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Posted By: Janice & Bud Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/29/16 05:41 PM
Lover's Battlefield Video

Audio only

We recently watched (again) the great Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg "Band of Brothers" series. Somehow the battlefield imagery and verbage worked their way into this song.  And for some inexplicable reason I tried to write it with no pronouns - an interesting exercise grin Tom (tommyad) joined in with some fine guitar and Janice added percussion. Another "two verses, a chorus and we’re outa here" production.

Thanks for taking time to listen and we always welcome your thoughts!

J&B

Janice: vocal and percussion (cajon on choruses)
Tom Adams: Lead guitar and fills. Thanks Tom!!
Bud: audio/video production

Bass: RT 518 Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 085
Guitar: RT 2533, Acoustic 12 string, HeldChords
Guitar: RT 2444, Baritone Electric, Background PopCountryBrent Ev 085
Pedal Steel: RT 2542, Background ModernBalladAtmosphere Ev16 065
Drums: RD NashvilleEven8

For those of the technical persuasion:

Vocal: Rodes NT1 mic via Focusrite Scarlett 212 to Logic Pro X
Cajon: Stereo via Rodes NT1 mic and MXL mic and Scarlett to Logic Pro X
Mixed in Logic Pro X with track effects and mastering from Ozone
Advanced 7, Alloy 2, Nectar 2 and Neutron. The EMT 140 plate reverb sim from Nectar was used for all reverb.

Lover’s Battlefield
© 2026 Janice and Bud Merritt

another fight fades to silence
an eerie calm follows the storm
one that never heals wounds
more dark clouds form

thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield

dreams turned into nightmares
time ran out for reflection
running from hurt, in full retreat
no shield for protection

thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield

Excellent song as usual.
Great guitar.

Sergio
Posted By: RnAM Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/29/16 06:55 PM
What shall we say first....
We already know, super cool solo guitar by Tommy!
Nice video too, Bud.
And definitely a very good vocal by Janice, but it's sounds kinda dry, in our opinion it could use a little more verb...
And this sounds different from your usual work (in a very good way).

Rob and Anne-Marie
Originally Posted By: Sergio Guarneri

Excellent song as usual.
Great guitar.

Sergio


Thanks Sergio! It's always good to hear from you.

J&B
Posted By: MarioD Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/29/16 09:48 PM
Tommy, that is some fantastic guitar chops and tone!

Janice, although this is very different from your other songs you did a fantastic job on this one and you should be very proud of it. Like RnAM an effect or two on the vocal might make it sound better, don't know for sure.

However this is still a keeper.
Originally Posted By: RnAM
What shall we say first....
We already know, super cool solo guitar by Tommy!
Nice video too, Bud.
And definitely a very good vocal by Janice, but it's sounds kinda dry, in our opinion it could use a little more verb...
And this sounds different from your usual work (in a very good way).

Rob and Anne-Marie


Thanks you two! Glad you liked it. For 90% of our productions I use essentially the same reverb, compression, delay and EQ on Janice’s vocal that I’ve added for the last 3 or 4 years. While looking for a different more haunting sound on this song I started the settings looking for a little more “bite” and, yep, I very slightly reduced the reverb while slightly increasing the delay and also tweaked the compression and the EQ a bit. But I did put a ton of reverb on the very last word in the song smile

On our system it seems to work but we have pine walls and floors in our home and things are inherently “lively” sounding. Also I don’t mix with headphones so it’s all based on the “room sound.” Given the very high quality of your productions I very much appreciate your observations on the sound! And we are glad that it did seem different from a lot of what we have been doing. As y’all know it’s fun to venture out a bit.

Thanks again for listening and commenting. We appreciate it.

J&B
Janice & Bud, great song all the way around, Vocals, guitar work, writing and production. Very clean, very good. Thanks, Torrey.
Posted By: PeterF Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/30/16 02:17 AM
Janice Tom & Bud

Bud - excellent pronoun free lyrics evokes the battlefield perfectly. Nicely mixed.
Tom - beautiful guitar parts that really compliment the song and encase the vocal.
Janice - lovely vocal(as expected and wonderfully delivered)!

A really superb piece - and great collaboration.

Peter
Good song! Janice has such an expressive voice, and such great tone. And a big tip of the hat to Tom, guitar playing is right in the pocket, great tone too.
Nice work. So much to like about this.

The vox are well sung.

Nice RT production.

TA's guitar parts...fills and solo are well played as well.

My only nit is the guitar is a few cents sharp. The sharpness stands out in quite a few places.
Originally Posted By: MarioD
Tommy, that is some fantastic guitar chops and tone!

