Rhymes and Reasons

You're looking for rhymes and I'm looking for reasons
We’ve been Lucinda Williams fans for decades and this is an attempt to write and produce to the best of our ability a song in her style which often (but certainly not always) consists of basic chord progressions, somewhat repetitive chorus lyrics and an overall gritty feel with a big drum sound. We thank our friend and music partner Peter and, of course, PG Music. Comments are welcomed and we appreciate your time. Lyrics are on SC. Caveat: Thematically her lyrics are MUCH better

Janice: lead/harmony vocals, melody, progression and arr.
Peter: guitar solos/fills/rhythm and arr.
Bud: lyric, arr., tech stuff and photos

Vocals: Rodes NT1 > Scarlett 212 > Logic Pro X > Nectar

Bass: RealTrack 3585: Electric, NashvilleRadio8thsA Ev 100 > Waves Bass Rider > Neutron 3

Harmonica: RealTrack 3967: BackgroundSoloist BluesFunkyPat Ev 120 > Logic Pro X Overdrive > Logic Pro X Chromaverb

Guitar Rhythm: RealTrack 834:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AltCountryMoody Ev 075 (B:arp) DI > Logic Pro X amp/speakers/mic

Drums: RealDrums RockRootsEv8^6-a:Snare, HiHat
Snare: doubled from the RD audio file
Cymbals: doubled from the RD audio file
Tag: built with kick, snare, cymbal from RD Audio File
FX for all above via Neutron 3, Ozone Impact and Waves CLA Drums

Mastering: Ozone 10 Adv Dynamic EQ > O 10 Vintage EQ > O 10 Imager > O 10 Maximizer > Tonal Balance 2 > Logic Pro X Loudness Meter

© 2022 J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham

This is a really strong song.

I like all of it, and particularly the mix, which is very warm, and vibrant, and stands up to loud playing, which is hard to do.

The vocals (great) and guitar and so forth are meticulously placed in the mix, and allow us to crank it!

Floyd once wrote a song about the master of reason and rhyme who was not.

Did you finally locate the real one???

Janice, Bud and Peter...super song...I really like the track...love the snare and the occasional harp...great vocals and harmonies (of coarse)...Peter is flawless...he always has the right tone and solos for anything you guys do...last but not least, Bud another super arrangement...Oh! the rhymes and the reasons...which is which?...best regards...Dan

This kicks off with a fantastic intro...gritty & cool.
A story of when "the other woman" is a creative rather than procreative urge.
Cool arrangement and Peter really does kick it into gear.
A fantastically annoyed vocal followed with an angry bee outro...it all works.
Excellent mix Bud.

Thanks David for all and especially the mix comments. We spent more time than usual on the mix hoping to achieve the very aspects you commented on.

Nah, we didn’t find the real one. Very elusive!

J&B

Excellent song, arrangement and production. The Performance of each of you is spotless. I enjoyed this, the thought and time put into the mix and arrangement stands out.

Charlie

Hey Folks ...

I like the stong presentation - particularly the drums. And Peter nailed the guitar parts - doesn't her always? What';s left to say about januice's vocals that hasn't already been said all the years ya'll been here? She nails it every time.

Great lyric, Bud. And, as alwaysm, you turn all the knobs just right.

Kudos to everyone!

Alan

Janice, Bud & Peter,

Love this! It's got such a great gritty and tough sound. Expertly produced, awesome vocal by Janice, and some real rowdy guitar lines by Peter.

As a 30+ year fan of Lucinda, I can say with certainty that this song would be at home on any of her albums.

Great, great stuff!

Bob

I've never heard of Lucinda Williams so I can't compare, but I know that this is a good song, great arrangement, cool guitar playing and of course those vocal harmonies.

Love it. A lot

Nice and bit funny look inside a musician's family life, hopefully not too personal Great sounding intro! And sound and playing of Peter's guitar are very enjoyable. Catchy chorus, good one to sing along, Janice's voice flows nicely "rhymes rhymes rhymes" with the rhythm. Good band and great mix, drums sound very live and the bassline is strong.

Janne

Thank you for all that Dan!

We appreciate the snare mention (new Ozone 10 fx) and we certainly agree with your thoughts on Peter’s guitar work.

