Deep Ellum Blues

Deep Ellum Blues is a 100+ year old traditional tune (PD worldwide) thus we own all rights to our production. It is also known as Deep Elem Blues or Deep Elm Blues.

The subject is a street in Dallas, Texas that once harbored houses of ill repute. We somewhat rewrote the lyric to make it from a lady’s perspective.

While pondering the arrangement I stumbled into the BiaB Rhumba Blues tracks (B.B. King played some of this style on occasion). Perhaps the addition of congas to the RD might sound busy to some but having listened to some genre examples we felt they worked. So big thanks to Peter and PG Music. Your time to listen and comment is most appreciated … whether Rhumba Blues suits ya or not. Lyrics are on Soundcloud.

Janice: lead/harmony vocals, lyric tweaks and arrangement.

Peter: 6 guitar tracks (riffs, fills, rhythm & solos), arrangement and bass run suggestions.

Bud: lyric tweaks, arrangement, mix, mastering, RT bass arrangement and photo.

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

Bass: RealTrack 916 Acoustic, Rumba Ev 110 > Waves Bass Rider > Neutron 3
Some runs were constructed from notes via the RD audio track.

Piano: MIDI SuperTrack 4081 Rhythm RumbaBluesKevin Ev 120 > Logic Pro Grand Steinway > Ozone 9 Imager > Waves Unplugged

Guitar: RealTrack 3985 Electric, Rhythm RumbaBluesPat 120

Congas: BiaB loop CongasEv8[single] > Waves CLA Drums

Drums: RealDrums BluesRumbaEv > Neutron masking feature > Waves CLA Drums

Mastering: Ozone Dynamic EQ > Ozone Vintage EQ > Ozone Imager > Ozone Limiter > Ozone Tonal Balance > Logic Pro Loudness Meter

Classic, great blues. The updates lyrics from a woman's perspective works well and the arrangement, performance and pro production are all spot on.

Enjoyed this from start to finish. Great job by the whole team.

Charlie

Pretty cool blues, I like it

I think the rumba drum and percussion work quite well for this song, giving it some drive but not being too busy.

Janice, Bud and Peter...this has such a pro sound...sounds like the band has been playing together for a long time...Janice is so great in this genre...her voice is sultry and bluesy and so fitting...Peter kills the guitar parts with such precision and style...but Bud the total production and arrangement of this is what impressed me the most...well done (as usual) to the three of you for such an impressive effort!

Janice, Bud and peter,

Love this sweet old blues with that somewhat dark lyrics!
The perspective is nice and -as I said- a bit dark or cynical.
You all did a really good job on this song to make it sound like good old blues should sound.
I think Janice likes to sing this kind of melodies the most.
And like Charlie wrote, I enjoyed it a lot.

Hans

Thank you Charlie! We are happy it worked for you as we much enjoy diving into the public domain where a world of hundred year old treasures reside.

J&B

Cool. Glad you liked it!

J&B

A fantastic groove that's highlight by the way the vocal dances across it.
Excellent guitar by Peter - really dug the harmony bit at the end.
Wonderful harmonies at another layer of wow.
Terrific mix Bud, terrific mastering job too.
Love it.

Hi Guys,

Interesting version of this old 24 bar blues. I note you are doing it in 22 bar format.
I like the Rhumba feel as an alternative to the straight feel in the version by Leven Helm & His Dirt Farmer Quartet.

Good work.

Best Regards
Nigel

Hi Bud, Peter, and Janice,

Love this! I've always been a fan of blues with a Rhumba beat, working on one myself actually that may or may not see the light of day.

I've said this before, you have a knack of finding these old jems and bringing them back to life with a more modern production. I've never heard this particular song before, but it's a good one.

Janice sounds great as per usual, as does Peter.

Cool arrangement, and a great mix, well done all!

J&B,

It's a wonderful treatment of a funky, bluesy tune! Once again the vocals are off the charts good! The guitar fills really make the song sing! It's a great addition to your impressive catalog of songs!