Janice, although this is very different from your other songs you did a fantastic job on this one and you should be very proud of it. Like RnAM an effect or two on the vocal might make it sound better, don't know for sure.

However this is still a keeper.


We're sure Tom appreciates that. He definitely has the ability to complement a singer with both his solos and fills.

Thanks for mentioning the vocal. It's fun to venture out -- and biab and collabs sure facilitate that.

Thanks for listening and commenting!

J&B
Originally Posted By: Torrey Bliss
Janice & Bud, great song all the way around, Vocals, guitar work, writing and production. Very clean, very good. Thanks, Torrey.


We much appreciate that Torrey. Thanks for dropping by!

J&B
This one's all about mood!! Set from the first minor chord, it is dark and somber, and powerful. Janice's amazing vocal, and Tom, oozing out emotion with every note, make this a real treat. So well done! Video is very cool too-really matches the vibe of the music. Baritone guitar is the perfect addition. Excellent job on the whole nine!! Take care. Greg
"thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield"

Great descriptive lines start to finish. Nice write.

The BAND is perfect for this - simple, sparse, subtle. Tom's guitar is the perfect compliment. Love the solo. Great drum sound.

All topped off with the best instrument of all - Janice. The voice of an angel-with-a-devilish-twinkle-in-her-eye.

fj
Posted By: Robertkc Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/30/16 09:42 PM
Janice & Bud,

I love a slow burn song and you`ve really captured that brooding mood here. The guitar lead and fills are just so right for the song.
"Expressive" hardly does justice to Janice`s vocal but I can`t think of a better word.
Nice video images - particularly that broken window pane heart.
Very good!

Robert
Hello, Janice & Bud, Tom

The lead guitar of intro. and interlude is so good.
Janice's vocal is excellent as usual.
The choice of instruments is superb.
Nice video images and great collaboration.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best Regards.

Shigeki Adachi
Posted By: gibson Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/31/16 03:45 AM
Tom, Janice and Bud,

EXCELLENT all round as usual. Superb guitar by Tom as I have come to expect!
I like Janice's voice as it seems to be closer to the listener, if you see what I mean, as if she is singing this "just for me", more intimate.

Really enjoyed.

Alyn
ps Band of Brothers was a brilliant series
What a great collaboration.

Excellent in every way. The guitar work is really way up there, Janice's vocals are rich and deliver the song perfectly.
Posted By: receder Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/31/16 06:32 AM
Hi Janice and Bud,

Another great song! Moody, plaintive and sultry all in the right measures.
I listened to this on Soundcloud before you posted it here so was lucky enough to get a sneak preview.

Highlights :-
- Lyrical imagery
- Overall production and open sound
- Tom's guitar
- The extra oomph added by the Cajon in the chorus
- No pronouns - adds to the "mystery" i.e. we don't know who Janice is singing about.

Loved it,
Jez
Posted By: PaddyG Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/31/16 07:48 AM





Late night, smoky bar, souls that don’t want to go home for many different reasons, but a few listening to Janice singing this song, knowing darn well why and every word cutting to the bone.
That is where I was taken in my imagination. That is the ability of good songwriting each must take from it what they want, and how they see it.

Good show Janice & Bud

Paddy G
Posted By: tommyad Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/31/16 09:00 AM
To all who commented on the guitar parts, Thank You Very Much! Bud and Janice make these collabs very easy and enjoyable to do. Tom
Originally Posted By: PeterF
Janice Tom & Bud

Bud - excellent pronoun free lyrics evokes the battlefield perfectly. Nicely mixed.
Tom - beautiful guitar parts that really compliment the song and encase the vocal.
Janice - lovely vocal(as expected and wonderfully delivered)!

A really superb piece - and great collaboration.

Peter


Peter, thanks a lot for those nice comments. It's fun to experiment!!

J&B
Originally Posted By: BlueAttitude
Good song! Janice has such an expressive voice, and such great tone. And a big tip of the hat to Tom, guitar playing is right in the pocket, great tone too.


We appreciate you saying that....very much. I'm biased, of course, smile but I do feel she did a fine job with the vocal....and she also came up with the melody and chord structure. Thanks again.

Bud
Posted By: Scott C Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 10/31/16 04:09 PM
Beautiful heartfelt lyric. Really hit home. Beautiful vocal and production. Toms guitar had added such a heart wrenching feel to the song. Well done..
Really awesome song guys!! Great lyrics, vocals, guitar (Tommy) great everything. Loved it! Rich, rich writing. Extremely earthy and Americana. Great job.
Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
Nice work. So much to like about this.

The vox are well sung.

Nice RT production.

TA's guitar parts...fills and solo are well played as well.

My only nit is the guitar is a few cents sharp. The sharpness stands out in quite a few places.


Thanks Herb! Glad you liked the production. A small number of tracks but it took some effort to get them all to cooperate with one another smile


J&B

Originally Posted By: Greg Johnson
This one's all about mood!! Set from the first minor chord, it is dark and somber, and powerful. Janice's amazing vocal, and Tom, oozing out emotion with every note, make this a real treat. So well done! Video is very cool too-really matches the vibe of the music. Baritone guitar is the perfect addition. Excellent job on the whole nine!! Take care. Greg


Greg, your description nailed what we were trying to achieve..."dark and somber." Glad you liked it all and thanks for mentioning the vid. It took a while to find those photos and edit them to fit the mood. Thank you!

J&B
Originally Posted By: floyd jane
"thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield"

Great descriptive lines start to finish. Nice write.

The BAND is perfect for this - simple, sparse, subtle. Tom's guitar is the perfect compliment. Love the solo. Great drum sound.

All topped off with the best instrument of all - Janice. The voice of an angel-with-a-devilish-twinkle-in-her-eye.

fj


Talking about putting a smile on Janice's face...wow! And you made my music week by mentioning the mix and the lyric. Thanks mr jane.

Bud
Originally Posted By: Robertkc
Janice & Bud,

I love a slow burn song and you`ve really captured that brooding mood here. The guitar lead and fills are just so right for the song.
"Expressive" hardly does justice to Janice`s vocal but I can`t think of a better word.
Nice video images - particularly that broken window pane heart.
Very good!

Robert


Thanks a bunch Robert. We worked to capture that mood and it very cool that you felt it. And thanks for mentioning the vocal and the video. I search for photos that I hope will "work" but also allow the listener to form their own images. Glad you like the broken pane. It was a bear to get the colors on it to fit the scheme. We do appreciate your thoughts.

J&B

Originally Posted By: animarorecords
Hello, Janice & Bud, Tom

The lead guitar of intro. and interlude is so good.
Janice's vocal is excellent as usual.
The choice of instruments is superb.
Nice video images and great collaboration.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best Regards.

Shigeki Adachi


Thank you very much for listening and the nice review. We appreciate the comments and your time to listen!

J&B
Originally Posted By: gibson
Tom, Janice and Bud,

EXCELLENT all round as usual. Superb guitar by Tom as I have come to expect!
I like Janice's voice as it seems to be closer to the listener, if you see what I mean, as if she is singing this "just for me", more intimate.

Really enjoyed.

Alyn
ps Band of Brothers was a brilliant series


Alyn, thanks for listening. We're glad you like the vocal. I hard to get exactly what you described and am gratified that you noticed it. We appreciate it!

J&B

Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
What a great collaboration.

Excellent in every way. The guitar work is really way up there, Janice's vocals are rich and deliver the song perfectly.


Glad you liked it and thanks for listening and commenting.

J&B

Originally Posted By: receder
Hi Janice and Bud,

Another great song! Moody, plaintive and sultry all in the right measures.
I listened to this on Soundcloud before you posted it here so was lucky enough to get a sneak preview.

Highlights :-
- Lyrical imagery
- Overall production and open sound
- Tom's guitar
- The extra oomph added by the Cajon in the chorus
- No pronouns - adds to the "mystery" i.e. we don't know who Janice is singing about.

Loved it,
Jez


Reading something like this makes it all worthwhile. Thank you....big time!!

J&B
Hi Janice & Bud,

Great tune! The vocals and guitar are wonderful! Janice I love your process for writing without pronouns. I'm going to give that one a try! I would like to hear a little more reverb as well on your voice; I'm liking the tune as is but it would be interesting to hear a comparison. Thanks for sharing.

Pauline
PG Music Team
Originally Posted By: PaddyG





Late night, smoky bar, souls that don’t want to go home for many different reasons, but a few listening to Janice singing this song, knowing darn well why and every word cutting to the bone.
That is where I was taken in my imagination. That is the ability of good songwriting each must take from it what they want, and how they see it.

Good show Janice & Bud

Paddy G


We like where your imagination took it! It's really gratifying to know that you like the "you connect the dots" way we wrote this. Thanks for listening and offering your comments. Made our day!!

J&B
Originally Posted By: tommyad
To all who commented on the guitar parts, Thank You Very Much! Bud and Janice make these collabs very easy and enjoyable to do. Tom


And thank you for the perfect complement to Janice's vocal.

