonies etc. for other people, so this was a real treat.
Who wrote the lyrics??? It's not clear from the SoundCloud post, but whoever did it ... hats off.
Please keep writing and creating ... these times are perhaps also an opportunity for us creators to create and alleviate some of the pain so many of us are going through, through music, lyrics ... in one word, through art. So let's do it. THANK YOU for regaling us with this beautiful, beautiful song! Thanks James. I (Bud) wrote the lyric and I struggled to try and tell it from a child’s perspective using child like word choices. But Janice the eternal child  helped me. We much appreciate your generous 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! Our Videos
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Really enjoyed this one!
Great writing, Bud, man I wish I had skills in that department! My favorite of many:
"a friend said her neighbor
was gonna go to hell
they went to a different church
was all she could tell"
Janice as always sounds great, love it when she brings in the harmonies.
Peter sounds a bit like Clapton to me on this one, very good indeed (cool ending!)
And a pro sounding mix to top it all off.
Excellent!
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Nice to hear an original from you and what a touching one it is! Hopeless story, powerful lyric writing. I was expecting something relieving in the end, but that's the way things usually are in real life, no happy endings. But luckily the excellent production makes me smile, Janice's voice and the guitars sing the ode of sadness very gently.
Janne
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Oh Man, this is simply outstanding. Janice your voice is perfect for ballads, and it's time you did an album.
Peter, brilliant guitar work as always
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As usual, excellent production, clear mix, and emotive singing. Mind you, I'm not a fan of this sort of song, because they're as subtle as getting continually smacked over the head with a 2x4 cluestick. Then again, who likes taking medicine? So I guess you can put that down as a measure of the song's success.
-- 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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Hi Janice and Bud,
What beautiful song! Such a nice melody and so wonderfully performed. Only you can sing it that way, Janice!
You all, including Peter, did a very good job on this song!
You almost forgot what sorrow you sang about. Maybe I have to criticize you on that...
and what coincidence I have posted a song myself about that worrisome times we live in. And I sang very angry, maybe even ugly. But that nasty world made me do that ;-)
But then you sang: 'all you have to do is pretend it’s just a play'. Well, there I became speechless. What a cynical, but also wonderful way of telling how to deal with it!
I don't think you need more compliments, otherwise you will walk beside your shoes (a Dutch proverb meaning: you become too vain).
Hans
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Really enjoyed this one!
Great writing, Bud, man I wish I had skills in that department! My favorite of many:
"a friend said her neighbor
was gonna go to hell
they went to a different church
was all she could tell"
Janice as always sounds great, love it when she brings in the harmonies.
Peter sounds a bit like Clapton to me on this one, very good indeed (cool ending!)
And a pro sounding mix to top it all off.
Excellent! Dave, thanks for everything you said. Writing is a struggle for me but I try to eke out a few each year. Janice always has a zillion melodies in head so that helps Glad you liked the mix - my usual paucity of tracks. Yeah Peter does have that Clapton edge! Thanks again, 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! Our Videos
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I wish I could write like Bud.
I wish I could sing like Janice.
I wish I could play guitar like Peter.
After hearing something so professional it almost makes me want to sell my instruments.
Everything is perfect, as usual from you all!
Love is grand.
Divorce is twenty grand!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Wow. One of the best I've heard from you. It feels like a long time since I've heard Janice sing a full song, as opposed to harmonies etc. for other people, so this was a real treat.
Who wrote the lyrics??? It's not clear from the SoundCloud post, but whoever did it ... hats off.
Please keep writing and creating ... these times are perhaps also an opportunity for us creators to create and alleviate some of the pain so many of us are going through, through music, lyrics ... in one word, through art. So let's do it. THANK YOU for regaling us with this beautiful, beautiful song! Bud wrote an excellent lyric for this one and the vocal is sublime. A real pleasure to be asked to play. Peter
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The narrative & perspective are terrific.
"that's just the way things are"
Says it all really.
The lies we tell children, (science, faith & education are full of them as stepping stones to further understanding), form the adult they become.
Cool song on all levels.
Thank you.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Nice to hear an original from you and what a touching one it is! Hopeless story, powerful lyric writing. I was expecting something relieving in the end, but that's the way things usually are in real life, no happy endings. But luckily the excellent production makes me smile, Janice's voice and the guitars sing the ode of sadness very gently.
Janne Janne, that was a very eloquent response to our song. We thank you for those thoughts and are very happy that you liked it. 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! Our Videos
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Janice and Bud, after all the comments here is hard for me to add anything to top it. Anything that you all do is simply great. Production, vocals ,lyrics, you name it. All perfect!
Mike B.
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Oh Man, this is simply outstanding. Janice your voice is perfect for ballads, and it's time you did an album.
Peter, brilliant guitar work as always Thanks Graham! We appreciate your comments and, yes, Peter did a great job. 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! Our Videos
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Expert
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What a collaboration and with BIAB too! Great lyrics. Absolutely outstanding. Wonderful and full vocals. Beautiful Great guitar playing. I love that style. Someone said Eric Claptop. Yes . I'd throw in Mick Taylor too. Great production (mix, etc.) too.
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As usual, excellent production, clear mix, and emotive singing. Mind you, I'm not a fan of this sort of song, because they're as subtle as getting continually smacked over the head with a 2x4 cluestick. Then again, who likes taking medicine? So I guess you can put that down as a measure of the song's success. Subtlety has never been my strong suit But, hey, no intentions of continually smacking you. Glad you survived the listen! We get it and ultimately take the compliment. It’s fun having one’s thoughts provoked! 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! Our Videos
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Hi Janice and Bud,
What beautiful song! Such a nice melody and so wonderfully performed. Only you can sing it that way, Janice!
You all, including Peter, did a very good job on this song!
You almost forgot what sorrow you sang about. Maybe I have to criticize you on that...
and what coincidence I have posted a song myself about that worrisome times we live in. And I sang very angry, maybe even ugly. But that nasty world made me do that ;-)
But then you sang: 'all you have to do is pretend it’s just a play'. Well, there I became speechless. What a cynical, but also wonderful way of telling how to deal with it!
I don't think you need more compliments, otherwise you will walk beside your shoes (a Dutch proverb meaning: you become too vain).
Hans Thank you Hans. Your thoughtful comments are greatly appreciated. Even more so because you understand what we were attempting to say. We will stay in our shoes! 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! Our Videos
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Ok, this song IS emotion! It's one of those songs that captures a feeling so well that you sort of lose sight that it's a song and feel like you've just witnessed something. It's a story told so unbelievably well.
To expand on that a little bit without going too far, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is one of those types of songs. I'm not saying this sounds like that, just the power of the writing and performance get you to that place.
You three have so expertly accomplished this through the use of a well-delivered melody and harmonies, fantastic guitar work, production, and extra attention to the details of the lyrics. Instead of using words like Mom or Dad you chose words like Mommy and Daddy. Those words I want really drive it home.
The feel has even taking on life in the cover photo. From what I've seen, a lot of your covers have a really cool blue Spectrum to them. The Earth Tones had me expecting something different, and it was delivered
I lend on the overall sobering subject matter. I commend you for bringing it into perspective for those of us who may have forgotten the fears of a child. it's especially poignant given the times were in.
I am sitting in sitting in a parking lot as I write this. And by right, I mean speak it into my phone. I'm quite certain there will be many typos and it's not overly easy for me to go back and put in correct. I'm getting better at not worrying about that and just getting the comment out. that's what's most important in a work as amazing as this is! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. It is truly top-notch in every aspect!
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
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Loved the intro. Love the tone of Peters guitar. Excellent vocal Janice. Professional level production. Well done
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