Thanks, Torrey

We appreciate all of your kind and very supportive review! We try hard to bring new life to these old songs with amongst other things the arrangement and your mention of that means a lot. Thanks!

J&B

Every good blues harmonica player has a rhumba groove on his playlist, it's expected. This was a fine rhumba blues and sung so very well by Janice. I wasn't familiar with the song, great to discover a hidden gem like this. Terrific work by the whole team!

What a cool groove to this tune. Peters intro was awedome. Then came your perfect vocal and harmonies. Loved this tune..

Thank
You Hans and, yes, Janice loves to sing the blues!

J&B

Janice, Bud and Peter,

Janice is great when she sings the blues.
A Latin flavor added to the song, and it's very effective.
It's great that it's not just a blues sound.
Peter's guitar is great as always.
And it's so well mixed and sounds great.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Just jammed this song last night with a bunch of folks, and it wasn't anything like this. This is GREAT!! Man, you guys are royalty of the public domain, and you always remake them in a way that raises the standards of the original writer. (I'd really like to hear you guys do one of mine a hundred years from now. hehe) Janice, you sing this like you were raised on it, and your harmony is outstanding. Such a pleasurable listen. Storyville, NOLA, and Ellum St., Texas. Hans, how about writing one about the red lights of Amsterdam? Peter & Bud, that bass sounds terrific, and, Peter, your guitars shine so bright. So well done all around.

What can I say? It's all been covered above . . . great job to all.

Thanks for all you said Ray. It was a fun project and glad you liked the vocal. Some folks have said re other tunes that there is too much vocal dancing. But, hey, that’s just the way it happens!

Haha - wonderful!!! This is Janice and Bud productions at its finest best! Janice knocks it out of the park yet again - as I've said before, no idea how she does it, but she seems to me to improve with every single song. Everytime I think she can't get any better, she's like "let me show you even more of what I can do". Here, it's the jazzy slides, the subtle staccati every now and then, and the humour in her voice. The production is seamless and peerless. And I've been dancing in my chair and tapping my foot throughout - what more can one possibly want? :-)

A JOY to listen to this song, the way you've done it. Thanks for sharing - hats off to you. :-)

Love the groove! As usual, everyone on the team knocked it out of the park: BiaB, vocals, guitar, mix... It's all there!

Fun listen, from start to end!

Nice to see the mixing magic that went into each track also!

Hi, we are glad you liked the song. And that the rhumba groove worked for you. It was fun introducing ourselves to a rhumba blues vibe.

Yep, arrangements for this are indeed all over the map. Leon’s version (and his daughter’s) are more straight forward than many. Our arrangement as follows is a bit similar to several others over the years.

The intro and outro are 12 bars.

The “verses” and solo are 20 bars. (for our version the “verse” is a combo of a verse and chorus - it could be considered as an 8 bar verse and a 12 bar chorus).

The tag is 2 measures.

Guess that covers it!

Thanks for the listen.

J&B

What a silky-smooth sound.
I'm not much of a blues fan but this is nice.
Well done to you all.

Vic

Thank you Dave! It’s cool to hear you like that Rhumba feel. It was a surprise and fun to run across those BiaB tracks.

J&B

PB&J, The Rhumba beat always breaks up a standard blues set with a little happy feel. My personal favorite for this kind beat is Robben Ford. Peter and Janice are locked in on this one. You can feel the fun. Y'all manage to unearth some PD classics and bring them back to life with a new updated feel. The mix sounds balanced and open and that singer is right at home in this genre. So laid back and relaxed. This is how it's done! Tom

Janice, Bud & Peter ...

Fabulous redo of a great old classic Blues. My father died in 1968 and he was the first thought that came to mind - not because of the houses of ill repute, mind ya! But, he couldn't say words that ended in "lm" wuithout separating the them into two syllables: fill-um for film, ellum-um for elm, call-um for calm, pall-um for palm, etc.

