Back Burner Man

In 1967 I (Bud) listened to Cream's Disraeli Gears when it hit the stores - it quickly steered me from my more psychedelia playlist!  I was particularly struck by Outside Woman Blues (one of my early entries into blues rock). The notion of a man keeping an "outside woman” has shown up several times over the years in blues songs. 

So Janice and I thought it was high time for the woman to have her say resulting in this “response” song. 

Channeling Cream is obviously out of the question! But we do hope to have established a few hints. Jack Bruce often had a bit of an over driven bass sound so at Peter’s suggestion we processed the bass RT with some overdrive, tape sat and vintage compression.  Peter also altered some of the bass notes to better fit the progression (that includes the infamous “Hendrix chord”).

Finally (yea) and FWIW the mix and mastering is influenced by the Disraeli Gears sound, i.e., heavy snare, the processed bass, the guitar FX, a bit more compression throughout, etc. 

A big thanks to PG Music and Peter.

Comments are welcomed and we appreciate your time. Be safe.

Janice: Arrangement, melody, lead vocal/harmony and counter point lead/harmony

Peter: All guitar tracks - solos, fills, turnarounds and rhythm

Bud: Lyric, arrangement, SC photo and the tech stuff.

Bass: RT 572 Electric Blues BB

Drums: RD BluesRockSlowEv^4-a:Snare, b:Snare, HiHat

Drums (tag): Nashville 8ths and added cymbal swell sample

Snare double: Logic Pro X Drummer

Track effects: Nectar 2, Waves CLA Vocals, Waves CLA Drums, Neutron 3 and Waves Bass Rider

Mastering: Logic Pro X EQ > Ozone 9 Dynamics > Ozone 9 Imager > Ozone 9 Maximizer > Izotope Tonal Balance 2 > Izotope Loudness Meter

Equipment: Rodes NT1 mic and Scarlett 212 interface

Edit (10/02/2020): From Peter: Just a quick note on the guitar - used a Line 6 Variax -(the Les Paul was in the other room and it was all hooked up to the Helix). Also a Line 6 Helix amp simulator, chose a Marshall Amp - rolled off the treble on the guitar - turned up the amp - instant Woman Tone - as per Clapton's instructions on the Goodbye Cream video, played one note - instantly sounded like Strange Brew (Dave almost impossible not to sound like it!) and took it from there.

DAW: Logic Pro X

Arranged in BiaB via multiple SGU movement to and from Australia.

Child, you have such a "Heat of the Night" twinge in your voice!

Yeah, maybe Cream should have had a lady singer on some of their songs.

This is just so well put together and period correct sounding!

Awesome job folks. Thanks for posting...

Thanks! Love that vocal description

And we’re glad you felt that it reflected the period.

It was fun!

J&B

Wow, and I mean WOW.
The guitars tones are some strange brew.
The minimalist band allows everything to BE.
The lyrics ... cool and very effective.
melody ACE!.
Vocals.. as bawb said they make the case for Cream having had a woman's voice as counterpoint to Eric N Jack's earnest efforts.
Peter F ...exemplary mate.
With only Eric left it's great to hear the sound and the drive of such an influential band in new music.
EXCELLENT!

Janice read this and had one word immediately ... AWESOME! Bud was smiling as soon as he read “strange brew.” Ray, your knowledge of rock offered us a huge sense of validation regarding our production objectives. Needless to say we much appreciate your time to listen and offer such a supportive review.

Thank you!

J&B

Hello Janice & Bud,

Composition very well done as usual. The guitar solo goes very well and Janice's voice still beautiful. I notice that you use the same mixing tools as me Ozone 9 and its derivatives. Nice composition.

Kindly regard
Dero13
alias JaniJackFlash

Let's see: Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Janice Merritt. Yep, I think that would have worked. But, on the other hand, Janice, Bud & Peter seems to be working pretty danged good, too! Loved the tone on Peter's guitar ... true to the times.

With Janice lighting up the mic, Bud slinging words around until they fit as a perfect lyric ... along with some serious knob twisting, and Peter equally the Eric Clapton sound ... what more could you ask for?

As I listened, I checked a couple of times to see if my pants were bell bottoms, my hair was long and frizzy, and if the colors in my shirt would have made Ray Charles squint. Well, they weren't, but they easily could have been!

That was as thought it came from a time capsule. Excellent! I'd buy another ticket for that trip! ok, I'll get to the point - I like it a lot!

Best to all three of you. Please be safe ...

Alan

PB&J,

Some very Creamy guitar! Great job on that Peter...rhythm, fills and solo... Nice!

Nice choice for Drums (though the drums fills could have been a bit "showy" at times). The Bass is nice and Punchy!

A good Blues write. Classic sounding.

The Usual Superb Vocal from The Star. Damn! you are good!

Mix is SUPERB. Everything has the perfect space. And then tightly knot.

Excellent.

Creamy.

fj

J&B and Peter,
WOW!! That`s my kind of throwback music- spinetingling from the opening guitar riff.
Great to hear Janice sounding so right on this and the guitar throughout is stellar... as is the production.
The only thing I could wish for( and how would you find it?)is more Ginger Baker brilliance on the drums.
This is a marvellous surprise.

