I have been listening to Joe Bonnamassa a lot here recently. Innovative blues to say the least. So Brandon McLean sent me an idea and this is what came out of it.

TRYING (V2)

The band is totally BB/RB

Bass 1592
B3 873
Guitars 3436 & 3437
Lead 3438
Drums Northern rock
Ohhs and ahhhs 2976 x2

One lead vocal track

Lyrics

TRYING

I've found that the puzzle is always harder then it looks
I've found there's things, you just can't learn, from any book
I found I sometimes ....I sometimes make mistakes
I found that there's always one more rule to break

The rules of the game, keep changing day by day.
I'd like to win it just one time but it seems there is no way
It's like a game of luck.... that you can never win.
You can't give up, you can't walk out, gotta give it one more spin


I'll keep trying, trying, trying to survive,
I'll keep trying, trying, trying to stay alive
I'll keep trying, trying, one day I realized
I can't lay down and die, So I'm not done trying,

solo

You can lead or follow but don't get in my way
I won't wait until tomorrow, I'm gonna live my life today
I won't let no body, no body bring me down
Stand in line and take your turn I'm gonna get up off the ground


Enjoy

Gosh Guitarhacker! Outstanding song and production. Thanks.

Mike B.

Herb

Nicely done - impressive use of the guitar realtracks, and a strong vocal.

Enjoyed it.

Peter

Hey Herb ...

You outdid yourself on this one ... terrific song!

This is my favorite of yours that I heard. The lead guitar is perfect. And your vocal is so strong and oozes a powerful surge. This is one of my very favorite listens over the past couple of days. Wishing you the very best...

Alan

Thanks... glad you liked this. I probably spent more time on the ooooh/ahhhh tracks than anything else. Some copy/paste and lots of enveloping.

I was torn between sticking with the nice track for guitar that Real band handed me, or playing my own. I opted to be lazy since I have a number of projects and limited time.... I do think the track was pretty nicely played by RB. On the vocal.... just belt it out. Thanks

Good to hear I'm still outdoing myself in your opinion. THanks.

Hi guitarhacker,

oh, yes, Bonnamassa - unelievable. Another great 'new' blues guy you might enjoy: Mark Kerr. Check out 'Thick Side' (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtk39). The corresponding album is great, too.

Speakung about 'great' - I do love TRYING a lot - great lyrics, very good vocals (I'm a fan of your singing anyway')and it's got that spoecial blues feeling.Didn't look it up, but I'm pretty sure that wild guitar solo is being played by Brent Mason, right?

Stay healthy,

Stefan

Excellent! Only thing missing is a guitar track from you, although the realtrack is perfect for the song.

I'm really into Joe Bonamassa also, he is the best thing that happened to blues since SRV. Seen him in concert a couple of times, last year at Red Rocks in Colorado was the most recent time (bucket list item).

Great stuff, Herb, enjoyed!

HolyMoly that is loud! After listening the the James/Deej song this nearly blew my speakers set at the same level.

A good overall sound to this. That RT lead is super. The bass and drums are at a good level.

A good vocal with heart. Tucked in well. It has an over-driven sound to it that sometimes sounds like the mic is being hit too hard and red-lining. Do you have a saturation plugin on that? It works well to get the vocal in the mix at the right place (but in a few places it is a tiny bit overdone).

A good listen.

Great blues tune, nice energy, good production ... just a tip: back off on the volume a bit and add some eq to roll off the top end a bit to smooth out tone. Great job!

Strong message and delivery, I like how first two verses are about obstacles and the last one more positive with fighting spirit. And the chorus ties it together: "I can't lay down and die, so I'm not done trying", powerful. Very emotional singing and the lead guitar is well alive.

Janne

Nice song - good production and performance.

But it comes across on my speakers as harsh, like the high frequencies are hyped and overdriven.

Then again, it could just be my allergies messing with me. Ah, springtime!

Agreed!! An excellent listen!! But sometimes the saturation (or effect) is a bit too much. Really dig everything about the tune!! Finally got to hear one of yours.....Soundcloud. Take care. Greg

NOTE: remixed and reposted.

Version 2 3-25-20

TRYING

Fixes....

BGV lowered bt several dB
Guitar rolled off and smashed.
Vox.... yep I had a saturation plug that I had played with and forgot to remove it. It's gone now.
Vox rolled off the bottom with a high pass shelf
Whole mix, rolled off

See what ye think now

Well done on the remix! The guitar is awesome. I thought at first it was you, but looked it up. The ooz and oz are subtle and well used. Man, I wish God gave me a bit a your vocal range. Really strong. Quite an enjoyable tune.

I can't lay down and die, So I'm not done trying...

What a nice line, Guitarhacker
And what a cool song you made! Your vocals are very strong in it.
At the first notes of your song, just when you start singing, it sounded as if it was a song from Jimy Hendrix.
Soon after that, this feeling disappeared, but that wasn't a pity at all. How you performed in this song is very good. The band is also very good. So I was pleasantly surprised listening to this!

I agree I still had to turn the volume knob down after your adjustments, but I liked what I heard. So you done trying it the good way!

Hans

Hi herb great vocal lyrics and mix someone said you weren't playing the solo I though it was you I say that because I like your guitarwork thanks for sharing stay safe eric