I Love the Blues (and Rock 'n roll), featuring Shane

Community Recordings Originals (Not Covers)
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My second original started life with the intention of being a 12 bar blues and ended up something else. Back again with this song to have a go at a 12 bar blues and it ended up pretty much as intended.

The secret sauce and magic on this one is brought by Shane (@sclay) who kindly stepped in towards the end to contribute the lead guitar part. I intended to play that part myself but it certainly served the song better for me to put ego aside and ask for help. I hope you enjoy his playing as much as I do, some cracking licks and sweet tone.

For the rest, I found a midi drum groove to download as a start point for the drums, composed and programmed (no actual playing required) the bass and keys midi in a boogie woogie style. But I did play the rhythm guitar and sing :grin:

The song is a little long, so inspired by @LBro guess the mystery guitar player, the video includes pictures of a number of blues/rock 'n roll guitarists. All are players I enjoy listening to, some more frequently than others. See how many you know. The answers are hidden below, but why not have a go. And if you do, let’s hear how you did. But let’s not spoil the fun and name names, at least not until a fair few have had a crack.

Speaking of LBro, my thanks to him for his fresh pair of ears and feedback at various points along the way.

Hope you enjoy it.

The Guitarists, in chronological order as to when Google says they became active
  1. Robert Johnson, a great influence though perhaps not as significant in blues history as his legendary status suggests
  2. Muddy Waters, the first of many more modern legends of the blues
  3. BB King, might he be the GOAT
  4. Albert King, one of the Three Kings of the blues
  5. Albert Collins, the Ice Man of Texas
  6. Hubert Sumlin, perhaps not a familiar name but take a look at his resume
  7. Chuck Berry, who hasn’t ‘stolen’ his licks, pivotal in the birth of rock n roll
  8. Buddy Guy, a master of the blues
  9. Scotty Moore, Elvis was his vocalist
  10. Gary Moore, part bluesman part rocker, lost like many far too soon
  11. Johnny Winter, don’t know much beyond him being a fantastic listen
  12. Mike Bloomfield, many focus on the British Blues Invasion but should not ignore the Paul Butterfield Blues Band
  13. Duanne Allman, a modern master of the slide, another tragically lost
  14. Keith Richards, these are my picks so of course the Human Riff is in the mix
  15. Peter Green, one of three alumnii of John Mayall, what feel and tone
  16. Eric Clapton, picture taken from the time of Derek and the Dominos, with Duanne Allman on arguably his finest record Layla (and other assorted love songs)
  17. Rory Gallagher, more arguablies :grin: one of the most under-appreciated guitarists of all time
  18. Stevie Ray Vaughan, so much more than Hendrix/Albert King clone who arguably breathed new life into the blues
  19. Jimmy Vaughan, the less well known but equally enjoyable older brother, check out The Fabulous Thunderbirds
  20. George Thorogood, always delivers high energy rock n roll but not to be under-estimated, take a look at him playing an acoustic solo
  21. Robert Cray, another master of the art
  22. Gary Clark Jr, beyond up and coming now, watch him perform at the Clapton Crossroads festivals
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Hi David,
First: I’m pretty bad with names with the right artists so had to look up 3, and 3 didn’t ring a bell at all…hopefully you think that’s an okay score :sweat_smile:

There were indeed a lot of nice licks in it and Shane that last part sounded nice too…one second it was going well and I was sitting with a smile and sometimes it was a bit out of metrum (but still a smile worthy)…but the whole thing was great and showing a huge progression of your blues playing David :sunglasses: something you should be really proud of, when I think back to your first blues steps and now hear this :sunglasses: :clap: :partying_face: :man_bowing:
Greetings…

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A great bluesy original, super vocals, rhythm and lead. The song is only a little long if you don’t love the blues (and rock 'n roll). I enjoyed it very much and found it very inspirational. Now I just need to borrow your muse to finish off the song that’s been stuck in my head for the past six months. Bravo :clap: :clap: :clap:

well it’s much better than my score :roll_eyes:

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Nice production, failed to get a few artists. You have come a long way since you started, hope to see the progress continue.

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Hey guys,
This came out pretty good. Like Clay’s lead work and the vox. Nice job all the way around. The guessing of the names is above my encyclopedia mind recall, so I will leave that one to others!