Robert

Thanks! And yes Izotope has some great products. We also like the Waves CLA suite and the Waves multiband compressor.

Very cool. Peter nailed Eric’s tone and phrasing. Needless to say very difficult without a full stack turned to 11. Loved this tune . Very cool lyric and Janices vocal was perfection. Loved your production on this Bud 10’s all around

Even if that had not been about the three of us it would’ve brought a smile to our faces.

Thanks for helping us feel we did the era a bit of justice.

Hey in 1967 my pants were bell bottoms, my hair was long and I had some awful shirts!

Thanks for every word of that review. They are appreciated!

Take care,

J&B

Hi Janice, Bud and Peter.
It's wonderful to hear what you can do with a traditional blues structure. The arrangements are terrific, the guitars are mesmerizing and Janice's voice is outstanding !
Thanks for making blues staying alive. Christian

Man, I thought you guys were going to do Strange Brew at first, that guitar intro is pretty similar

I was a huge Cream fan back in the day, wore the grooves off those records. Still am actually.

Guys, this is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!

Peter is channeling his inner E.C., both in terms of style and tone, just perfect.

And Janice!!! I don't think I've ever heard her sound better. Just as good as it gets, fabulous.

Excellent write and mix, Bud.

You guys are the best in my book, love everything you do.

Another great collaboration. Stellar write, recording, arrangement, production and performance. The vocals and guitars are spot on. Everything about this is top notch. You've 'channeled' the Cream to the top of the butter churn this time. Enjoyed my listen.

Some feedback from someone who has no reference point to the musical influences that folks are bringing up...love the whole thing! Wonderful slow-rolling, heavy-syrup flow, beautiful vocal, esp liked the unison guitar soloing..great work!!

Thanks! And especially for “classic sounding” as that was the goal.

Janice and, I’m sure, Peter are most appreciative of your remarks on their
performances.

Interestingly Baker’s playing was relatively straight forward on Outside Woman ... but hugely nuanced with a great outro. No surprise

And another thanks for mentioning the mix - only a few tracks but time consuming. We are very pleased you felt it worked.

J&B

Fantastic, Folks! Truly.

Janice, you have a style that's all your own and it's a joy to hear you bring it. Outstanding. And those backup singers - well, they're quite good too:)

Peter, as much as I dig RT's there just isn't any substitute for tasty tracks composed for the song and performed by a talented musician such as yourself. Take a bow.

Bud, the mixing and mastering are magnifique. So much so, that I didn't really even think about it until after I listened. Top shelf. And once again, I appreciate you sharing your work flow.

So cool,
Well done all the way around.
Another great collaboration.
Excellent vocals as usual, guitar is fantastic.
Nicely glued together.

Hi J&B and Peter great work I listen to a lot of cream in my day Janice well done!! love the backing vocals great job peter on guitars brought back memories thanks for sharing Eric

Thanks Robert and it means even more as you are familiar with the music. We three appreciate everything you mentioned. A Baker RD style would be cool indeed. He held back on the some of the Outside Woman cuts so maybe we snuck by

Appreciate your time and supportive remarks!!

J&B

Just a quick note on the guitar - used a Line 6 Variax -(the Les Paul was in the other room and it was all hooked up to the Helix). Also a Line 6 Helix amp simulator, chose a Marshall Amp - rolled off the treble on the guitar - turned up the amp - instant Woman Tone - as per Clapton's instructions on the Goodbye Cream video, played one note - instantly sounded like Strange Brew (Dave almost impossible not to sound like it!) and took it from there.

Thanks for the comments on the guitar - Bud & Janice presented me with a great chance to play a bit of Cream.

Loved the vocals and premise right from the start. Bud did a great job mixing all the bits I sent him.

Peter

Thanks Scott. We couldn’t agree more regarding Peter’s playing. Ace.

We appreciate you commenting.

J&B

J&B and Scott,

Smoking—I mean paper on fire smoking—in all respects . . . just killer start to finish. And oh, the slick back up voc. Wow—just top, top notch.

My very humble regards,

Deej

Chris, thank you very much!

We know you like the blues and we are happy you enjoyed this.

J&B

Man, to read that from BlueAttitude is fantastic!

Firstly because y'all are such amazing Blues Rock artists
and secondly because of your familiarity with Cream.

Thank you BIG TIME!!!

J&B

Another great song. I can really hear the Cream influence. I still have my vinyl copy of Disraeli Gears.

Haha...there’s an old family churn residing in our house. Now it will remind me of our tune

Thanks for listening and commenting. You have a great ear for mixes and performances so we are delighted to hear you like it!

J&B

Well, I loved it. I don't get ANY of the musical references y'all get, I wasn't brought up round that particular neck of the woods, haha ;-) ... but the sizzle of the song is unmistakeable anywhere, with any musical upbringing. Great job - superb production as always, superb writing as always, superb singing as always. Another top-notch production from the Janice, Bud, Peter crew :-) Well done!

