St. Louis Blues -- VIDEO
Audio Only
(Depending on the vagaries of website compression at any given time one of the above may have less artifacts, be hotter and/or just sound better.


Hi folks, this is our first song in three months. This year is flying by or as a friend of mine says "time flies like an arrow…fruit flies like a banana."

As one of the most popular public domain* songs St Louis blues has been recorded by hundreds of artists with incredibly varied arrangements - many of great renown. We decided to do a boogie boogie version of it…one that we could imagine folks jitter bugging or lindy hopping to in the 1930’s and 40’s. Not to mention that we’ve wanted to use this piano midi super track for some time

We rewrote and tweaked some of the lyric to more reflect a woman’s perspective and to come up with a “cleaner” version than the original (trust me!). Interestingly this has got to be a very early appearance of the bridge.

We originally had rhythm guitars, bass and drum tracks but everything seemed to be competing with the piano. The piano “left hand” is really nailing a good bass line and without playing it myself I don’t think I could come with something that wouldn’t step on the piano. After removing the bass I decided to just go as basic as possible and kept removing. So imagine, say Marcia Ball, playing/singing and a fine country fiddler walks by and sees a light on…..

*Published in 1914 St. Louis Blues is firmly in the public domain even by the very strict US standards; consequently, we own all rights to this production.

Comments are always both welcomed and appreciated.

J&B

Vocal: Rodes NT1 mic > Focusrite Scarlett 212 > Logic Pro. Effects via Nectar 2

Piano:  Midi Super Track 2067 Piano 40’s Boogie Rhythm. Rendered to midi/Logic Pro X Yamaha Grand sound/Alloy 2/EMT Plate Sim Reverb (minimalist solo comped from multiple generations of the rhythm track)

Fiddle:  Solo 1872 Western Swing/ EMT Plate Sim Reverb

Fiddle R:  1115 Back ground country swing/ EMT Plate Sim Reverb

Mixed in Logic Pro X and mastered with Ozone 6.

Hey there J&B

Fabulous.

I remember playing double bass to an instrumental version of that song in the school jazz band, never realising at the time how raunchy the lyrics were!

I love this minimalist version. The piano track is exactly right and gives Janice room to move. Some super blues timing and phrasing in there Janice.

Fiddle solo? Couldn't think of anything which would fit in better.

Oh, and great video too.

ROG.

Very nice and groovy, this style is definitely your specialty. Top-notch vocals Janice!
We like the flipbook/pagecurl effect in the video, the retro wallpaper and the pictures that are nicely blended with it.

Good work (again/as always!)

Rob & Anne-Marie

hoooooly mooooly... hard to imagine that the music from Prairie Home Companion probably made somebody rich even though they were much less talented than you two.

This is so well conceived, produced and packaged. I love the page turns and wallpaper notepad. The photos are perfect, you must have scoured the entire web to find enough pertinent photos that were also public domain. But your efforts paid off... It all works together so well

You must be absolutely maniacal about tweaking BIAB's output until it sounds live, because that's the telltale sign of your productions: the live sound.

Janice's voice is so fluid that she navigates the melody effortlessly, and even has a little lingual lilt left over to play with the melody.

The song is executed perfectly, and the accompanying video also shows a great deal of thought , research and visionary zeal.

I'm exhausted as I write this, so my ability to find words does not do justice to the magnitude of your project. But I really, really like it.

Thanks ROG! Interesting about you playing bass on this tune as I came close to dusting off my upright bass for a track on it before deciding on the minimalist approach. We are glad you liked that. Also Janice much appreciates you mentioning her timing and phrasing on the vocal. She simply loves to sing this kind of tune. We felt pretty good about the piano and it's cool that you felt it worked!

J&B

Janice and Bud,

Good heavens,, isn’t this the way this song should always have been sung, it rollicked it rolled, it went deep, deep, south. It just had me going forward a few years as well, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, it became even more ageless for me. Janice you were in your vocal element there.

Paddy G

Hi, Janice & Bud !