Bud
Originally Posted By: Scottt709
Beautiful heartfelt lyric. Really hit home. Beautiful vocal and production. Toms guitar had added such a heart wrenching feel to the song. Well done..


Thank you. You mentioned all of the aspects we worked for and we are happy it all worked for you. And we hugely agree with your comments about the guitar!

J&B
Posted By: 90 dB Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 11/10/16 11:58 AM
Late to the party on this one. I love when the performance blends so seamlessly into the production. And Tommy adds so much. Really enjoyed this one. Another hit for I-75!


Regards,

Bob
Originally Posted By: David Snyder
Really awesome song guys!! Great lyrics, vocals, guitar (Tommy) great everything. Loved it! Rich, rich writing. Extremely earthy and Americana. Great job.


"Rich, rich writing" coming from you is an enormously appreciated compliment since the two of us so greatly admire your writing. Wow...thank you David!
Originally Posted By: Pauline - PG Music
Hi Janice & Bud,

Great tune! The vocals and guitar are wonderful! Janice I love your process for writing without pronouns. I'm going to give that one a try! I would like to hear a little more reverb as well on your voice; I'm liking the tune as is but it would be interesting to hear a comparison. Thanks for sharing.

Pauline
PG Music Team


Thanks Pauline for listening and commenting. Unlike SoundCloud YouTube will not let you replace a file once it has been uploaded...so if I were to change the video by adding a new soundtrack I would have to create a new youtube upload (new IRL) and essentially start all over by regenerating the movie and uploading -- and losing the current link and all the viewer data. But I will change the reverb a bit and upload it to SoundCloud. Thanks for your observations!

J&B
Originally Posted By: floyd jane
"thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield"

Great descriptive lines start to finish. Nice write.

The BAND is perfect for this - simple, sparse, subtle. Tom's guitar is the perfect compliment. Love the solo. Great drum sound.

All topped off with the best instrument of all - Janice. The voice of an angel-with-a-devilish-twinkle-in-her-eye.

fj
I don't see how I could say it any better than Floyd so I won't try. He said exactly what I was thinking. I enjoyed the video and also like the photo on soundcloud
Originally Posted By: 90 dB
Late to the party on this one. I love when the performance blends so seamlessly into the production. And Tommy adds so much. Really enjoyed this one. Another hit for I-75!


Regards,

Bob


Thanks Bob. We appreciate you mentioning the production. And, yep, Tom certainly did.

J&B

Originally Posted By: gruverider
Originally Posted By: floyd jane
"thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield"

Great descriptive lines start to finish. Nice write.

The BAND is perfect for this - simple, sparse, subtle. Tom's guitar is the perfect compliment. Love the solo. Great drum sound.

All topped off with the best instrument of all - Janice. The voice of an angel-with-a-devilish-twinkle-in-her-eye.

fj
I don't see how I could say it any better than Floyd so I won't try. He said exactly what I was thinking. I enjoyed the video and also like the photo on soundcloud


Thanks Mr Gruve....we always appreciate your comments!! Great to see you back around.

J&B
Posted By: rsdean Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 11/17/16 06:56 PM
Janice & Bud & Tom,

Another excellent song. Great lyrics and outstanding vocal by Janice. Love Tom's guitar lines - perfect as always. Lots of emotion in this song. Great job all!

Bob
Originally Posted By: rsdean
Janice & Bud & Tom,

Another excellent song. Great lyrics and outstanding vocal by Janice. Love Tom's guitar lines - perfect as always. Lots of emotion in this song. Great job all!

Bob


Thank you so much Bob!

Janice
Posted By: Noel96 Re: Lover's Battlefield (tommyad on guitar) - 11/23/16 11:52 PM
Hi Janice and Bud,

I apologise for taking so long to write a comment. I first listened to the song quite a while back but then I became caught up in the turmoil of approaching-end-of-year school life (our school year is from February to December).

This is a wonderful listen. You've invented a really powerful metaphor to work with these lyrics. And you've done it all with very creative perfect rhymes; windshield/battlefield is my favourite. How good is the chorus!

Originally Posted By: BudandJanice
thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield

The register that Janice is singing in is perfect for her voice... on the listenability scale, it's a comfortable 100%!

AS always, Bud's production is first rate, and Tom's guitar playing is a hand-in-glove fit with the lyrics and music.

All the best to you,
Noel

P.S. I was watching some early episodes in series 5 of the Walking Dead just recently. They were set in Georgia. The scenery (minus the zombies) was beautiful!
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