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Water Under The Bridge
© 2021 J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham

A song that during its creation morphed from an Americana notion to a blues rock tune. Bud thanks Janice for tolerating his efforts encouraging her to belt one out a bit smile

We thank Peter for working with us on the arrangement, for the guitar tracks and the supplemental drum track ideas. And a big shoutout to Marty Straub (BabuMusic & Blue Attitude) for joining in on bass. And, as always our thanks to PG Music for making it all possible.

Comments are most welcome and your time to listen is appreciated.

Lyrics are on SC

Tech stuff for those who might be inclined:

Janice vocals:
lead > Nectar 3
third above lead harmony > Nectar 3
third above call backs > CLA Vocals
third below call backs > CLA Vocals
Rodes NT1 mic > Scarlett 212 > Logic Pro

Piano: MidiSuperTrack 3001 Rhythm Folk Blues Shuffle > Logic Pro Grand Steinway > Logic Direction Mixer > Waves CLA Unplugged

Drums:
RealDrums Blues Rock Shuffle > Waves CLA Drums
RealDrums add-ons cut from the above RD audio file
Snare > Neutron 3
Cymbals > Waves JJP Percussion/Cymbals
Toms > Neutron 3

Additionally several drum fills were comped in from a 20 year old Mick Fleetwood sample from Peter

Guitars (All Peter):
Solo 1 & Solo 2 duet
Fills
Rhythm 1 & 2
Riffs

Bass: Marty Straub using, well, whatever the man uses smile

Mixed in Logic Pro X
Mastering chain: Logic EQ > Waves LinMB > Waves L3 > Izotope Tonal Balance > Logic Loudness Meter

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Ms. Janice's lead vocal is so melodically fluid and expressive that she could have recorded it 'a capella' to even more powerful effect. Peter's guitars create a blaze of electrifying sound that heat-up Bud's lyrics like a tuned fire roaring in the background. Marty's bass line is like a nimble, blues-infused cat dancing on the strings. The 'end of a romance' feel of the song is strong and final, a 'Dear John' letter without apologies or regrets. "You're done, hon', so get off my fridge and jump into the water beneath my bridge" laugh !!!


"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
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This is really great.

Such a warm, warm sound. Excellent mix. Superb.

Love that album art, too. What program did you use?

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Howdy J&B....

This is a very good song.
You two also have a very personal style that is very appealing.
Sweet, subtle harmonies.

Well done....

(I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that crosses that 3:30-4:00 threshold. The 3:30 norm is rarely enough for my writing propensities. smile )

Have a great day....

Last edited by chulaivet1966; 05/17/21 03:17 PM.
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Originally Posted By: bluage
Ms. Janice's lead vocal is so melodically fluid and expressive that she could have recorded it 'a capella' to even more powerful effect. Peter's guitars create a blaze of electrifying sound that heat-up Bud's lyrics like a tuned fire roaring in the background. Marty's bass line is like a nimble, blues-infused cat dancing on the strings. The 'end of a romance' feel of the song is strong and final, a 'Dear John' letter without apologies or regrets. "You're done, hon', so get off my fridge and jump into the water beneath my bridge" laugh !!!


You my friend need to write a novel!

The imagery of your descriptions is priceless.

You could damn us with faint praise snd it would still be fun to read. But, no, you have thrown us all accolades that are deeply supportive and appreciated.

And for that we thank you very much!

J&B

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As good as it gets!

Janice, Bud, and Peter, you are all at the top of your game on this one. And of course, Marty too.

Great job of "belting it out", Janice! And the harmonies are strong. Peter, love your guitar work on this one. The octave solos really are tasty. Well, everything is tasty, really.

Great mix and production, Bud!

This is good stuff!

Steve


Steve Young
Music
"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." - Robert Schumann
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Hi Janice & Bud,

Song: Good song - could maybe do with a bit more light and shade e.g. drop out the backing after the lead break. Also needs a chorus. Could benefit from a middle eight.

Mix - The backing tracks are a little out of time. Either drop some instruments or edit them in your Daw. Also some instruments playing wrong chords in places.

Overall - a good start to a song and working it up will pay dividends.

I know that virtually nobody gives practical advice on this forum - however I only do so when I like a song.

Would love to hear a remix.

Best Regards
Nigel


Nigel Spiers
Christchurch, New Zealand
info@nzacoustics.com
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Nigel,

Sorry it didn’t work for you; however, we disagree on all points. There is a chorus, the tracks are synced and a couple of ace musicians who know much more complex chord structures than this played on it.

