This one is for Kathy: The Mighty River

The Band

Dave Bell - Guitars and Vocals
Marty Straub, aka BabuMusic - Bass
Chris Spruit - Background Vocals

2692:Organ, Rhythm ModernPopSlowMike Ev 075
3343:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm HazyBalladChorus ev16 070 (*2, one using the simple option)

Drums: EZDrummer2

Mixed with Reaper, mastered with Ozone.

The Mighty River (Dave Bell, 2021)

The mighty river wanders slowly, flowing free
It stops for nothing in it's journey to the sea
Just like the river flows from mountains in the sky
It's just the same for you and me

I see your smile, it brightens up my day
I love you more than any words can say
Just like the river can't be stopped along the way
My feelings grow, each and every day

The mighty river, it is strong and it is free, just like the love between you and me.
The mighty river, flowing to the sea, is stronger now, it was meant to be.

Many thanks to my bandmates Marty and Chris for the support, you guys are the best!

All comments welcome!

Good feel on this one,
Nice straight forward lyrics.
Guitar work is excellent.
Vocals bring it all together nicely.
The backup vocals really add depth and texture.

moto

Dave, Marty and Chris,

I always enjoy Chris's vocals on your tunes, but man I really like hearing you too! This is a really good tune! Your blues playing Dave is excellent...it always is! Great job Marty holding the bottom end down! Your a pro! Chris's BG vocals give this a haunting type feel to really brings this song to a higher level! Enjoyed it! Thanks, T

Dave & crew,
The intro guitar sounds classic and leads nicely into the warm sincerity of your vocal.
Chris delivers a beautiful backup vocal (the highlight for me is the duet "mighty river" passage).... and then comes your blistering solo.
A very cool tribute!

Robert

Touching tribute that ticked off all the boxes on the feels list. Liked everything about this. Great work, everyone!

Cool song. You guys are a good team. Great playing. Great harmony on vocals. I love that solo guitar during break. So good. Good lyrics. Nice job.

Love the blend of yours and Chris' vocal, Dave. The usual great playing and production.
Regards,
Leon

Dave - nice vocal and very nice backing by Chris.
Marty - great bass work throughout.

As expected some very tasty guitar work (loved the bends at 2.14)and an engaging melody.

Excellent work.

Peter

Thanks, moto!



I'm not really a singer, I have a very limited range. I wrote this song in Em for guitar reasons but ended up having to drop it to Cm so I could sing it

Thanks, Torrey!



That is my favorite part of the song also, it was Chris that came up with that idea.

Thanks, Robert!

Nice work on this - loved the instrumentation here. Concise, and to the point, and all the vocals do a great job of making the other straight-forward lyrics seem larger than life.

A lovely tribute and fantastic song - thanks for sharing!

The intro reminded me of "Hey Joe". IMO the organ is stealing all the oxygen. BV's are great , beautiful guitar solo , good vocals which at times reminded me of Willie DeVille.
Sometimes Ozone is not kind to the engine room ( bass & kick drum) which could use a little more punch, but regardless, the playing is excellent. Nice heartfelt lyrics. Good song. Would love to hear it again minus the organ. I have my fingers crossed that I have not caused offence and in fact, I very much like this song.
cheers
Gary.

There is a danger with expansive tools like BIAB to try to do too much, but it takes an expert's hands to use just what is needed to deliver quality work, and I feel like that's true here. Nothing "fancy" with the orchestration that clouds the main components: vocal/lyric/solo-ing. The result is a work that completely hangs together, and the listener can focus on exactly what was intended, without distraction. Excellent all the way around.

Hi BlueAttitude,

I am really a fan of your compositions. The melody is superb with well-written lyrics that sensitize us. I love your musical construction and the mix is ​​perfect. Thanks for sharing.

Kindly regards
Take care of you and your team
Derochette
Alias JaniJackFlash

Dave/Marty/Chris

A nice Love Song. Good choice of imagery (the river).

I like hearing your sing, Dave! Good BGVs throughout.

Y'all have a great sound. Marty's bass is always so buttery, Dave's guitar work always spot on and Chris BGVs the perfect icing.

Enjoyed.

fj

Blue Attitude,

Always a pleasure to listen to your work. The harmonies are really sweet. The lyric does just what it needs to do, needs nothing less or more. Killer guitar solo (and work) as well. Very cool stuff!

My best to you all,

Deej

I like the guitar intro and the solo is ace.

The chorus has staying power.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe we have been hearing more of Dave taking the vocal reins lately.

A seamless package.
That voice is developing confidence and maturity with each outing - sounds excellent on this.
Bvox reminded me of Maggie Bell or Maddy Prior.
Bass - I wish I could play with the certainty, runs and tone of that man.
COOL.

Dave, it’s great to hear you singing. Chris’s harmonies and Marty’s bass are perfect. The guitar solo couldn’t be better. Your usual fine production along with a very good write make this a great listen, Tom

Loved the into David. Excellent vocal man. Chris's harmonies were perfect for the song. Some lovely bass work from Marty. The guitar work was just first class. Love the tone and feeling in your playing. Well done

Hi Dave,

A fabulously moody sound to this one.

Everything working well and together with great performances from everyone.

Loved the tone of the guitar on the intro and the solo was sublime.

Excellent.

Hi Dave, Marty & Chris,

very cool ! First impression: great image. Then that wonderful intro. A great tune and the contrats between your (Dave's) low voice and Chris' BGV works excellently.
And a good job on the low end, Marty!

A very enjoable collab and listen!

Stay safe, guys,

Stefan

Thanks, TM!



We have fun with it, which is the main thing I think. Thanks!



Appreciate that, Leon!



Thanks, Peter!

Dave,
excellent romantic tribute. Chris + your vocals work very well together. Super bass from Marty. Very cool guitar intro and solo, especially interplay guitar & bass at the solo. Mix is PRO. Liked it! Thank you for sharing.

PS. I feel that I am in some kind of hibernation mode...
seems just heard this when posted, now replying on second page

Misha.

Thanks for the listen and comments!



No offence whatsoever. Thanks for the listen!



I've never been a fan of adding too many tracks to a song, less is more IMHO. Thanks for the kind words!



Thanks Jani

Hi, Dave, Marty and Chris !


What a superb tune and
a superb collaboration
with everything necessary
in place sounding professional
in every turn !

I do like this very much !

Cheers
Dani

"The mighty river, it is strong and it is free, just like the love between you and me.
The mighty river, flowing to the sea, is stronger now, it was meant to be."

From a couple that "gets it" we love the tribute!

Great imagery ... so easy to picture a mighty river.

The harmonies are well done and, no surprise, are mixed equally well.

The solo moves beautifully right along with that mighty river.

Marty has THE knack for the complementary bass part. Great.

Another fine addition to a great catalog!

J&B

You know, Dave, you really are an outstanding writer. I listen to our whole album on Spotify and still walk away singing, "Can you tell me the answer, my friend?" or "Winter memories are the treasures that I count..." So now I'll be singing this one throughout the day. Yessir, you make my days so much better.

Thank you, floyd

It still sounds odd to me to hear my voice in the mix, but Chris and Marty have both been giving me lots of encouragement.



Yep, third song. I'm well on my way to getting lead singers disease I think

Thanks for the listen and kind words!



Yes, Marty is DA MAN!

Cheers, Ray



Thanks Tom, really appreciate that

Thanks, Scott!



I used my tele for the intro, ROG, I know you are a tele guy!

Thanks for the listen and kind words



I really appreciate that, Stefan, thanks!



Hi Misha,

The way we work is that Marty does his part last, I typically use a BIAB bass player if I need something to play off.
So Marty has my lead part to play off when he lays down his part. Makes it much more organic, almost as good as being in the same room.

I see you have a new one up, I'll be along soon to give it a spin

A beautiful audio painting! As people have already said many times, the imagery is fantastic! The choice of sounds used, and placement of those sounds create such a strong sense of emotion.

I won't go into details of every aspect as it would be an awful lot to write. I'll just say, don't sell yourself short on your vocals. Those vocals stacks you have going work really well together in my opinion. On your own immediately set a tone for what to expect. Then it opens up like the heavens when backing vox come in.

Also...I forgot to mention, it's really catchy. Sometimes that not the goal of a song along these lines, but you managed it in a very pleasurable way!

I've gotta say, I love it! You all should be very proud.
Thanks for sharing this!

Very warm song, beautiful melody. Vocals and the BV layers, organ, guitars, bass - all together highlight the warmth of love in the lyrics. On the first listen I thought the solo didn't sound like a slowly wandering river, but more I listen to it, the more it reflects the strength and freedom of the river.

Janne

There's much to appreciate about this song. The lyrics simply and directly testify to the sheer, swooning exhilaration that comes with the discovery of loving feelings between two people. What's more, using the beauty and glory of our Mother Nature to describe the power of those feelings is truly inspired and inspiring, too. Having a female voice (Ms. Spruit's) in the background echoing lyrics sung by the male vocalist speaks to the pairing of souls that have found each other, at last.

All the above is rendered even more memorably by Mr. Bell's and Mr. Straub's acoustic instrumental performances on electric guitar and bass, respectively, that blend quite seamlessly with the Real Tracks. Regarding those, the rhythm organ Real Track adds a spiritual dimension/sound to the song that seems to sanctify the bond of affection and committment spoken of in the lyrics.

Cool tune!! Great guitar playing, and I love the use of the B-3 also!! Like to hear you sing Dave.....I think it should be up a bit in the mix and maybe a bit of lows shaved off. Another great tune from a GREAT band!!!.....always love to hear you guys play!!! Take care. Greg