The Code

This is a song that I had pretty much complete late last year, including lyrics and vocal. I wasn't happy with either so I asked Marty (on the forum here as BabuMusic) if he would like to take a crack at it, and this is the result. I think the chorus is mostly from my original write, the rest is all Marty.

The Band:

RealTracks in song: 3351:Guitar, Baritone Electric, Rhythm SwampyBluesBrent Ev 095
RealTracks in song: 2905:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm BrightBluesyPopColin Ev 100

Drums: EZDrummer2

Marty Straub: Bass, Vocal, BGV
Dave Bell: Lead Guitar, BGV

Mixed with Reaper, mastered with Ozone9

The Code (2021, Marty Straub)

Going back in history, back when humans began, we can find no rules.
All we know is somehow we should follow some plan, so we built our schools.
Nothing in our books seemed to guide us down our path
yet something seemed to keep us on the road.
Some have gone astray in our search along the way,
but most of us are following The Code.

CH: You may drive a lonely road living by The Code. It's the right thing to do.
People come and go, but there's one thing we know: You gotta live by the code.

All of us are searching for the meaning of life, searching every day.
But words were never written that could cut through like a knife, the weeds along the way.
Nothing that we hear from the elders that we know, and nothing from the tongues of old,
can teach us what to do when confronting something new,
so most of us keep living The Code.

SOLO

Some have tried to cheat and take a bigger bite. Somethin' says they'll pay what's owed.
Somehow we still find a purpose in the grind,
so most of us keep following The Code.

CH - SOLO

Most of us keep following The Code. Stumblin' still followin' The Code.

Edit: Made a couple of tweaks to the ending as per suggestions from floyd and Herb. Thanks, guys!

All comments welcome!

Dave & Marty...

Killer opening. Drums - loud and proud! Gritty guitar. Nice.

I'm a huge fan of Marty's bass! Perfect.

Nice vocals. The BGVs in the chorus are excellent (Nice processing!)

Good write (shouldn't you both get credit for that?).

Very tasty lead (and fills).

Excellent mix.

(The ending was more abrupt than I wanted it to be. Would have been nice to allow a long tail/echo on Marty's vocal on the last word)

Good music.

fj

Dave / Marty,

Snarling growling rock & blues - does not get any better than that!

Loved it!

Bob

Hi David drums are awesome the bass drum is so deep and clear ez drums i got to get me some of that great job on vocal and perfect bass excellent mix top notch thanks for sharing Eric

A song about natural law? Enlightened self-interest? Survival? Community? All of those and more? I'll take a bit of issue with the lines:

"...words were never written that could cut through like a knife...

I think there are "words written" that cut like a knife. But I don't have any faith in the butchers, without experience and without wisdom. They'll cut the way they were intended to cut, for many are called, few chosen.

But this is a music site.

This was a great listen. Marty delivers with great conviction, tone, character, and phrasing. And so does Dave on his instrument. Hugely enjoyed.

Dave & Marty

Superb blues rock well written, lovely soloing throughout and very well sung including those backing vocals.

Excellent music.

Peter

Nice one gents.
Ace lead licks, spot on bass, perfectly placed vocals and a tidy arrangement.
The kick is good - it has a hint of click but has real meat behind it.
Nicely obscure lyric.

Man, that ending has been bugging me ever since I started mixing this! The problem is there was some noise right at the end of the vocal track which I masked with a volume envelope. Never crossed my mind to extend the reverb tail so thanks for that suggestion, I've done that. Not perfect, but better than it was

And thanks for your other comments, and for your support and help over the years, very much appreciated!

Top song. First-class production. You guys put out a top product every time.
Love Marty's bass and Dave's guitar, which always reminds me of Dave Gilmour (e.g. the endless, effortless and exquisite licks, and fabulous tone).
BIAB/RealBand Wishlist: PG Music, why not book Dave (Bell) to put down some RealTracks for us to use?

I enjoyed this a lot. From the writing to the instruments.... all nicely done.

I too take exception to some (but not all) of the message in the lyrics but that's a discussion we shall not have here. That said, it's a good write.

Endings.... they can be a pain at times. I didn't hear the original.... but yeah, I agree, it's still not quite there. Remember that with your DAW, you should be able to fix just about anything. Just figure out what you want to do and then do it. Lots of times I will use my auto punch recording to fix things flawlessly. One thing I was thinking.... just copy the word CODE, and paste it like an echo.... as it fades.... one of many options.

The mix is nice and clear, great sound on the instruments, and vocals. Thumbs up all the way to both of you.

Second time through.... this time on my good ear buds.... much much better. Nice fat bottom, and good harmonies. Enjoyed it.

That EZ Drummer produces a good drum sound. Love the intro.

The chorus with vocal and harmony is sweet. Would love that worked in the song another time.

Your guitar playing once again is delightful to listen to.

Good work both of you.

Loved this tune. Super vocal and harmonies. Guitar was perfect. Marty's basslines gave the song a really cool feel. Well done.

BlueAttitude:

Another impressive collaboration—terrific blues tune. I’m running out of superlatives for all of BlueAttitudes efforts, this no exception. The drums, the write, the slaying lead solo, the lead vocal (which fits this tune so perfectly) . . . all so perfect together. Very cool tune!

My best to you all,

Deej

Team,
EXCELLENT ALL THE WAY!
Deliciously crude, yet very intricate. Perfect lyric theme. Cool guitar work! Fantastic balance of vocal styles. Listens very well. Enjoyed it much. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

This is a damned good song. Excellent lyrics. Great production. The band is hitting all the marks (bass and BIAB). That lead guitar is fantastic.

+1 - what they said.

Big sound, fun listen.

Great song. Bravo to all involved. I love this kinda of driven song, with that percussion driving it along. And the lyrics are wonderful. Great job.

Hey Bob,

Thanks very much, I appreciate that!



Hi Eric,

EZDrummer is a great tool, I've been using it exclusively here for a couple of years I guess. I like that I have complete control over what they are doing. The native sounds using the built in mixer are pretty good, but in my case I split each individual drum onto a separate track in reaper so that I can control the EQ and compression on each one individually.



I knew when I read the lyrics Marty wrote that some people would take exception to them. But, that's ok

Thanks for the listen/comments!

Thanks, Peter, happy you liked it!



I think I've pretty much figured out how to get the most out the EZD2 kick, and you had a lot to do with that

Thanks, Ray!



Made my day with those comments, thanks, Mike!

I read the lyrics first and it didn't win me over. But when I heard them in the context of all that BA goodness, I was completely won over. Great work, guys.

Great review, thanks, Herb! Good idea adding the echo, I've done that.



EZDrummer is a great tool. Sound wise you get the most out of it by having each drum on a separate track in the DAW instead of using the built in mixer, so you can control the EQ and FX on each part of the kit.

Thanks for the listen/comments!



Thanks for the listen, Scott, glad you liked it!

What to say? We are firmly entrenched in the blues rock world so it's easy to get on board this from the get go. No surprises (in a good way) as the vocal and guitar and bass performances are as Gregg would say "hittin' the note."

Janice wanted to mention how much she enjoyed the harmonies.

We are fans of "connect your own dot" writes so this was easy to listen to -- several times.

The mix is superb on the KRK's. I gotta check out EZ Drums - been saying that for years! Just don’t know about that many extra tracks. Yours sound great.

Nice!

BTW, both of us having received jab 2 of the moderna vaccine we are well aware of the Code and we await the RNA brain implant of the 5G chip

J&B

Appreciate that, thanks, Deej!



"Deliciously crude", I like that! Thanks, Misha!




Thanks for the listen and kind words!



Cheers, David!

I think this is the first time you have checked out one of our songs, thanks, I appreciate it



Great, happy you liked it!



Thanks as always guys!

Well, we are scheduled to get our first shot in a couple of weeks, looking forward to getting some of that RNA goodness ourselves

This is really excellent. Love the song, most of all. Vocals, harmonies, band and lead throughout make for a really solid work.

Very interesting lyrics, you obviously have some secret knowledge, because I'm not aware of the Code I like how it can be interpreted in many ways, that's good songwriting. The nicely rolling band and the excellent vocals support the message very well. Catchy chorus melody and enjoyable guitar work. Good quality song, I definitely want to follow your code

Janne

A fine lyric and so is the arrangement.
Good one.

Vic

Hi Dave!

I'm speechless!!!! (Well... the writing-text kind of equivalent of "speechless" but I have no idea if there's a word for that.)



This is an incredibly good presentation.

► The song is great

► The arrangement is first-class

► Your playing soars

► Marty's playing and vocals are superb

► The mix is extraordinary

A brilliant effort all around!
Noel

Hi BlueAttitude and BabuMusic,

Very nice composition. The mix is ​​well done. The arrangement well mastered And the whole pleases. Well done

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Thanks, appreciate that!



Thanks for stopping by, Janne!



Thanks, Vic!

One of the nicest reviews we have ever received. Thanks, Noel!



Thanks for the listen/comments, Jani.

Dave & Marty,
I like the connotations built into the word- so a good handle to give a song and the bluesy feel of the band is really well done.
Marty sings with warmth and conviction and the harmonies are good... but ooh that guitar takes the cake!

Robert

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!! Working with Dave and hanging out with you guys is some of the most fun I've ever had in music.

Cool that you were able to find someone to collaborate with here! Great guitar and I really like the lyrics, both the individual lines and the overall theme.

Cool song!!! I ALWAYS love to hear Marty sing, and I ALWAYS love to hear Dave play!!! Interesting lyric in this one too!! Great stuff guys!!! Take care. Greg

Outstanding guitar intro and guitar through out the song.
Outstanding vocals and lyrics.
Outstanding mix.
Rock blues at its best!

The only question that I have is why isn't this on the radio today?

Thanks, Robert!



Collaborations are the best. Thanks for stopping by!



Thanks, Greg, appreciate that!



Happy you liked this one, thanks, Mario!

Sounding good.
Well mixed and Marty sounds prefect.

Hey Dave,

Y'all sound great man. Really tight.

Excellent mix!