freddy j

I love the way that you built in a sense of urgency through the rhythm while the rest of the song (in fact the overall feel of the song) had a general laid back feel to it. Your cello sounded great but being a guitar guy, I really enjoyed the guitar work. You have put together some great sounds and feelings in this song.

Another home run Bats! This arrangement, mix, and performance have a strong professional sound. It does have your signature style and your great sounding vocals. I agree with Tom above - this song has a bit of a Rush feel but without the very busy lyrics that Rush sometimes delivers. Really good stuff!!!

Excellent cover! Instrumentation and mix are professionally done, and the vocal harmonies are excellent.

I hope that the holidays for everyone were great! Just for fun I thought that I would post a song that I posted a very long time ago. It is called "After Christmas Bill Paying Blues" and I am now facing the reality of having to pay-up on my Christmas purchases. I got a number of good suggestions on how to improve this song when I first posted it and was going to make the changes before I posted it again. Unfortunately, this song was on the external hard drive that I accidentally destroyed and so there were no working files that could be used to make the corrections. Anyway, in spite of the fact that it is a bit rough (perhaps, an understatement?) I hope that it gives you a bit of a giggle. AFTER CHRISTMAS BILL PAYING BLUES https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=8537589

I agree with Tom above. It does have an early Stones feel but it certainly has your own signature. It has a live performance feel to t which I certainly can appreciate. Nice one!!!

Doggone if you didn't do it again! Great production, great performance, and cool video. How do you do it so consistently? Outstanding work --- keep 'em coming!

You really have been posting some excellent songs. This one is no exception. The mix sounds good to me but the harmonies really grab me. They are excellent as are the lyrics. The arrangement of the instrumentals really accentuate the lyrics. The lead breaks add a bit of an edge to the melodies. I really enjoyed this song.

I don't remember this one either but I certainly echo the kudos above. Brilliant indeed!

Hi Paul. I appreciate the kind words and thanks for taking the time to comment! Sorry for the delay in responding -- I am too caught up in the busy holiday season.

Thank you Bob! I always appreciate your insight and appreciate your kind comments, and encouragement. I really like the new song that you posted my friend. It is one of my favourites of yours. Thank you Nigel. I appreciate the kind words and your taking the time to comment. Mink Deville - I like that - thanks. BTW, I am looking forward to any new posts that you might be putting on the forum. You are really putting out some excellent stuff!!

Great video and an absoflippinlutely lovely seasonal song. Well done!

I love it!!! You are really showing your sense of humour, creativity, and also your visual presentation skill. Great stuff my friend! I would try your recipe but I can't cook -- I even burn water.

Very festive indeed! Excellent playing and presentation on this song. BTW, cool background on the video.

Hi Bob. If you are too busy to have time for the studio, then you are just too doggone busy! Life seems to have the annoying habit of interrupting the fun stuff! This is another cool, hard driving song from you. I love the Fx that you are using on the vocals and guitars. I didn't hears any of the clicks mentioned above; therefore, I assume that you have taken care of the minor suggestions made above. This song is constructed/built really well and the lyrics are really accentuated very well by the instrumentation. I think that this is one of my favourites of yours. Cool ending BTW!

My apologies for the delay in responding. I just got back from a few days in Miami ---- gosh, it is great to get back to T. Bay! Hi Tom. Thanks for giving this number a listen. As always I appreciate your comments/suggestions and learn from them. I have a bit of a penchant for going for a "live" feel in most of my stuff. Of course, that might just be because I really don't know what I am doing! Songs that tell a story are among my favourites. One of my fav DoWop groups (The Coasters - AKA The Robins) would put out some great stories (e.g., Three Cool Cats, Shoppin' For Clothes, Along Came Jones, etc., etc.) using a lot of Leiber and Stoller writings. Hi David. I have been to the Keys a bunch of times but I have never taken the water route. I have friends that have taken it and they enjoyed it. Cool Cat Joe is just a figment of Freddy J's imagination based on some personalities that I have known over the years (maybe exaggerated a wee bit). Thanks for listening and I appreciate your taking the time to comment. Hey Allan. Yup, I was going for a late 1950's to early 1960's DoWop style. Thanks for listening and for commenting. I did this in a hurry and your suggestions were exactly what I was looking for. Merry Christmas and thanks again. Hello Douglas. Your observation really interested me. So, I had to go back and listen to this song and I get what you are saying. Then it occurred to me that some of the more "pop" DoWop of the late 1950's incorporated a bit of Cha Cha, Latin rhythms, and Caribbean sounds (remember Calypso?). I had a friend who loved DoWop and could tell you about every group and song from that era. He made me listen to a lot of that style - so maybe some crept into this song? Thank you very much for listening and for your kind comments. Hey Old Joad. Thanks very much for listening and taking the time to comment. I haven't been to NYC in a few years but that is quite an image.😀 Hi Congalocke. Johnny Cash -- I appreciate that. Thanks very much for listening and taking the time to comment! Hey Bjorn. It was done in a hurry and yes indeed, it does need a bit of cleaning up. Thanks for listening and as always I appreciate your suggestions my friend. Thank you Makke. I'm very glad that you liked it and I very much appreciate your listening and taking the time to comment. Cheers.