J&B

Wow, great job capturing the Lucinda Williams vibe! I would have been daunted by such an undertaking, but you had all the right ingredients to make it happen. Even that minimal use of harmonica is true to the artist. I would venture to say Janice is a much better singer than Lucinda, but Lucinda got dat grit. I feel like electric guitar (Stuart Mathis) is a big part of her sound, but Peter was fully up to the task. A lot of small touches that made this work so well, some I couldn't verbalize but knew they added up to the real deal. Great work, gang!

Thanks for all Ray. Your feedback on and off the forum is much appreciated.

The comment on the lyric is cool indeed and we love the vocal description!

J&B

The three of us much appreciate that Charlie!

J&B

I absolutely love the song idea of rhymes and reasons, and you took it in such a fun direction. What a wonderfully strong song. You know i love Janice's voice and Peter's guitar, and I've learned so much from Bud, and you three just keep getting better. Actually it's more like you've always been really good, and you just keep pumping out more examples of that. Keep pumpin'!

J&B and Peter,
I can relate to your intention for this very good song- your LW studies have paid off!
I know you`ve mentioned her style inspiring other songs; follow that vein as long as you like on this evidence.
Original and easily relatable lyrics, the gritty feel others have noted and a memorable chorus melody- all good elements are there, with fantastic vocal and guitar performances.

Robert

Awesome tune Janice, Bud and Peter. Very cool lyric Bud. Awesome vocal Janice. Very cool guitar work Peter. Loved the production. Well done

Fell in love again with your vocals, Janice.
What pleasure to listen to this song! I bet even Lucinda would have been a little jealous

I was also very pleased (a lot) by the work of Peter and Bud.

Peter must know he's good on the guitar, everyone tells him all the time. And he is!

And Bud, you are a very creative man. Has anyone told you that before?
I'm also glad you use Logic x too.

Have a nice day,
Hans

Thank you Al. And the drum comment is much appreciated along with all your other nice remarks.

J&B

Bob your comments and especially the reference to Lucinda made it all more than worthwhile. We remembered you were a Lucinda listener and had hope you would like it. I (Bud) was apprehensive about my somewhat silly lyric that falls short of her standards but am so happy you felt positive about the production. Hugely appreciated!

J&B

Thank you! We appreciate the mention of the harmony, the guitar and the arrangement. BTW A good introduction to Lucinda is the song “Protection” from her album “Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone.”

J&B

Hi Janice, Peter and Bud
Great song
Sounds fantastic
Excellent sung and played
I especially like you here on this song Janice !
I think you should play more of this kind music.
Thanks for sharing
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Hi Janice & Bud,

Your compositions are always so well constructed. It's a professional job. It's pleasant. Everything is worked on in detail. Well done.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

J&B (and Peter):

Cool tune—your usual strong vocals and production. Love the guitar fills and solos by Peter—give this a slick, gritty sound. As others have noted, the mix is terrific, everything perfectly balanced. Impressive outing!

All my best to you,

Deej

J&B&P,

As Kris Kristofferson once said "....You've been reading my mail."

Good write.

Great BAND sound! Gritty. No doubt.

Peter sits with that BAND perfectly.

I believe everything that girl says (sings)!

Those drums sounds great! Bass is PUNCHY! GREAT mix.

Truly Infectious.

LOVE the album cover!!!

Sincerely,
Been There Done That.

Not at all personal! During our 40 years of marriage we’ve always played in bands together.

Thanks for your positive comments.

You mentioned everything we strived to achieve. And for that we are most appreciative.

J&B

Thanks a ton! Your knowledge of Lucinda makes your comments special. Thanks for noting the minimal harp and Stuart. We’ve enjoyed her since the 90’S and she has been amazingly consistent with excellent bands. Janice was most appreciative of you vocal comment. As she just said blues comes natural but grit is hard!

J&B

J & B & Peter,

Cool song!
When listening to this song you get carried away by the music.
It stays in your mind.
Very good vocals as always and again great guitar work by Peter!
Terrific job!

Anne-Marie

Thanks for all the comments on my part in this song.
It is always a pleasure working with Janice & Bud.
It's quite a privilege (and great fun) to add some guitar to the inspiring vocals I get presented with.
Looking forward to our next one.

Peter

J&B,

I think you nailed that vibe you were going for in this one! It's certainly got a gritty driving sound! Much of the time a simple and repetitive chord structure is the most effective way to make a song happen! It's sure a great sounding tune and effort by all involved!

Thanks, Torrey

You are too kind Marty.

You’ve been playing fine blues and rock for a long time so J&B, a couple of ole bluegrassers especially appreciate your comments. Thank you!

J&B

Hi guys and gal,

Janice, I really like the vocal melody you came up with, and, of course, the vocal and harmonies

Good write, Bud, and as usual, a stellar job behind the board.

And Peter always comes up with the goods!

Nicely done you three, e3njoyed!

That is much appreciated Robert. That’s everything that was our wish list for this effort !

J&B

Thank you Scott!

It was a fun project.

J&B

I'm not familiar with Lucinda Williams (although now I have no excuse!).

But all the elements you mentioned - basic chord progressions, repetitive chorus, gritty feel, big drum sound - are there in spades.

Nice crunchy mix, too.

But as derivative as it might try to be, it's got Janice's vocals, which puts it in a class of its own.

Just great. I love Janice's vocals. Really nice job mixing them. Ditto to what Floyd and others have said. The chord progressions pulls you in.

You three knocked it out of the park...........again!

I am not familiar with Lucinda Williams' music so I can not compare but this sounded fantastic to these old ears!

Another masterpiece from the three amazing musicians.

Another good composition and performance.

The first two lines "you spend all your time writing song after song/Sittin’ around the house every day pickin’ on your battered Gibso" is something my wife would write. Although, she really doesn't complain.

I like the style/sound you created.

Superb guitar, Peter!

Thank you Andi.

Your mention of the vocal is much appreciated!

J&B

Thank you!

J&B

Hey team,
I believe you accomplished much more than a gritty feel "in style of". Sounds original and raw. Very cool lyrics and phrasing doubled with powerful vocals by Janice and Peter's hot guitar, makes this a winner. Bud, excellent "live" mix. Sounds very good in the car and on studio headphones. Enjoyed it and thank you for sharing.

Misha.

That’s much appreciated! And yes Peter did the grit thing well

Thanks!

J&B

Thank you mr jane.

You mentioned EVERYTHING we could have hoped to achieve. And Bud much appreciates the bass, drums and photo comments.

Your review has made an enjoyable project even more fun!

J&B

Another great song from you three (who would expect anything else?). Good concept, beautifully mixed, played and sung. Always a treat.
Regards,
Leon

Thank you!

J&B

That’s much appreciated Torrey by all of us!

J&B






Thanks Dave, we all had fun with this one!

J&B

Hi Bud and Janice,

I wrote I liked your song a lot, but noticed you don't want to write to me. I was your 'John'!
What happened...?

Hans

Just read your comment and ... you are right! I wrote a long response to your review and I obviously failed to hit the enter key -- another old man moment So thank you for your nice comments and yep Logic is great. AND, here's a photo of the notepad I keep by the Mac which I mark off each response that we make (one of the few non digital things I do regarding the net). As you can see I thought I had responded to you after Scott! So, many apologies John.

Hi Bud,

This is such a relief for me ;-)
I'm sure now I will sleep much better than yesterday (except for the cat)
However, on second thought, the photo shows you actually did skip me...

But your photo showed me you work very much the same as I do. Write down who posted me and mark them off after my reply.

Thank you for your prompt response,
Hans

Thank you. Glad you noted all those elements ... we did try!

J&B




Thank you for the kind review!
We all appreciate it.

J&B

Thanks Mario. We appreciate your kind words. Old ears? Ha ha, bet Bud’s are older

J&B



Good that she doesn’t complain.

We’re all glad you liked it!

J&B

A great idea for a great song.
My wife would concur with the sentiment.
Excellent performances.

Vic

I don't know much Lucinda Williams, although I've seen the name around a lot over the years, but this is very cool!!! Love that big snare sound!! I'm sure, as good as Lucinda might be, Janice can hang with her!!! Nice job by all!!! Take care. Greg

P.S. I think that is a Carole King album title? LOVE Carole!!

Thank you Misha. The live feel is exactly what we here trying for and a glad you felt that. Most appreciated!

J&B

Thanks y’all for your time to listen and write such supportive remarks. It means a lot to us!

J&B