Tagged: electric piano

November 23, 2010

Every Song Tells A Story: The Luckiest Man Alive

The Story

Long story short: this song is about reconnecting with an old friend.

It was specifically written for a friend of mine named Joyce. We met when we were in our late teens, both of us working for the same company but in different locations. It was a retail chain so there was always a lot of interaction between stores. Sometimes people from one store would go work in another for the day to cover for someone who was out, and so on.

Joyce worked in the Nanuet store and lived up that way. We interacted on the phone a lot and became very good friends. Sometimes you just connect with people on the right level and the friendship that’s forged is a solid one. That’s how we were.

So time went by and we lost touch after high school turned into college. We got busy and moved on but there were always funny pictures to look at and memories of those fun times.

The glories of social networking arrived and soon enough, there was a friend request from Joyce one day sitting there. How long had it been? 20 years? Really? The funny thing is that we talked and it was like no time had passed at all. That’s what good friends are all about.

So as it turned out, she married a music man who also owns a club in New York City and opened her own business in mid-town Manhattan. We met up and have been in contact ever since, be it at the club to see a band or just online. A day or two after our initial meet-up, I was inspired to somehow put down what happened in a song. For me, the friends of my youth are the ones I have the strongest bonds with today.

As you can see by the lyrics, the song is fairly literal. There are a few bits and pieces I might have thrown in for the sake of the song but for the most part, it’s all true stuff. It’s mainly the transcript of a reconnection at a table. How have you been? Tell me about the kids. Remember this or that?

The phrase “That man is the luckiest man alive” isn’t meant to be as literal as it sounds, I suppose. That part refers to something a little bigger but it’s disguised as something personal. What happens in marriages, as time goes by, is that two people get so used to the situation and so comfortable in their shoes that they forget how lucky they really are to have someone.

Call it, “The Grass is Greener Syndrome” or “The Seven Year Itch” or whatever else you like, but I feel that sometimes people don’t realize what it means to find someone really special and go the distance with them. I realize this about my wife all the time. Whenever there’s an argument, usually the next day it’s over and we can just forget it. I realize that love shifts and changes faces over time but it’s still the same love and I don’t know what I’d do without my wife. We have great kids and whatever problems we have, we’ll work through together. That’s just how we are.

So that chorus was just me reinforcing that idea to my friend saying that if this guy doesn’t know it by now, he’s the luckiest man alive to have a nice person like you for a wife. That doesn’t make the rest of us unlucky, however. We’re all lucky to have a special lady or man in our lives.

The Recording

As with a lot of the songs I record, I started with the drum track. I already had the lyrics and most of the melody in my head so I just charted it out and got to work.

The song was not that difficult to record, actually. It mainly consists of variations of a big A chord. You might think that’s a little boring, but when songs come out, I try not to fight them and this one came out that way. The bass line is quite simple. Lots of A hits with the occasional little fill-in riff.

Next, I added some keyboard parts. I put some electric piano on top of the bass which blended well. In the pre-chorus parts and the bridge, I added some regular old piano which filled out the song a little and gave it some more life.

The guitar parts are all done on the Martin acoustic – even the leads. I was adding the acoustic strumming in the main parts of the song and when I was done, I added another track and put some light crunch on the guitar sound. The acoustic, when played through this amp simulator had a nice sound that just seemed to fit the song and since I was already plugged in and holding the acoustic, I figured why not just do the lead now.

The vocal is pretty loose. I just went with it. You’re hearing mostly first takes there. The little backups were fun to do. Those “Bah Bahs” just follow the main groove of the electric piano.

In retrospect, I realize that the song might be a little too long. Once I have a drum track down and finished, I really hesitate to go back and edit the hell out of it or re-do it. Sometimes you can’t re-capture things the same way.

It wasn’t until I was doing the vocals that I noticed I had played a little too long here or there, especially in the guitar solo. The bits before the second verse drag on a bit also. When we do this song live, I’ll probably trim it down a little to make it more streamlined.

The Lyrics

Way back in the old times
When the days were slow
We were just two crazy kids
What did we know

Lost track of the hands of time
We drifted away
Never thought I’d ever see you again
Until today

Flood of memories
Ton of bricks
Emotions high in the sky
I’m so glad you found me

So tell me more about your man
I’ll tell you about my wife
Sounds like you’re really doing well
You’ve got a good life

We’re both hitched and the kids are growing
Growing too damn fast
I got time, so let’s palaver
And relive some of that glorious past

That man of yours
He got it right
I wonder if he knows
Yea, I wonder if he knows

That man’s got it in his hands
That man is the luckiest man alive
That man – doesn’t understand
That man is the luckiest man alive

Never regretted a thing in my life
I’m not about to start
You were the first girl to make me sweat
The first to put some dings in my yet unbroken heart

Second guessing is not in my nature
Clairvoyance is a poor man’s myth
Got no use for what coulda and shoulda
We had youth and we enjoyed it

So here we sit down the line
We look good and we feel fine
We both smile cause it’s funny the way
20 years feels like just one day

And I remember
The times together
Still fresh in my mind
I gotta say it one more time

That man’s got it in his hands
That man is the luckiest man alive
That man – doesn’t understand
That man is the luckiest man alive

Lou's News / Music

July 13, 2010

Every Song Tells A Story: Hello Blue Sky

The Story

Genre-smashing is something I like to do. I don’t like being put into a box. I like many styles of music. I like diversity. When writing a song, this concept is always floating around in the back of my mind. I try not to sit down and say, “I’m going to write a ________ song today.” That usually leads me nowhere and what does come out of me sounds very forced. When I “genre-smash” it has to come naturally. This song is a good example of how that can happen.

“Hello Blue Sky” was inspired by positivity, plain and simple. I was in a good mood after being in a bad one the day before and wanted to reflect that positive vibe by mirroring it in a song. Many positive images started to dance around in my head as I started getting my thoughts together but the whole notion of a clear blue sky took over. There’s nothing like a good sleep and a brand new day to get you motivated sometimes. I liked the idea and ran with it.

I suppose this is when the genre-smashing thing reared its head. Lyrics started to flow almost immediately, starting with the title and chorus. As soon as that first group of words stuck, I heard the song in my head. It sounded a lot like a 1960’s song by someone like Herman’s Hermits (“I’m Into Something Good”) or maybe The Turtles (“Happy Together”) or something like that. It was most definitely sounding a lot like The Beatles (“Getting Better”) in my head, though, and so that took precedence. I was writing some heavier guitar rock around this time so it was a nice change of direction.

The lyrics came quite quickly after that and I was able to hear the whole song in my head, pretty much. They’re simple and don’t say much more than, “Hey, yesterday sucked but now it’s gone. Make the most of today.” I also employed a little “days of the week” nonsense in there. As the song progresses, so do the days of the week.

There’s not much else to the story, really. It’s one of those songs that just came out of nowhere after the words “hello blue sky” popped into my head. It’s not about a particular person, place or thing. It’s just about not letting things get you down. Is it the antithesis to Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky”? Maybe it is! The thought had crossed my mind, but only after I wrote it.

The Recording

As I often do, I recorded the drum track for this song first. By this time, I was wholly aware of the Beatles/McCartney influence and I knew what I wanted it to sound like. I did my best Ringo Starr imitation. There was little trouble.

So I then went through that little process I find myself going through at this stage of recording where I sing the notes out loud and try to match them on the instrument to see if they sound good. I had already worked out that the opening “hits” on guitar would consist of a chord up the neck somewhere, very similar to The Beatles’ “Getting Better” as I mentioned. Everything in the opening and chorus parts is fairly staccato.

Bass is always fun for me, especially right after I record a drum track. I don’t give the key of a song much thought until this point. When you record drums, you’re not really committed to a key yet. Once that bass is laid down, however, you’re all in unless you decide you want to re-record the whole song in another key. I’m referring to live bass and not taking into account all the ways you can do these things technologically. I’m a recording simpleton that way.

So, like I said, bass is really important to me while recording. It may sound strange but sometimes, with the way I write songs, this is where a lot of the “incidental” writing happens. By this, I mean I may have the song in my head but I may also be missing bits and pieces, connecting parts, or even entire bridges. I’ll say to myself, “I’ll fill in the blanks later on.” Later on usually ends up being while I’m recording bass. This song was no different.

As you can hear, the beginning is just those staccato hits but the real change is when the verse kicks in. Now we’re doing a walking, bluesy sort of thing that has a little walk down at the end (D-C-B-A) which leads nicely back down to the G, which ended up being the key. I found the key by simply trying different chord variations up the neck until I found something I liked.

The bridge was actually created during recording of both the drum and bass tracks. The drums provided the framework and the bass provided the notes. I had no lyrics for a bridge. Nothing came to me that I thought sounded good. I toyed with putting AAAHHHH’s in there or something but in the end, I kept it simple with some horn builds. In essence, I just reversed the little walk-down from the end of the verses. I slowed it down a little and used the horns to build it up a bit. It reminds me of the little pre-chorus in the song “Heat Wave” from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas: simple, yet effective.

A little electric piano helped fill out the sound nicely. I didn’t want to over-do things too much. Sometimes too much layering of instruments can muddle the sound (especially if they’re all playing the same thing). After keys, I found a nice guitar sound with some vibrato that sounded a little 60’s to me and used that for a guitar solo that basically just repeats the verse melody and is harmonized on the second pass.

The builds at the end are just horn hits following the thumping quarter notes. I would just add more notes (lower or higher) to the hits as the build progressed. The vocal “hellos” and “yeah yeahs” assisted, as did completing the “days of the week” thing.

It was an easy one to record. I enjoy the positive vibe.

The Lyrics

Hello blue sky
Fresh start, another try
Maybe I can get it right today

Hello big sun
Telling me the day’s begun
Monday’s gone and Tuesday’s looking great

Went to bed with a tear in my eye and a sandbag on my heart
Woke up this morning and I’m ready to make a new start

Hello blue sky
Fresh start, another try
Maybe I can get it right today

Hello big sun
Telling me the day’s begun
Tuesday’s gone and Wednesday’s looking great

My sister told me that her man done her wrong and she can’t get no relief
I told her, “Baby – you just need a good night’s sleep.” (then you’ll say…)

Hello blue sky
Fresh start, another try
Maybe I can get it right today

Hello big sun
Telling me the day’s begun
Wednesday’s gone and Thursday’s looking great

Hello blue sky
Fresh start, another try
Maybe I can get it right today

Hello big sun
Telling me the day’s begun
Thursday’s gone and Friday’s looking great

Hello Hello Hello Hello
Friday’s gone and Saturday’s looking great
Yea yea
Saturday’s gone and Sunday’s looking great
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea