Wheels of Fortune

Story of the Song:

The song started out as a standard 55 BPM slow blues, a straight I-IV-V 12 bar, one of many BIAB tracks I created that I use to jam over. Last week Marty came up with a melody and wrote a couple of verses for me to sing. I tried a few approaches, but it wasn't coming together, didn't have the right feel.

On Sunday I tried a completely different approach, came up with more of a J.J Cale/Dire Straits type groove, different chord changes, faster BPM, and a different melody, and by changing some of the lyrics and adding a few more, they fit the new melody and BPM perfectly. I then wrote a bridge to lead into the guitar solo.

The Band:

1410:Piano, SynthLayer, Rhythm Soul70sA-B Ev16 100
3164:Guitar, Baritone Electric, Rhythm BluesyPopSteady8thsCleanBrent Ev 100

Marty Straub: Bass
Dave Bell: Guitars and vocal

EZDrummer2: Drums and Percussion

Mixed in Reaper, mastered with Ozone9

Wheels of Fortune (2022, Marty Straub and Dave Bell)

The wheels of fortune are rollin' right on by me now.  They're speeding by this sorrow, that I just can't hide.
I'm sinking in the shadows of social poverty now. Now that you left me lying here with pain inside.
Oh, the emptiness I'm feelin' stays here when you are gone.  I can't go on like this, no, no.  I can't go on.  

The wheels of fortune are flying off the cart. They're rollin' right on by me in the dark.
I have no chance to catch them, not knowing where you are.  They roll on by me as I'm searchin' where to start.
Oh, I can't go on with searchin' if you can't be found.  You gotta lower me down, down, down.  You can't be found.

The wheels of fortune keep on rollin' on, they always seem to pass on by.
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on, I just want a piece of the pie.
Rollin' on ..... right on by.

Solo

Outro:
The wheels of fortune are rolling right on by me now.
Rollin' on ....

All comments welcome!

EDIT: Uploaded a new mix, minor tweaks (01/10/2022)

Hi Dave and Marty,

Well, J.J. Cale is alive and back in this very atractive song!
(and with his brilliant partner Marty of course)

Like this kind of music very much.
A very strong solo and nice rhythm.
I longe for my rum after this.

Very well done, both of you!!!
And nive 2022
Hans

Of course this is showing my age, but it sounds a lot like the Doors back in the 60s, great mix!!

Hi Hans,

Thanks for the very nice review, very much appreciated!

Hey, one of these days I'll get back to Holland, and when I do, the rum is on me!

Best to you and yours for 2022.

What a slick sound you've got going here Dave! Marty's contributions to this are invaluable! Everything here is first class! Great guitar sound and chops! That chorus has got a catchy melody! Thanks, Torrey

Cool tune.

I'm currently binge watching Breaking Bad, and I could hear this as one of the rare underscore songs. It has that dark feel that would work well in a show like that. The slightly out of tune guitar fits it well as does the almost whispered vocal track.

Nicely done.

Dave & Marty

Sounds like a lost J J Cale classic.

Loved the drum programming - you do that very well.

Nice bass, vocals and some excellent melodic and always interesting guitar phrases (nice bend near the start of the solo!)

Top notch.

Peter

Hi Dave,

Love the groove - it reminds me of JJ Cale (which is a very good thing).
NB Just noticed that Peter had already made the comment about JJ Cale.

I like your vocals too - I would like to hear them a bit louder in the mix.

Well Done.

Best Regards
Nigel

Well, this got earwormed for me real quick and isn't going away any time soon. Subtle variations to the usual slow blues made this special. Nice work, now get out of my ear you guys. ; )

Ooooh! Slinky!

The vocal really helps set the mood.

Lots of ear candy, like the bell tree, scratchy guitar and the congas. Nice stereo imaging, too! Nice build into the guitar solo.

Yep it has THAT vibe and delivery. Different lead guitar style and tone but that's a good thing as it marks it as your own.
Really nice playing Marty...nice lyrics too.
Dave...done good...played hard!

Hey Ronnie, thanks for taking the time to listen and comment!

Man, I listened to the Doors a lot back in the 60's and early 70's, still own most of their albums.



Hi Torrey,

Well, this song wouldn't have been born without help from Marty, my lyric writing skills are mediocre at best

Thanks for the listen and kind words, very much appreciated!

Hey Herb,

Happy you liked the song!

Breaking Bad certainly lends itself for binge watching, I've done that myself twice now.

Guitars are not out of tune BTW, I have to disagree with you on that. I always check the tuning at the beginning of a recording session, and several times during as well.

Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment!

Dave & Marty,

Love the feel of this! To David's "slinky" I'll add "Silky" and Smokey" - a great combination.

The vocal is COOL. (I wanted it to have just a little bit more of a "close mic" sound - to match the tone).

Marty's bass is nicely silky and smokey, too!!

Nice guitar work throughout. Good fills & leads. The scratchy funk is a nice touch.

Drums sound good. In a really good space.

Excellent mix. On my 3rd listen...

fj

I totally agree.

I also got a Doors feeling on this one. Outstanding groove and a magnificent vocal, bass and lead work.

Loved it.

