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Rhymes and Reasons

You're looking for rhymes and I'm looking for reasons smile
We’ve been Lucinda Williams fans for decades and this is an attempt to write and produce to the best of our ability a song in her style which often (but certainly not always) consists of basic chord progressions, somewhat repetitive chorus lyrics and an overall gritty feel with a big drum sound. We thank our friend and music partner Peter and, of course, PG Music. Comments are welcomed and we appreciate your time. Lyrics are on SC. Caveat: Thematically her lyrics are MUCH better smile

Janice: lead/harmony vocals, melody, progression and arr.
Peter: guitar solos/fills/rhythm and arr.
Bud: lyric, arr., tech stuff and photos

Vocals: Rodes NT1 > Scarlett 212 > Logic Pro X > Nectar

Bass: RealTrack 3585: Electric, NashvilleRadio8thsA Ev 100 > Waves Bass Rider > Neutron 3

Harmonica: RealTrack 3967: BackgroundSoloist BluesFunkyPat Ev 120 > Logic Pro X Overdrive > Logic Pro X Chromaverb

Guitar Rhythm: RealTrack 834:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AltCountryMoody Ev 075 (B:arp) DI > Logic Pro X amp/speakers/mic

Drums: RealDrums RockRootsEv8^6-a:Snare, HiHat
Snare: doubled from the RD audio file
Cymbals: doubled from the RD audio file
Tag: built with kick, snare, cymbal from RD Audio File
FX for all above via Neutron 3, Ozone Impact and Waves CLA Drums

Mastering: Ozone 10 Adv Dynamic EQ > O 10 Vintage EQ > O 10 Imager > O 10 Maximizer > Tonal Balance 2 > Logic Pro X Loudness Meter

© 2022 J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham


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This is a really strong song.

I like all of it, and particularly the mix, which is very warm, and vibrant, and stands up to loud playing, which is hard to do.

The vocals (great) and guitar and so forth are meticulously placed in the mix, and allow us to crank it!

Floyd once wrote a song about the master of reason and rhyme who was not.

Did you finally locate the real one???

smile

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Janice, Bud and Peter...super song...I really like the track...love the snare and the occasional harp...great vocals and harmonies (of coarse)...Peter is flawless...he always has the right tone and solos for anything you guys do...last but not least, Bud another super arrangement...Oh! the rhymes and the reasons...which is which?...best regards...Dan


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This kicks off with a fantastic intro...gritty & cool.
A story of when "the other woman" is a creative rather than procreative urge.
Cool arrangement and Peter really does kick it into gear.
A fantastically annoyed vocal followed with an angry bee outro...it all works.
Excellent mix Bud.


Cheers
rayc
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Originally Posted By: David Snyder

This is a really strong song.

I like all of it, and particularly the mix, which is very warm, and vibrant, and stands up to loud playing, which is hard to do.

The vocals (great) and guitar and so forth and meticulously placed in the mix to aloud you to crank it!

Floyd once wrote a song about the master of reason and rhyme who was not.

Did you finally locate the real one???

smile


Thanks David for all and especially the mix comments. We spent more time than usual on the mix hoping to achieve the very aspects you commented on.

Nah, we didn’t find the real one. Very elusive!

J&B


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Excellent song, arrangement and production. The Performance of each of you is spotless. I enjoyed this, the thought and time put into the mix and arrangement stands out.

Charlie


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Hey Folks ...

I like the stong presentation - particularly the drums. And Peter nailed the guitar parts - doesn't her always? What';s left to say about januice's vocals that hasn't already been said all the years ya'll been here? She nails it every time.

Great lyric, Bud. And, as alwaysm, you turn all the knobs just right.

Kudos to everyone!

Alan


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Janice, Bud & Peter,

Love this! It's got such a great gritty and tough sound. Expertly produced, awesome vocal by Janice, and some real rowdy guitar lines by Peter.

As a 30+ year fan of Lucinda, I can say with certainty that this song would be at home on any of her albums.

Great, great stuff!

Bob

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I've never heard of Lucinda Williams so I can't compare, but I know that this is a good song, great arrangement, cool guitar playing and of course those vocal harmonies.

