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Notes:
It was on March 27th that I got the ball rolling on
this. This was supposed to be my "Blues" CD, only
in the respect that all songs were going to be I-IV-V
chord progressions. I can't do straight Blues, nor
would I pretend to. One day I'll write a thing out
about my Blues influences, but they'd be influences.
I have problems with what's referred to as Blues
anymore. If I see another guy whose name is Blind
Dog Voodoo Texan and dresses like a cowboy, I'll puke.
Blues is too deep for that, and too deep for me.
The difference is I know that. Also, If I look
back on my life, as a whole, I really have nothing to
complain about. Too lucky to have the Blues,
maybe? I couldn't stick with the Blues thing too
long before going back to my usual schtick.
Anyways, I went with the Blues idea because it makes
coming up with songs easy; just pick a key. The
reason I wanted quick songs was to try out my then-new
Epiphone Nighthawk Custom Reissue.
Going with that, I was only going to use my Epiphones
for this. Even though their necks are a little
weird, they sound fine recorded. All the bass
tracks are the
white EB-3. But
halfway through I used the
Studio on a song and
then it was back to normal.
On a good note, I got a lot of first take solos
(Special Delivery, In The Bushes, Same Difference,
Newspaper, Sloppy Seconds). On another good note,
there's only one "old" song; the rest are all new.
So Song by song:
Special Delivery
This is the only song that isn't new, and I guess it's
weird that it's the title track. This was one of
the last songs to be put down because it was only going
to be an extra. The song is over 10 years old, but
not much has changed in terms of Mail Ladies so it's
still current.
Guitars:
Les Paul Junior (56) -
main guitar;
Les Paul Studio - all
other guitars
In The Bushes
I almost called it "Stalker" but I didn't like that.
So yeah, it's just a happy song about stalking someone.
This is as close as it comes to Blues from me.
It's a lift of Fleetwood Mac's Heart Beat Like A Hammer,
or any other Jeremy Spencer song. And don't worry,
ladies, I'd never stalk anyone - I'm too lazy and it
cuts into guitar time.
Guitars:
Nighthawk (left ear);
SG3
(right ear);
Epiphone Les Paul Special
(slide)
Just The Tip
I had the title, and I guess, the following line for a
while now. This was one of the last ones too.
It started out as a I-IV-V, then I changed it to just
one chord after I put the bass line down. Then I
had to rerecord it to make it longer (Copy and Pasting
is for wussies). All that effort for a one chord
song.
Guitars: Nighthawk (panned); Les Paul Studio (solo)
(OCD) Tendencies
It's about having a new girlfriend with OCD and I don't
want to be prolific on this one. Song wise, this
one is opposite of Just The Tip. This started out
as a one-chord song but ended up having actual parts,
like a bridge and chorus and a key change for the solo.
Who would've thought?
Guitars: Nighthawk; SG3 (panned guitars)
Whistle Blower
Oh, boy, where to start with this one. When I did
my Elvis CD a couple of months ago, Mystery Train
turned out to be the best song on there. I blame
it on being quick now I can do faster tempo songs since
I got the Roland drum kit. I didn't want to do a
total rip-off so I put it in the key of G with the idea
I could put a harmonica solo on it. That didn't
happen. Then I thought I'd make the song about a
female train engineer. That didn't happen either.
I wanted to keep a train theme since I already had that
percussion track done. I finally settled on
Whistle Blower and it became a tattle-tail song.
Nobody likes a tattle-tale. And it's in mono.
Guitars: All Nighthawk
Personality
One of the last one's to be recorded and it's really a
throw-away in A. A friend of mine suggested I do
something about multiple personalities, so I did.
I do do requests.
Guitars: Les Paul Studio); SG3 (solo)
Same Difference
This one I thought turned out nice, even though it's
just a I-IV-V in E. I spent two days trying to get
a good solo (because there's no way I'm just dropping in
a solo; have to do the guitar line from beginning to end
because of the delay), and I got some OK takes but I
went back and used the first take which was actually a
guide I put down so I wouldn't forget.
Guitars: Lots. Nighthawk (left ear, solo); Special
(slide guitar);
Ovation (on its own and
Leslie guitar), SG3 (Talkbox).
Newspaper
This one's different. I had the first line ("My
Baby's like a newspaper/it's a new issue everyday") for
a while too but didn't know how I was going to build on
it. I was going to go with magazines, periodicals,
etc but I couldn't come up with anything. So I
settled on what I got. I was going to have a verse
that started with "she catches fire easily" but I would
have had too many verses.
Guitars: Nighthawk (panned guitars); Special (slide);
SG3 (Talkbox)
Members Only
This was one of the first ones to be put down and the
last to get its words. I kinda knew that this
would be the last song even a month ago. It just
sounds like one. I thought about making it the
first song but then I wouldn't have a good ending song.
That's what made me think about keeping Special Delivery
to be the last song. A little switch and
everything's fine. Anyways, the song's about a
place that not everyone can get into.
Guitars: Nighthawk; Les Paul Studio (solo)
Sloppy Seconds
This was thought up right before I put down Newspaper.
This was in C and slower; Newspaper is in D and a little
peppier, but it's the same song. Anyways, the
reason I'm keeping this is because it all a first take.
Explains why it's so shaky but I think I got a lucky
solo. And I kept it 4-piece. The delay on
the guitar fills everything up nice. So it's
sloppy and didn't really make the first cut hence the
title
Guitars: Nighthawk
I had one song that didn't make it: Special Friend.
I've had the title for a while. The whole song
revolved around a line "Sad was the day she took the
special out of special Friend" The backing track
is a lift from ZZ Top's Just Got Back From Baby's - even
in C. I couldn't really sing it (more than usual)
but it had one of my best slide solos I think I've ever
recorded. The plan with that one is to have Pete
sing it.
Guitars: Nighthawk; Special (slide)
So that's the latest CD. I think I like it
better than Grows On You so not bad for an experiment.
And don't worry - I'll never turn totally Blues.
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