All the best and take care,
LB

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Wow. That is excellent. Shane doing awesome job on that guitar. What is there not to like. A tribute to the Blues and who played it. I luv it. It have a nice feel to it, and the guitar speaks together with the vocal. It just swing. A picture came to mind; a bunch of good old dudes, having a wonderful evening together and just enjoying life. It’s really cool!. What a wonderful first listen after coming back from a rest. - I hope you guys will have more coming. :star_struck: :+1: :muscle: :sunglasses: :pray:

Had to look up what a 12 bar blues is :blush: :blush: :joy: :joy: :joy:
A good number of names from the list I never heard of. Maybe if I listen I will recognize some. Certainly will have listen to all those I don’t know the names of and so nice you have put a little extra after their names. :+1: :pray:

PS. The song is not long. That genre can be even 15 minutes long without being too long, just like jazz. :wink:

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Thank you all. I repeat myself, like a stuck record (wonderful old school simile), but really do appreciate the time you take to listen, comment, and be so supportive and encouraging.

@roger_holland Roger, if you recognised 16 that is over 70% and pretty darn good. I purposefully included a few whom I know but might not have recognised myself plus a couple that are more obscure.

As for the timing, I’ll put my hand up and say that is probably my bad ear and suspect editing when working on Shane’s lead track.

@socio James, I think I had the seed for this song last year, started the project over the December vacation, and finished it 4 months later. I think the thing is to find a balance between not allowing Pressfield’s resistance (see his book The War of Art) to prevent working on the project but also not feeling pressure since we are all hobbyists and for most producing songs is not a simple matter. Not to mention the far greater (IMHO) sense of exposure and vulnerability when sharing an original. Without over dramatising, I always feel like I am baring my soul, sharing far more of myself when posting an original. Wish you all you need to work the song within.

As for your score, the artists are nearly all bluesman and many from a time before people here may have begun to engage in music (lots of folk seem to be musically most connected to grunge, Brit pop, and later), so this quiz would be mighty challenging.

@skinnyt Progress continues, Trevor, but slow and steady, more slow than steady :joy:

@LBro Thanks again, LBro, you have been such a huge influence and support in my being able to produce songs. I hope I can pass some of it on to others who want to follow the path.

@kimlodrodawa Kim Lodro, I read through the topic about original songs without having anything significant to add but did wonder if you’d find your way to this original. As for the length, I think if we played more like some of those artisists then that 15 minute jam would be cool, as is I am grateful to all who stuck out the whole song. I hope you are inspired to listen to a few of those artists, as I think they all deliver great music in the genre.

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Great stuff David and Shane, there’s a great selection of influencers there, there’s a few that really stand out for me but all are brilliant musicians.
You did a great job of it all as a jam out it was outstanding, you both did really well!
Keep at it, it’s all coming together very well!

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@DavidP @sclay that was simply amazing! Wow, wow, and wow!! The vocal structure of the song was really impressive, must have been difficult to sing, and was absolutely perfect. The lead guitar was holy cow you’ve sure got that feel down Shane! I am totally blown away by this original song, I loved loved loved it.

As for the video, so many great guitarists, I did miss a few though. You missed a few too though - I’d add one from the past, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and one current, Joanna Connor. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Nice one David. @sclay Did a great job on some excellent lead playing there! Great production and everything. Must have taken a load of effort to pull it all together. 4 months is a long time, I’d assume you weren’t working on it every day over that time.

I always like checking out the originals on the community.

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Wow, loved it! Great blues vibes and musicianship across the board. Has a cool hypnotic vibe to it too. I close my eyes and feel a trance coming, lol.

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I listened to it several times, trying to catch all the layers. It’s wonderful. Also show how awesome it can be in all its simplicity. Serious good job and really luv you got together and made it like good old blues buddies having a jam session. Brilliant! :star_struck: :facepunch: :muscle:
I very much got inspired! :+1:
Also hope you will do like 10 minutes or so later on, as it felt a little short :wink:

Yes, picked the first one from your list: Johnny Winter :+1: :sunglasses:
Will get through them one by one. Really awesome.

Got a little more knowledge into 12 bar blues. Also a post by Dom Griffin about it, inspired me further. Totally in a dive atm. reading stuff while fooling around with Dmaj7, D7, G7 and C7.