Dave & Marty,
Love this! Not sure what it was before, fuhgeddaboudit. This one is great! Excellent theme and vocals. JJ was a great influencer, I am sure he would approve. Neat solo and ace playing by both of you. Really liked this one. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Thanks for everything, Dave, and please take me with you to visit Hans. Meeting you in person is surely on my bucket list, Hans. Thanks to all who mentioned me and JJ Cale. Herb & Dave, hope you guys binged on Better Call Saul, too.

Thanks very much, Peter!



Hi Nigel,

Well, I still cringe at the sound of my own voice, not quite ready to turn it up Thanks for the positive comments!

Nice work. Great guitar playing. The Bass is in the groove. Good use of the band. Outstanding blues here. Good job to all.

Well Dave and Marty, you are very welcome! bring your guitars with you (I have only acoustic stuff) and we have a wonderful jam session, accompanied by nice rum(bottles)...
I'm proud to be on your bucketlist, Marty. No other Dutchy does, I bet ;-)

See you,
Hans

Sad lyrics, the theme is nicely present in the guitar work and the vocals. The intro reminds me of Santana, maybe because of the nice percussions (I also like the use of the mark tree). Pleasant groove, the funky guitars work really well. Enjoyed the guitar riffing and soloing.

Janne

Well, the JJ Cale references seem to rule the roost and although we are JJ fans and can appreciate the comparison, we, FWIW, felt much more of a Knopfler feel with both the groove and your excellent playing.

"The wheels of fortune keep rolling on" is both a clever and engaging hook. Nice write.

Irrespective of your feelings about your vocal we felt it well delivered the dark imagery.

Needless to say Marty's bass and the entire mix was right in the pocket.

Well done y'all!

J&B

Thanks Tm!



Thanks, David!

I always use the Ozone imager when I master, usually the only place it gets used, but this time I also used it on the percussion track.

Good song, cool lyrics & feel... Enjoyed listening to this one.

Another very cool vocal Dave. Love your voice. Guitar was excellent. Loved the crispness in your tone. Marty's bass lines were awesome as well. Well done...

Thanks, Ray! I briefly thought about going with a Knopfler type tone, but that's not really me.



Wow, thanks, floyd!

Vocals, and of course mic technique, are quite new to me, but I'm learning.

I was initially having a problem dealing with a 'P' POP sound with this vocal and thought I would have to fix it in the mix. But then I remembered you talking about mic technique where you just turned your head away from the mic when singing those words. Tried it, and it worked perfectly!

Yeah, JJ Cale is a good call. I've heard others say you sound like Chris Rea, Dave. I had to look him up and they're right. All of your songs come complete with earworms, like I can listen to 10 other songs after yours and still walk away singing your hook.

Hey Y'all, this is a great job. I really enjoyed it.

It has a very old school Brit Rock blues feel to it, like early Clapton.

Great job by everyone.

I listened to the doors quite a bit back in the day. Loved the mood of a lot of their music, "Riders on the Storm" is probably my favorite.

Thanks, Mario!



Thanks Misha!



Thank YOU Marty, if it wasn't for you this song would not have happened

Yes, I can imagine JJ in there.

Vic

Great collab guys! Cool song. Especially liked the beat and guitar tone.
Josie

Thanks for the listen/comments!



Thanks, Janne. Listened to a lot of Santana back in the day, covered a few of his tunes in a band I was in back in the early 90's.



Yes, I was thinking Knofler myself initially. I changed the initial song description to add J.J. Cale when all the comments started coming in

Thanks Janice and Bud, you guys are the best!



Thanks for the listen, appreciate it!

Some wonderful playing by some of the forum's best players!!! And, Dave, I can't believe you don't do more vocals......your voice has a nice rich and airy quality!! Really great mix too!! LOVE IT!! Take care and Happy New Year!! Greg

Thanks, Scott!



Old school works for me, thanks, David!



Thanks for the listen, comment!



Thanks Josie!



Well, I would never, ever claim to be a singer. But, nice of you to say so!

Thanks, Greg.

Really nice song here. Nice melody, great arrangement and use of the Real Tracks. The vocal sounds a little like one of my favorite singers, Chris Rea ("Fool If You Think It's Over").

Allan

Someone made the Chris Rea comparison to me a while back, I had never heard of him before that. Thanks!

Hello Dave and Marty
absolute top song
Everything is perfect
The vocals are super fitting
Marty on bass always fits anyway ;-)
But then this fantastic guitar solo
your song is a real pleasure
Very well done
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Oops, nearly missed this one.
Great work Dave and Marty. Like others, I hear traces of JJ, The Doors and Mark Knopfler. Dave, your vocal is terrific - your husky/whispery tone reminded me of a low-key Dave Gilmour.
But having said all that, it's a great original song.
Cheers,
Mike

Hi Andi,

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, I appreciate it! And yeah, Marty always come up with the perfect parts, I couldn't imagine not working with him at this point.



Thanks Mike! I see you have a new one up, I'll be along shortly to give it a spin

This is a stone hit!!!!

Absolutely love it!
Put together like a well fit suite.
Dave's breathy vocals really nail it.

Excellent.

moto

Appreciate that, thanks very much! I see you have a new one, I'll be over in a bit to give it a spin

Very good song Dave, both music and vocals.
J.J. Cale... your voice is less hoarse, sweeter.
Someone mentioned the Doors, we go for that!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Good solid song and performance.

Like your guitar bits. They have a slight western feel, but the solo doesn't.

Hats off to Marty the bass master.