First recorded by New Orleans artist Andre Williams and covered by The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Dr John among others, this is my version brought about, basically, by sodding about in LogicX.

The Monkey Speaks His Mind

During lockdown I decided to, finally, get to grips with the piano keyboard and have been teaching myself. In addition I've discovered the joy of loops so the drums on this are one of the MANY uncopyrighted loops that come with Logic X. Basically, I was just messing about, came up with the bare bones of this, took it and ran with it it. The first thing I've done that's piano/keyboard driven rather than guitar!

ITS ALL OVER NOW

My take on Blind Willie Johnson's classic, filtered through the wonder that is multiculturalism. I've put this up before but this is a much better mix and master.

WHAT IS THE SOUL OF A MAN?

I got given a bouzouki. Having always been a fan of David Lindley there was only one way to go. Bass, guitars and bouzouki all live, drums programmed in Logic X.

BOUZOUKI DUB

I got given an old Eko Ranger 12 string. The song is an old one chord blues thing given a Modern North Mississippi Hill Country Dance thingy sort of treatment.....kinda......if you know what I mean.

MONKEY CLUBMIX

I always loved Ry Cooder's combo of Mandolin and slide guitar. However, I don't have a mandolin and find the frets irritatingly tiny. However a bouzouki capo'd on the fifth fret just brings it into a nice range.

STRANGER TO THE BLUES (Bouzouki version)

An adventure in the use of Logic Pro 10.5. it's all me except the drums which are stock kit written into piano roll and treated with compression and saturation. And all that.  I'm kinda pleased with the general vibe of it. Happy to take advice or exchange knowledge!

Stranger To The Blues2

More playing about in Logic. This song has been done a thousand and one times but I'm so pleased with the result, sonically and the vocal harmonies are bit of a departure for me.

JOHN HENRY (Was A Steel Drivin' Man)

Another adventure in LogicX. My own song with octave mandolin, acoustic guitar, tricone, bass and drums mostly input via keyboard.

UNCROWNED QUEEN OF TEXAS

I'd been playing guitar for more years than I care to think about in a variety of musical styles, in bands and solo. Then I bought a (relatively) cheap resonator just to use as an extra tonal colour for home recording projects. I very quickly realised that this was the musical voice I'd been seeking for thirty-odd years and I started writing and performing again. My "mission statement", if you like, is to take slide guitar out of the "Blues Ghetto". Hence songs like "On Raglan Road" and "Vincent Black Lightning" as well as my own stuff, very little of which, I think, comes even close to being Blues. I now play, by the way, a National Resophonic Style 1 Tricone with a nickel plated brass body.

garry smith

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