The Ballad of Henry Mann. - PG Music Forums

And now for something completely different...

This song came from a random thought about how a single event can alter the course of your life. It might be a day in your life, or just a moment in that day, but it changes everything completely and forever. Having got the idea for the song, I needed to give it a happy ending, because my wife complains that all my songs are too sad and I started to worry that she might leave me for someone more cheerful.

It's all done in PowerTracks and I thought for once I'd try to kick the reverb habit, so everything is dry right up to the fade where I slipped back into my old ways. Thanks once again to Jessie and Courtney for their contribution to the vocals.

https://soundcloud.com/music-prof/the-ballad-of-henry-mann

Henry woke up that morning
He was tired of life and living on his own
He didn't go to work, he walked down the block
Saw a sign, went in and bought a gun (oh no not a gun)
An old car, no gas in the tank (no gas)
No food and no money in the bank (no cash)
"Might as well shoot myself, I'll end it all
Or maybe go down the bank and make an unscheduled withdrawal".
Yes, I think I will.

(It's funny how life can get you down
It's funny how things can turn around).

When Henry got down to the City Bank
He couldn't get in, there was a queue at the door (Oh no)
He pulled his gun, he pushed his way through
He said "I just can't wait anymore" (I just can't wait)
Just then there was a punk running out
With a bag of money in his hand (It's a hold up)
Henry shot him down without a second thought
He said "It was always my turn to rob the bank.
You know it was."

Henry was a hero that's what everybody felt 'cos
No one knew he'd planned to rob the bank himself
He got a reward, 'cos he saved the bank that day
Henry laughed and said -
"Who says crime doesn't pay? You know it does!"

You may be happy to know that in the third verse, which didn't make it into the mix, the punk makes a full recovery, reforms and finds worthwhile employment as a Financial Adviser.

A strange song, but mine own...

ROG.

ROG,

I thoroughly ENJOYED this!! A "fun story". GREAT mix. The sound during the guitar lead was SWEET. The girls sound great, of course. Your vocal is cool - a "touch" of reverb wouldn't hurt.

A very unique sound... I like it!

floyd

ROG
ROG meets a cross between Tom Petty and my mate Albert (he sounds a lot like you when he sings but is more angry in his solos) writing about a bloke I met last year who actually WAS a bank robber and spent a lot of time in Dartmoor amongst other high security establishments, 3/4 of his adult life in jail.

I like the backing singers, Jessie and Courtney, and the fact they contribute to the song. "HIT IT HENRY"
I enjoyed it, good work! I like your style of music a lot.

"finds worthwhile employment as a Financial Adviser" yeh right LOL

Alyn

I liked this a lot.
Fun story and good performance. Nice background vocals.
I only got a little confused with the chords during
the organ solo.

Guenter

Funky funky British man. Like it. (although you don't pronounce "unscheduled" properly)

Regards,

Bob

Pay no attention - "unscheduled" sounded perfect to me !
What a fun story - loved it!
Am I hearing you playing a Tele in the Mix there?
ACE!
chers
ian

Hi Rog,

What a fantastic sound and inspired arrangement!!!! The girls sound brilliant and your vocals are absolutely perfect for this.

You got my standing ovation!

All the best,
Noel

Great! Another story song. The groove and the vocal riffs are nice, and your lead vocal is coming out front better.

Reminds me a little of my current UK hero, Richard Thompson, with maybe a touch of Knopfler -- maybe more than a touch.

Are those RealDrum tracks, or something else?

Great song and storyline Rog, and a great professinal sounding mix as well, but then ...what am I talking about you are the pro.

Vocal and backing singers are great, song reminds me a bit of Claptons I shot the sheriff

As a simple country music boy its good for me to hear differnet kinds of music, might pick up something from you.

As I know you do the lot mastering etc, just wondering what do you use Ozone or Tracks, and how do you manage to get a good loud mix without it going over the 0db?

all the best
Musiclover

ROG,

Fun story song and really nice groove. The production sounds fantastic. Enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks for all the positive comments.

Floyd - I WAS tempted with the reverb!

Alyn - Glad you liked the "Financial Adviser".

Guenter - I wanted that part of the solo to make people feel a bit uncomfortable, before resolving into the sweeter guitar section with the BVs, so I introduced a Scar beat and took the Hammond into places where I wouldn't normally go. The whole solo was supposed to represent life turning around. Perhaps a bit ambitious.

90db Bob - At least he had no "Gas" instead of "Petrol"!

sixchannel, Ian - Well spotted. Yes that was my old Tele throughout.

Noel - Always like your work and so really value your comments.

Brad - No RTs or RDs at all. The drums are samples which we made up ourselves, played back via MIDI programming.

musiclover - There's very little mastering involved on my songs, just a bit of limiting and sometimes a little tape saturation. The important part is getting the individual tracks recorded right before you start the mixing process. Perhaps this needs a separate thread which I'll try to get round to.

Austin - Glad you liked the production, thanks.

Thanks for listening, everyone.

ROG.

ROG, bravo à nouveau pour cette chanson originale. J'aime le son, l'ambiance, la façon dont tu la chantes, le phrasé... Une réussite sur tous les points !

Nothing not to like with this project a very enjoyable listen.

The reverb verdict is still out with me as I could go either way with this particular performance.

Excuse me if you answered this question already, but who is/are the lady/ladies and did you use any doubling effect with their tracks?

It's all good!

Later,

Just had to show this tune to a friend...are you really Tom Petty? Sure coulda fooled me. Jessie and Courtney add the perfect touch.

Wait a minute...just listened to She'll Never Know....you are Tom Petty right?

Fine piece of music, harmonies are perfect! Guitar work is exceptional! Well written and performed! Thanks for sharing!

My Fawm

Thanks guys.

Carolan - Merci pour les mots aimable.

pgfantastic - thanks for the comments - glad you liked it.

MountainSide - Been a Tom Petty fan for over thirty years, so perhaps I'm starting to pick something up. Wish I had half his money.

Danny C - The girls Courtney, Jessie and Ellie are our secret weapon. We're teaching them how to sing, write vocal and harmony parts and perform. At the moment, they sing with our "House Band" and do some session work. Up to now they've only done tracks for me and Eddie, but if you've got a project that could use them send me a PM.

ROG.

hey ROG,

what I liked most about this song is that it really *IS* something completely different! You took chances with the song and let it take on a personality instead of just making a boring genre knockoff.

I also liked the fact that you let your accent shine. Lots of music by British performers seem to favor a generic accent that plays well everywhere.

two enthusiastic North Carolinian thumbs up

Sounds great ROG. Especially liked the twist in the story. Very creative.

Like it.

Stunning. Rhythm tracks, guitars, vocals, and recording are all spot on, amazingly so. Great song and great delivery.

But. Am I the only one who finds the organ beginning at 2:00 until the guitar lead begins to be jarringly out of key? I listened twice and just can't get it to resolve harmonically. I felt like it should be transposed down a third.

Pat and Josie - thanks for listening and all the nice comments.

Ryszard - Not the only one Richard, Guenter spotted something similar. It was deliberate and if you read back to earlier in the thread I explained it to Guenter as follows -

Quote:

I wanted that part of the solo to make people feel a bit uncomfortable, before resolving into the sweeter guitar section with the BVs, so I introduced a Scar beat and took the Hammond into places where I wouldn't normally go. The whole solo was supposed to represent life turning around. Perhaps a bit ambitious.

I'm pleased that it appears to have worked on you if not on everyone!

ROG.