Creamy, indeed. Great concept and wonderful execution by all concerned. Who would expect anything else?
Regards,
Leon

You nailed the Cream sound, no doubt. Great bluesy vocals. Nice touch with the background singers. Outstanding lead guitar. I love it. Top notch arrangement. Congratulations to all. Great recording.

I can't speak to the authenticity, as it was before my time... something I can say less and less often these days, so thanks for that!

But I can recognize good blues when I hear it... and that's what I heard.

Thanks! Glad it worked for you sans reference point

We appreciate it.

J&B

J&B and Co.,
Excellent vintage crunchy, fuzzy blues tune! Everything very cool! Guitars are so different and SO GOOD! Peter, big thumbs up! Janice is a queen of the show for sure! Bud, you need to start selling master class videos on production., would love to see you in action. You done great! Congrats team on another gem!

P.S. I finally have a small suggestion or opinion on your tune if I may. Instrumentals and mix has very authentic vintage feel, but vocals have a bit modern (clean) tone. I wonder how it would sound if to add some tube emulator to vocals, even if it will sound somewhat hot/distorted. Could be fun. Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Thanks for everything. You put smiles on three folks' faces!

We very much appreciate you taking the time to listen and offer such supportive comments.

J&B

Oh yeah...the lady got her say. It was nice of you gentlemen to provide such a killer band and mix for her to wail over. Heck, one of you even wrote her lines. Now THAT'S love and understanding...or at least a bit of fear. Respects.

Wow, after reading all the posts on this excellent song, I was thinking what to say that hasn't been said yet.
I am afraid that's impossible, though! It is such a good song, so well sung and performed and with that very cool leadguitar from Peter.
Oh, let me not forget to mention the lyrics. Now I know the meaning of a 'back burner' (and a 'helix'for the Les Paul).

Thanks for this song, Janice, Bud and Peter,
Hans

Thanks. Glad it worked for you!

J&B

Thanks Eric. It’s cool to know that you listened to Cream. That makes your comments special!

J&B

I normally would skip this type of blues song if heard on the radio, I'm not a fan of Cream... but this is a magnificient exception. Nice backstory. Everything sounds amazing, the mix and all the effects on the guitar and the bass... just screaming the highest quality. Peter's playing is the backbone of the track and so good that I thought Peter has to be a pseudonym for some of the greatest rock guitarist on Earth And on top of this is the real cream: Janice's voice brings the traditional blues lyrics very much alive.

Janne

Thanks DJ. We very much appreciate your comments. Always.

Take care,

J&B

It's good to see so many Cream fans (and maybe a few converts). Thanks for the comments on the guitar parts,hopefully there was enough "Clapton" in them to give an authentic period feel.
Once again thanks to Bud & Janice for inviting me to play.

Peter

Hey, cool that you have that! Mine may be in the basement somewhere in stacks of vinyl. Glad you liked it. Thanks!

J&B

Come on now ... they were a British band

Glad you liked it!

J&B

Janice, Bud and Peter,

I thought it was a very elaborate sound.
It's not enough to mention the greatness of singing and playing, it's really great that there are various gimmicks in the sound.
I think the bass effect (the bass RT with some overdrive, tape sat and vintage compression) in particular gives this song a very unique feel.
It's a wonderful "response" song.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Wonderful job recreating rock royalty, and what a lot of work it must have been to do. Brought me back to my high school days, minus the reefer. The Slowhand impression was amazing! Listened over and over, couldn't get enough!

Love the bluesy but sassy feel of this song. You guys did a nice take on this one.

Thanks Leon!

J&B

Thanks, glad you felt we captured that vibe. Yep Peter did a fine job with the guitars. And Janice had fun with the BGVs for sure!

J&B

Thanks David. Glad you heard it as good blues. All it takes!

J&B

Chills! This song just grabbed me from the first guitar lick and never let go. Wow - just wow. You really knocked this one out of the park. I felt like I was transported back in time to a small club where the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton would hang out in their early days. This is just soooo good.

Going back for another listen!

Misha, your comments are HUGELY appreciated. Every word. Thanks for mentioning the vintage vibe and I have to assure you that seeing me in action would be mostly me twisting a few virtual knobs and then calling Janice to come and listen and tell me what she thinks!

Interestingly what I had thought would be my final mix had a grittier vocal that we both liked. We moved on to what will be our next post and I liked the different tweaks I put on the vocal to the extent that I revisited this song and changed the effects to what I had discovered. So you are right on the money regarding the notion that it could be grittier. Now I wish I’d retained the original!

Thanks again,

Bud

Thanks for the fun review! Got Bud cowering around the house

J&B

Thanks Hans, we always appreciate you listening and commenting!

J&B




Thanks Janne. We appreciate your time especially given this isn’t your favorite genre!

J&B

Thanks Shigeki. Great to hear from you!

J&B



Thanks a LOT. No doubt Peter smiled at the Slowhand reference! We appreciate it all.

J&B




Thanks Donna! It was a fun project.

J&B




Ed, that time transport was exactly what our objective was! Thanks for listening and mentioning that.

J&B