This song could have been written
for Janice ! She is so at home
with it ! I can´t recall having
heard anything better from you
two and this means that this will
be my fav J&B tune from now on !:))

This is simply great !!!

Cheers
Dani

Janice & Bud
That is pretty much the definitive version of the song for me (I've heard it a few times now).
Superb vocal - it swings. Very nice evocative video & the audio version is beautifully recorded.
Brilliant.

Hi Janice & Bud,

it's all been said. I can only line up in the praise for this song. Janice awesome es always. The piano track is great. Icing on the cake is the video.
I enjoyed it.

Guenter

Glad you liked it and thanks for mentioning the video!

J&B

Wow ! This is top notch ! Excellent performed !

Janice & Bud,

This is such a cool sound. Love the arrangement and the mix is outstanding. Janice as always is flawless and her phrasing is impeccable. Loved it!

Bob

Pat, reviews like this offer a validation to our efforts that is priceless. Every time we try something different it's a bit like stepping of a cliff. We are never sure if folks will enjoy it or not. And for this piano/fiddle thing we had a lot of doubts. So, thank you!! And we appreciate you commenting on the video. Yes, it took a while to find the PD photos. And they were not of high resolution so I had to create the collages which required a higher number of photos. The alternative would been to have used them individually and that would have meant a lot of dead border space.

We appreciate your time to watch/listen, your time to respond and your support.

J&B

This song is really cool. Great vocals and I agree stripped back piano (esp when it is so busy) is a good way to go. Hard sometimes to strip instruments back but usually worth it. Well done!

Pro all the way. Expect nothing less.

It is an accomplishment that "that line band sound" has become your signature (Bud) - everyone agrees and no one does it better.

The vocal on this (Janice) is as-good-as-it-gets... YOUR "signature" - because that is how all of your vocals are described.

The video is perfect for the song (can almost see those people moving), but the audio only link is worth everyone's attention - so you can listen - truly listen...

Love that piano bass line... we don't ever hear that... nice...

Stunning, y'all.

fj

J&B, I could go on and on about Janice's fabulous vocal but in this case a simple " Don't get any betta than that" will have to do. The striking thing here is how good the piano and fiddle sound. The spread on the left and right hands is perfect and the Yamaha setting sounds awesome. Just the right touch of reverb. The production chops here are shining as well as an excellent video. Also superb editing on the solos. A superior version of a song that has been covered a jillion times. Quite an accomplishment. Tom

Thanks! Glad it rocked for you....yep, there is some Little Richard and Jerry Lee in there. Thanks for mentioning that.

J&B

Very pleasant listen. A super vocal and great background.
Nice song.

Sergio

Great foot stompin' fun!! Great job putting this together. The piano is awesome, as is the fiddle solo. AND Janice kills the vocal-exquisite timing with not one note a hair out of place! That girl can SANG!!!! Video is a lot of fun too! Great stuff guys!! Take care. Greg

Thanks Dani. Yep Janice loves this kind of song...she sorta makes it up as she goes along through the song!

Bud

Now that's music!

and that is one hell of a vocal!

This is going straight into my keeper folder.

Appreciate that Peter. Yep, YouTube really smashed the audio. If they allowed replacement files I'd load it again. Thanks for listening/watching and commenting.

J&B

Very few can strip everything away leaving such a sparse mix and as one listens there is no doubt that what you're hearing is pure talent.

Bud and Janice can.

Janice's vocals and Bud's arranging, mixing and producing both spot on.

Enjoyed this from start to finish.

Thanks Guenter. Glad you liked it all and especially the piano track.

J&B

This is a great version! I loved it!

Thanks and we appreciate you listening.

J&B

Thank you Bob and we appreciate you mentioning the phrasing. Janice loves that style!

Bud



Thanks! Yup, less is often more.

J&B

Love me some Georgia blues, man! Enjoyed this a lot.


Regards,

Bob

Ouch!!! Wonderfully perfect arrangement!!!

Perfect platform meets perfect vocal!