Love it. A lot smile

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Nice and bit funny look inside a musician's family life, hopefully not too personal smile Great sounding intro! And sound and playing of Peter's guitar are very enjoyable. Catchy chorus, good one to sing along, Janice's voice flows nicely "rhymes rhymes rhymes" with the rhythm. Good band and great mix, drums sound very live and the bassline is strong.

Janne


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Originally Posted By: firesong
Janice, Bud and Peter...super song...I really like the track...love the snare and the occasional harp...great vocals and harmonies (of coarse)...Peter is flawless...he always has the right tone and solos for anything you guys do...last but not least, Bud another super arrangement...Oh! the rhymes and the reasons...which is which?...best regards...Dan


Thank you for all that Dan!

We appreciate the snare mention (new Ozone 10 fx) and we certainly agree with your thoughts on Peter’s guitar work.

J&B


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Wow, great job capturing the Lucinda Williams vibe! I would have been daunted by such an undertaking, but you had all the right ingredients to make it happen. Even that minimal use of harmonica is true to the artist. I would venture to say Janice is a much better singer than Lucinda, but Lucinda got dat grit. I feel like electric guitar (Stuart Mathis) is a big part of her sound, but Peter was fully up to the task. A lot of small touches that made this work so well, some I couldn't verbalize but knew they added up to the real deal. Great work, gang!


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Originally Posted By: rayc
This kicks off with a fantastic intro...gritty & cool.
A story of when "the other woman" is a creative rather than procreative urge.
Cool arrangement and Peter really does kick it into gear.
A fantastically annoyed vocal followed with an angry bee outro...it all works.
Excellent mix Bud.


Thanks for all Ray. Your feedback on and off the forum is much appreciated.

The comment on the lyric is cool indeed and we love the vocal description! smile

J&B


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Originally Posted By: Charlie Fogle
Excellent song, arrangement and production. The Performance of each of you is spotless. I enjoyed this, the thought and time put into the mix and arrangement stands out.

Charlie


The three of us much appreciate that Charlie!

J&B


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I absolutely love the song idea of rhymes and reasons, and you took it in such a fun direction. What a wonderfully strong song. You know i love Janice's voice and Peter's guitar, and I've learned so much from Bud, and you three just keep getting better. Actually it's more like you've always been really good, and you just keep pumping out more examples of that. Keep pumpin'!


Enjoy whatever happens!
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J&B and Peter,
I can relate to your intention for this very good song- your LW studies have paid off!
I know you`ve mentioned her style inspiring other songs; follow that vein as long as you like on this evidence.
Original and easily relatable lyrics, the gritty feel others have noted and a memorable chorus melody- all good elements are there, with fantastic vocal and guitar performances.

Robert

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Awesome tune Janice, Bud and Peter. Very cool lyric Bud. Awesome vocal Janice. Very cool guitar work Peter. Loved the production. Well done


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Fell in love again with your vocals, Janice.
What pleasure to listen to this song! I bet even Lucinda would have been a little jealous

I was also very pleased (a lot) by the work of Peter and Bud.

Peter must know he's good on the guitar, everyone tells him all the time. And he is!

And Bud, you are a very creative man. Has anyone told you that before?
I'm also glad you use Logic x too.

Have a nice day,
Hans


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Originally Posted By: Al-David
Hey Folks ...

I like the stong presentation - particularly the drums. And Peter nailed the guitar parts - doesn't her always? What';s left to say about januice's vocals that hasn't already been said all the years ya'll been here? She nails it every time.

Great lyric, Bud. And, as alwaysm, you turn all the knobs just right.

Kudos to everyone!

Alan


Thank you Al. And the drum comment is much appreciated along with all your other nice remarks.

J&B


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Originally Posted By: rsdean
Janice, Bud & Peter,

Love this! It's got such a great gritty and tough sound. Expertly produced, awesome vocal by Janice, and some real rowdy guitar lines by Peter.

As a 30+ year fan of Lucinda, I can say with certainty that this song would be at home on any of her albums.

Great, great stuff!

Bob


Bob your comments and especially the reference to Lucinda made it all more than worthwhile. We remembered you were a Lucinda listener and had hope you would like it. I (Bud) was apprehensive about my somewhat silly lyric that falls short of her standards smile but am so happy you felt positive about the production. Hugely appreciated!

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!
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