Creativity outside the box ----- COOL! Parts of the guitar work give be a bit of a remind of the Gang of 4 (one of my fav new wave/punk groups. Keep 'em coming Jesse. I love the diversity that you are bringing to the forum!

This is a really a nice pop rocker. I love the declaration of the lyrics matched with a cheery, catchy, melody. Vocals and harmonies are very well done and I can see where in the comments above where this song could be compared to RO and Cliff Richards. Really good work and I enjoyed the listen.

Outstanding song Lynn!!!!! I echo all of the kudos above -- vocals are excellent, instrumentation is excellent, your vocals/harmonies and timing are equally excellent, the arrangement is excellent, and the mix is equally excellent. Like the rest of your songs the lyrics are wonderful and get across a good point. The competition for best among your own song posts is really tight but I would rank this among your best. In fact, I had to give this more than one listen. Would excellent be redundant here? 😄

Here is a little story of Cool Cat Joe and his attempt at getting the most popular girl in the neighbourhood to go to the Christmas Hop with him. It doesn't work out with her but it all works out in the end. Driven by the fear that I would miss the Christmas season and not get a song posted, I did this one in a hurry. It is a bit rough. So I definitely would appreciate some feedback on how to improve it. Maybe I can get it cleaned up by next Christmas season. 😉 Anyway, such as it is -- here it is. Thanks in advance for listening. COOL CAT JOE's CHRISTMAS https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandid=963481

Thank you Lynn. As one who enjoys going to small venue clubs and listening to live bands, I appreciate your sentiments. Although I appreciate well produced songs, I still like music that is a bit rough and has that live feel to it. Oh well, there is no accounting for taste but diversity is what makes life interesting (well - one of the things). That must be why there are so many flavours of ice cream. 😊 Thanks as always for listening and commenting, and for your encouragement.

I listened to "Grab Ya Stuff" and YES, like it. It takes me back to a kind of what we used to call "raunchy rock" feel or better yet it reminds me of Link Wray. Good mix and good playing. I'll have to give the rest of the EP. Just a thought (but it is indeed a matter of taste) perhaps a rhythm guitar to carry the song along and fill some space. However, that might spoil the mood of the song -- so, take this thought with a grain of salt. Well done!

Excellent playing indeed! I love the classic lead and rhythm combo. Well done!

Who-ray! The link worked. I'm very pleased that I got the chance to hear this song. Great mix but the best part of the song was that it was a very pleasant song to listen to. The melody was great as were the harmonies, but the part I appreciated most was the lyrics. Being an old guy and one who does music for fun and not profit, i could relate. Thanks for fixing the link and for posting the song. Well done!

Hey Tom. As always I appreciate your insightful suggestions. Although the next few weeks will be too darn busy, I will be giving a listen to the song and making changes where applicable. I guess, being a guitar guy, I might have a tendency toward intruding on the vocals. Although perhaps the saxes might be toned down during the chorus as well. As far as the ending --- it was intentional. Jimmy Reed used to end some of his stuff that way and I loved his stuff especially Eddy Taylor's playing. Thanks again for your help and encouragement!! Hi Douglas. Thanks very much for listening and your kind words. I appreciate the encouragement! Hi Bjorn. Thanks very much. I appreciate it. As far as the pronunciation of "Tamiami", that's how it was pronounced when I was living in Charlotte County, FL. Who knows? ---- it may even be right. Thanks again for your comments. Hey Emeraldsoul. Thanks for listening and for your suggestions. You are probably right about the fill. Sometimes I sneak one in if there is the slightest pause. I'll have to go back and listen. If I did shame on me but the vocalist is not very good --- so, I might have been trying to cover up a mistake (lol). The ending was intentional. I was trying to emulate one or two of Jimmy Reeds endings on a video that I saw. Way back in time there was a blues group that used to play the Florida State Fair when it was held in downtown Tampa. They had a habit of just dropping off when they ended a song. I thought it was pretty cool (a style -- not proper musicianship) but then I am not known for my good taste. Thanks again! Hi Nigel. I grew up loving this older style of Blues. Thanks very much for listening and for your kind comments. BTW, I love the songs and videos that you have been posting. Hi amiller. I appreciate your taking time to listen. Thanks very much for the kind words and thumb up. Hi Daryl. Thanks very much for listening and for your comments. That Chunka-Chunka rhythm is indeed infectious. I was hooked the first time that I heard it (way back when).

I saw the Pretenders (with the original line-up) at the Tampa Theater way back when. Excellent show! Y'all have done an outstanding job on this number. The Mrs.' vocals are great as are all the instrumentals. I particularly like the guitar lead on the outro. I can't access any thumb icons right now but consider this a proxy for a bunch of thumbs up.