The two of us much appreciate your comments floyd. Whatever skill I might have with the live sound I came by it honestly having played in bands for many years -- standing in the back both playing upright bass and running the sound board.

Thanks for mentioning the video and the piano line. We love that style and had wanted to use that piano since BiaB first introduced it. And, of course, Janice appreciated what you said about her vocal. Without her signature sound what I do wouldn't amount to much...not even the proverbial hill of beans

J&B

This jumps! so fine! Great vocal, Janice as always. very enjoyable. I don't think I've heard (or read) the name Marcia Ball since I left Texas almost 20 years ago, good memories.

Thanks guys,

Kenny

Thank you Tom. Janice appreciates the shout out and I'm delighted you liked the mix. I put a little "Ozone Juice" on the piano to try and emphasize the spread. Thanks for mentioning that and the solo editing.

We were a bit hesitant to tackle an old war horse like this but hoped the boogie woogie piano and the lyric tweaking would bring some new life to it.

Thanks again!

J&B

This is a very cool tune. Got the toes tappin :-). Well done

Thanks for your support Segio!

J&B

Greg, we very much appreciate that. Remarks like this encourage us to continue our BiaB musical journey.

Thank you.

J&B



Thanks...bet there's some fine company in there

J&B

Hey Charlie, thanks for saying that! The more I stripped out the more worried I became about the outcome. It's good to know you feel that way. Thanks for your support.

J&B

Janice and Bud,

This is a great version of a great song, one of my early favourites! I wanted my classical piano teacher to teach me to play like that but she said that that was not real music. We soon fell out much to my parent's anger.

What a lovely singing voice you have, Janice.

Alyn
ps How do I stop my foot tapping now?

Janice and Bud,

As a youngster, then aging listened to that song many times,
played by my Mom and Dad. A lifetime ago.
Never knew the words, but loved their music.
Mom was an excellent vocalist, but never heard THEM words.
We both enjoyed it thank you.



Later,

Tessie and FrankB

Hi Janice and Bud,

After listening to that, I'm out of breath... I can only think in words...

• sensational
• energetic
• mesmerising
• brilliant
  • performance
  • arranging
  • mixing
• outstanding
  • vocals
  • creativity
  • sound
• more please

Seriously.... music doesn't get any better than this!

All the best,
Noel

Hey y'all, thanks for listening and saying nice things!!

J&B

Thanks....glad you liked the vocal and the arrangement!

J&B

Thanks Kenny. Good to hear that you're familiar with Marcia. We've been fans for years.

J&B





Thanks Scott...keep on tappin'!

J&B

Heard the audio before over on soundcloud. Nice job on the video, well worth another listen!

Thanks Alyn. It's great to hear from you. Not real music eh? Glad you had a falling out with her!

J&B

Outstanding and the minimalist arrangement is the perfect backdrop for Janice's vocal which brings those lyrics to life.

You'd think it would be easier but I find minimal arrangements harder to mix....Kudos to you both on another wonderful track.

Hope you and your family are doing well.

Thank y'all so much. We appreciate the thoughtful comments. And even more so since you have such a familiarity with the song.

J&B

Great job!

I have played this piece many times throughout my playing career and I don't think I've ever heard the words or worked with a vocalist who sang this. Excellent interpretation and superb blues singing. My compliments and BRAVO!

Dang Noel. Just a few of those adjectives would have made us happy but, man, to ascribe all of those to our production is simply overwhelming. And given your composition, arranging and production skills we are only hoping we can live up to 1/10 of what you mentioned. Thank you!!!!

Thanks! Glad you liked the vid.

J&B

Thank you Josie! I agree on the difficulty of mixing minimalist tracks. My preference is 4-6 tracks. Any more or less and things get dicey for me. Janice is very appreciative of you mentioning her vocal.

J&B

Thanks! We appreciate your comments even more knowing you have worked with the song for so long.

J&B

Very very cool. Let my peaches be. Great job on the video too. It gets easier doesn't it? Fantastic vocals from Janice.

Thanks Josie. That line has been used multiple early blues songs. Thanks for mentioning the vid!

J&B