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Just for a laugh I was tempted to copy & paste my ‘thank you’ from the earlier reply today, then I’d be repeating myself 100% :rofl:

@DarrellW Darrell, the selection was a blend of influencers plus people I have on my iPod and enjoy (there’s more old school for you … an iPod that I listen to music in my car and around the house).

@Mari63 That is super generous, Mari. I was pretty chuffed with the singing and being able to sing over a 12BB, which I found pretty tricky last time I tried.

I did consider those two great dames of the blues and in the end opted for a selection based on my own listening (from the iPod, not YouTube) rather than trying to select based on degree of influence or current status. And still ended up leaving out more than a few great players.

@jkahn You are so right, JK :rofl: I generally work on original productions only on weekend and holiday mornings. Then I also tend to be on it and off it, for various reasons. Lyric writing also tends to slow me down. I suffer from anxieties when thinking about lyrics that leads to much procrastination. Then there are distractions, like Community OMs. I guess I am much more George RR Martin than Steven King :rofl:

@alexisduprey glad the sameness of the rhythm part was positive for you rather than coming over monotonous Alexis. I was hoping that the lead and vocals would keep it from becoming boring.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
@kimlodrodawa I have another seed which will eventually become a song that will be a little in the style of Neil Young in jamming mode with Crazy Horse, Kim Lodro. That would allow room for an extended solo section, though again may need a collaborator to play the lead guitar.

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Super accurate I would say. I listened through twice to start, and now as I sit at home giving up a Saturday to year end work I have a not-yet-annoying ear worm keeping me company!!

I will confess too then that I haven’t listened to a lot of SRT because the lyrical content doesn’t interest me, but I do keep being drawn to her guitar playing anyway. I’ll have to sort that out one day!

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Hi David,

I sold my soul at Crossroads and ended up with Benny’s hat:
image

(Meaningful to those of a certain age in the UK who watched a fairly rubbish soap back in the day. :))

Great blues jam. 5 1/2 mins flew by.

Some top players in the vid - the legend from the Emerald Isle being my favourite.

Digger

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Hey David! So well done in all aspects, to you and Clay. Forget my score on the guess who game. I didn’t even recognize the young Eric Clapton (Hope it’s OK to give away one of the names). But I enjoyed reading the answers. You know a lot about each of them. Your songwriting was really good. I went back a second time to listen more to the lyrics. Impressive. I believe you really do love the Blues and Rock and Roll!

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David, Shane that was fantastic! Really exceeded my expectations here, you prooved that well known concept such as 12BB is still able to bring out lots of joy and fun from music. Lead play, vox (especially this sort of dubbed over voice) and overall production are a master class, definitely in top3 of my Community favourites originals. Bravo!

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Try convince Shane. He is pretty darn good at it. :+1: :sunglasses: Please don’t tell him, it might rise to his head. :wink: :rofl: :joy: :rofl:

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Your song was the last thing I listened to before going to bed.

The hook chorus line - I love the blues and rock n roll - stuck in my head for ages! Repeating over and over again. So well done on writing a song with a catchy hook.

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@Mari63

I shall do what I often tell others to do, Mari, and simply say ‘Thank you’ and ‘ear worm’ is a wonderful compliment.

So many wonderful players, like SRT, from the early years of the blues (though just checked and SRT was active from '19-'73). The old recordings not always the easiest listening but trawling deep and wide from the earliest years would deliver a host of marvellous artists.

@Digger72 Thanks Digger. Don’t know the soap at all, not surprising as soaps have never been in my line of sight. As for the legend from the Emerald Isle being your favourite, that is firstly carefully worded so thanks for not giving anything away. But also ambiguous, there being more than one :wink:

@pkboo3 Thanks Pam, we’ve been together here since I joined and you’re always so supportive and encouraging. I probably have spent more time reading (and now watching on YT) than learning to actually play, I do love to know a little more about the artists. You can believe it, bluesy rock n roll is my favourite. And as Keith Richards says, ‘it’s easy to rock, the trick is in the roll’ (or words to that effect)

@adi_mrok glad you enjoyed it, Adrian. Double-tracked vocals, just like a double-tracked guitar part, do sound great. For me it creates a fuller more interesting sound, and maybe hides some of the poorer singing :grin:

@jkahn Thanks JK, always good to hear when things come off as intended.

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