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Cold Plate

An attempt at a harder hitting production … at least for Janice’s vocal from the solo on. Peter plays some very complementary solos, fills and rhythm tracks. The title was inspired by the saying “revenge is best served as a cold dish” that dates to the 16th century.

Yep another “I’m outa here and done with you” theme. 😀 Lyrics are on SoundCloud and below. Thanks to Peter & PG Music and if you choose to listen your time is appreciated. Comments are welcomed.

Janice Merritt: vocals, arrangement & melody
Bud Merritt: lyric, mix, arrangement, mastering & photo
Peter Fulham: solo/rhythm guitar, mix & arrangement

Tech Stuff:
Bass: RealTrack 1036 Electric, Northern Rock Ballad > Izotope Neutron 3

Piano: MIDI SuperTrack 3102 Electric, Rhythm Americana > Logic Pro Grand Steinway sound > Waves CLA Effect

Pedal Steel: RealTrack 2542 Background Modern Ballad Atmosphere > Logic Pro Grit Pedal

Drums: RealDrums Nashville Even 8ths > Waves CLA Drums (multiple fills comps)

Snare: RealDrums Nashville even 8ths kit > Waves Magma BB T > Izotope Neutron 3 > Logic Pro ChromaVerb

Cymbal: RealDrums Nashville even 8ths kit

Mixed in Logic Pro X
Mastered via six Izotope Ozone modules starting with a Lucinda Williams reference song.

Cold Plate
© 2024 J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham
V1
How many times have I been told not to leave
Guess I need to find a long bridge to burn
Wanna see glowing embers in my rear view mirror 
You’ve shoved me past the point of no return

Chorus
I think I could make a profession out of revenge
But folks say it’s best served as a cold plate
So I need a little distance, I need a little time
Your days coming but it may be a long wait

V2
I’m not going to worry if my past defines me
In a few minutes I can leave where I lived my whole life
No more you  no more them  only me and the horizon
Any direction will carry me away from the strife 


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You always produce winners.
As always the perfect style for the song, an outstanding vocal and guitar leads, and mix.
I noticed a slightly different chord progression from your norm - sounds great.
When I see that you three are on the same song I know I'm in for some sweet ear candy!


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I can't comment on the sound much as I'm using a 15 year old laptop with bad converters and a dull sound...still waiting for my replacement computer...
The song & arrangement are excellent.
The narrative is personal but universal.
The bite in the solo is classic rock at its best.
The vocal after the solo is a little more up front and IYF as suits the story.
It's a lovely thing.


Cheers
rayc
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Originally Posted by MarioD
You always produce winners.
As always the perfect style for the song, an outstanding vocal and guitar leads, and mix.
I noticed a slightly different chord progression from your norm - sounds great.
When I see that you three are on the same song I know I'm in for some sweet ear candy!

Thank you Mario. And we appreciate the mention of the progression. It grew from Janice experimenting on her old Martin box with some suspended and diminished chords. Not something we’d play back in the bluegrass days. 😀

J&B


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I only noticed the "interesting" chords after seeing Mario's comment. I was too focused on the lead guitar and Janice's vocal. That's probably where that "early Jackson Browne" vibe is coming from.

To my ears, this seems a very bright mix... but my ears are still congested, so there might be some weird attenuation going on there. But it's very clear, and there's nothing that distracts from the vocal or lead guitar, which makes it perfect in that regard.

Despite the length, my first impression was that the song was short. Also another great sign in my book.

Nice work, y'all. laugh


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My virtual singer development blog

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It's a beautiful song, very beautiful voice and the guitar part in the middle is very pleasant.
Laurent

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Originally Posted by rayc
I can't comment on the sound much as I'm using a 15 year old laptop with bad converters and a dull sound...still waiting for my replacement computer...
The song & arrangement are excellent.
The narrative is personal but universal.
The bite in the solo is classic rock at its best.
The vocal after the solo is a little more up front and IYF as suits the story.
It's a lovely thing.

We hope the new tech arrives soon. Your comments are much appreciated as you mentioned several of the objectives we had hoped to achieve. We tried to orient the mix and mastering into a more rock direction … so thanks!

J&B


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Great arrangement, production and performance. Enjoyed this from start to finish.


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Originally Posted by dcuny
I only noticed the "interesting" chords after seeing Mario's comment. I was too focused on the lead guitar and Janice's vocal. That's probably where that "early Jackson Browne" vibe is coming from.

To my ears, this seems a very bright mix... but my ears are still congested, so there might be some weird attenuation going on there. But it's very clear, and there's nothing that distracts from the vocal or lead guitar, which makes it perfect in that regard.

Despite the length, my first impression was that the song was short. Also another great sign in my book.

Nice work, y'all. laugh

Howdy, thanks for all the positive comments. Yeah, it’s long for two verses and a chorus but we didn’t want to raise the tempo or shorten the solo. 😀 The brightness may be a bit due to the register Janice is singing in. It harkens back to the bluegrass days. Also I felt some of my mixes of late have lacked an “edge” so hopefully I didn’t overdo it!

J&B


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Originally Posted by MarioD
You always produce winners.
As always the perfect style for the song, an outstanding vocal and guitar leads, and mix.
I noticed a slightly different chord progression from your norm - sounds great.
When I see that you three are on the same song I know I'm in for some sweet ear candy!

Thanks Mario
Peter

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Oh my. I try to listen before reading the credits, and I was going crazy trying to figure out how a RT could do those guitar parts. Ha! Nice one, Peter!

Beautiful write. Janice, you really crushed these vocals. Reminds me of Linda Ronstadt without sounding exactly like her. Just a beautiful, big emotional punch.

Bud, the mix is perfect. This is a fabulous song every way I think about songs.

Really enjoyed it!


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Janice, Bud & Peter,

Rock n Blues at it's absolute best... An awesome production!

I love the way Janice comes out swinging on this one - gritty and edgy. She sings everything here with a great intensity. Really excellent.

Love Bud's production - clear and glassy with edge to match Janice's vocal. I also really love the reedy tones Peter is getting from his guitar. That's a great sound.

Just great music all around!

Bob

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This one grew on me 😀 At the beginning, I was just relaxed, but, as it went on, it really grabbed my attention. Mrs Merritt: really beautiful singing, you know I love the way you phrase. A great production all round, with the singing as its crowning glory. Loved the guitar tone colour, too. Well done!!!

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ALL of your productions are hard-hitting, J&B. Really like the write, Peter's solo and fills, then Janice nails the vocals like no one can. Bud, you should hold a class on mastering, Mastering The Master Like The Master. I like the rearview mirrow, too. Yep, everything you guys do is a little above what others would call top-notch.


Enjoy whatever happens!
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Janice can add that sparkle to any song.
Guitar is a nice addition too.
Not so keen on that "in your face" drum rhythm at the beginning but that's an easy fix if you feel the need to change it.
Maybe that's just a personal thing with me though.
Good job.

Vic

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Originally Posted by vicarn
Janice can add that sparkle to any song.
Guitar is a nice addition too.
Not so keen on that "in your face" drum rhythm at the beginning but that's an easy fix if you feel the need to change it.
Maybe that's just a personal thing with me though.
Good job.

Vic

Thanks Vic. I guess by “drum rhythm” you mean choice of components. The drums have a snare on all solos and choruses while the verses are sticks. So there is no difference in the intro from the above. And the gain and processing is the same throughout. It all works for us as our objective was an in your face vibe. 😀

J&B


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PB&J,

Excellence from every angle.
Janice has never sounded better.
Peter is in top form.
The mix is impeccable.
There is a brewing tempest in the singer that is a bit scary. smile

Music.

fj

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Love the lyrics and vocal. the style quite reminded me of Jackson Browne whose songs I like very much.

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Originally Posted by laurent4114
It's a beautiful song, very beautiful voice and the guitar part in the middle is very pleasant.
Laurent

Thank you for the 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!
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Man, the first verse plus chorus plus Peter is longer than most of my songs and yet I wasn't bored for a second [Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]
Definitely a winner!
Great chords, killer guitar, and I have yet to hear a Janice vocal that I don't like.
And, Bud, what you do with the faders is as good as it gets.
Winners all around!

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