Janice & Bud

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COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.The backing vocals are the icing on this sweet cake.
Great playing by Pete n Marty, great singing n phrasing by Janice as well as a perfectly cooked song by Bud - master chef. Nothing needs tweaking...I really enjoyed the song and the anticipation of those backing vox.


Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Yeah! Another winner, guys and gal.

Janice always makes me smile when I hear her sing, just so good! She must have been a guitarist in a former life, the way she bends those notes wink

Nice harmony guitar part from Peter, and I always love hearing him play slide, I'm hopeless at that.

Of course Marty is always on the money, one of the best bass players I've ever worked with, that's for sure. Plus a great guy.

Mix is your usual high standard, Bud, always spot on.

P.S. just read the comments from Nigel. Was he listening to the same song??

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Janice & Bud,

It's so interesting that this song started as an Americana tune - I can absolutely hear that in the lyric, etc.

Awesome instrumental break - so unique and a great contrast to the song. Excellent arrangement and playing by Peter, Dave & Marty. Also, a very nice touch with the Mick Fleetwood sample.

Janice delivers another outstanding vocal as only she can... Love the phrasing on the word "water" and the overall edge in the performance.

Finally, the mix is big and open - no one rides the board like Bud...

Amazing stuff!

Bob

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Hi Guys,

I'm just trying to help.

I've listened several more times and there is definitely something out of time on the off-beat. Does not sound like the Bass - I think it may be the Drums or Rhythm guitar.

In either case - very easy to tighten this up in your DAW.

Best Regards
Nigel


Nigel Spiers
Christchurch, New Zealand
info@nzacoustics.com
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Originally Posted By: David Snyder

This is really great.

Such a warm, warm sound. Excellent mix. Superb.

Love that album art, too. What program did you use?



Thanks David. I use several specialty photo editors but for general work my go to is the on line version of PicMonkey.

To remove backgrounds I use PhotoScissors. And to clean up and remove small objects, e.g., power lines, etc., I like Retouch.

Glad you liked it!

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This was excellent. What a cool groove to this song. Super vocal and the harmonies were excellent. Excellent playing from Peter and Marty. The song is so well put together Bud. Well done..


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J&B, Peter, Marty,

Plus one to what Ray said: "COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.The backing vocals are the icing on this sweet cake.
Great playing by Pete n Marty, great singing n phrasing by Janice as well as a perfectly cooked song by Bud - master chef. Nothing needs tweaking...I really enjoyed the song and the anticipation of those backing vox."
That bouncing piano sounds great - so low its a spine tingler in the background.

Very, very good!

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Well Janice & Bud, another very fine production as usual. With such names in the bill no one can expect nothing else but a masterpiece.
Wow, Wow, Wow!

Mike B.


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J&B, Peter, Marty,
Fun and creative collaboration. Janice at her best! She really is the heart of this tune. That middle guitar solo, or bridge or whatever it was (does it really matter?)...simply stunning!! Love those off chords! Marty, wonderful playing! Seems you are in high demand here smile Bud...Super!

It amazes me how well you do your musical things without multi million dollar studios and army of co-writers and producers. Congrats on this cool song, and thank you for sharing.

Misha.

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Originally Posted By: chulaivet1966
Howdy J&B....

This is a very good song.
You two also have a very personal style that is very appealing.
Sweet, subtle harmonies.

Well done....

(I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that crosses that 3:30-4:00 threshold. The 3:30 norm is rarely enough for my writing propensities. smile )

Have a great day....


Thanks for the kind words! I think that 3:30 norm has kinda fallen by the wayside with radio programming. Glad you liked it.

J&B

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Originally Posted By: Steve Young
As good as it gets!

Janice, Bud, and Peter, you are all at the top of your game on this one. And of course, Marty too.

Great job of "belting it out", Janice! And the harmonies are strong. Peter, love your guitar work on this one. The octave solos really are tasty. Well, everything is tasty, really.

Great mix and production, Bud!

This is good stuff!

Steve


Thanks Steve for all of that...and, yep, we liked those solos a lot!

J&B

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Janice, Bud & Peter, Thanks so much for the opportunity to play with you guys. What a wonderfully fun song to play. Janice's voice is always such a treat to listen to, and, Peter, that is really an awesome solo that would make even JS Bach smile. Bud, you are the master. I've learned so much from you. Thank you all again.


Enjoy whatever happens!
marty

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub
and https://soundcloud.com/babumusic-5080285
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