Peter's intro and outro were just so dang good! Perfect guitar tone and style for the genre. And as far as my ears are concerned, Janice can dance all over a vocal any time she wants. She has an uncanny way of expressing the emotion appropriate for the genre.

As far as lyric tweaking and production elements, it couldn't be better. A person can hear a song, listen to a song, or appreciate a song. The music you guys put up always deserves the appreciation factor. Excellent contributions by all of you.

Take care ...

Alan

I'm not familiar with this song, but your version sounds mighty fine.

The whole arrangement is so craftily put together. With Peter and Janice here, you've got a winner.

Magnificently done!

We appreciate that Torrey. And thanks a lot for mentioning both the vocals and the guitar!

J&B

J&B and Peter,
I like the cautionary tale in the lyrics and especially the way that rhumba beat lifts the blues into almost a happy place.
Excellent vocals, guitar and production skills on display... of course!
Great revival work.

Robert

We appreciate that especially from a fine harp player who likes rhumba blues!

J&B

Janice/Bud/Peter...

Y'all make every PD song you arrange sound like it belongs to you and you alone.
A very cool BAND. Nice percussion choice...

Janice kills the vocal. Would expect no less.

Peter's fills fit like an old, comfortable pair of shoes. Nice.

Excellent mix.
(Although... that crash cymbal jumps out of my speakers. By the end, it bugged me some.
Maybe it's just my speakers - since no one else even mentioned it...cymbal-hater that I am)

The feel of a classic.
Of course.

fj

Thank you Scott!

J&B

Thank you Shigeki for your kind and supportive review!

J&B

Thank you Marty!

How cool that you have jammed the on tune.
We like the Grateful Dead’s version and of course it is jammy.
We have 2122 on the calendar for a Babu tune!

J&B

Hello together
Great blues song
As always with excellent vocals
But also the guitar work is really very very good here
Really great work
Both thumbs up
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Thanks!

J&B

Hey, Bud here … Janice is too modest so I’m commenting. Your description of her vocal is IMO spot on. This was as usual one take and she simply sings it as she feels it. Nothing is contrived. Thanks so much for noting this and for all your comments.

Bud

Thanks for the great review including noting the track fx.
It’s appreciated by all of us!

J&B

Thanks Vic! Hey, well we are glad many of your UK contemporaries were blues fans — otherwise we likely would not have a blues scene nowadays. They saved it.

J&B

Hi Janice, Peter and Bud,

A wonderful song again.
Great harmonies!
And Peter does it again! Of course.
Really bluesy too.

Anne-Marie

Thank you very much Tom!

Great to see you back and hear your most cool productions.

BTW, we also like Robben.

We appreciate the kind review.

J&B

Thank you for the positive, thoughtful and supportive review.
It’s greatly appreciated!

J&B

That is greatly appreciated!

J&B

Thanks to everyone who commented on my part in the song.

It was as always a pleasure to participate.

I love how Janice brings these old songs to life. It's also just great fun to make music with them.

Peter

WOW you three did it again, hit one out of the park

Loved the groove

Janice, loved the vocal

Peter, loved the guitar licks and leads

Bub, loved the mix

I loved the entire song

Thank you Robert. We like your term “cautionary tale.”
And yes the rhumba beat is quite the contrast.
We appreciate your review and all you noted!

J&B

Thanks for the fine review! The crash cymbal is on a separate track so that likely makes it more noticeable ... perhaps too much so
And, yeah, these 100 year old tunes are a lot of fun to work with.
Much appreciated!

J&B

Thanks Andi for mentioning both the
guitar and vocals!

J&B

Thank you mentioning the harmony!

Janice

Thanks a lot for the generous comments!

J&B

Hi Janice & Bud,

The rhumba blues style is well chosen. Beautiful musical construction. It's pleasant. Ozone and nectar are very good products for mixing and I can see the result. I appreciated. Well done.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash