Let's Stop whinin'

I am going to borrow a line from my favourite comedy troupe Monty Python to start …

And Now For Something Completely Different … because I knew from the moment this song fell into my lap that it was a classic country tune … and I don’t sing country music! … up to now. However, it also seemed to be a wonderful challenge in a way to find the place in my voice where I would sing this music without imitating others I admire in this genre like Willie Nelson. Actually, other members of our band have a lot of experience playing country music. Al Cross has worked with Ian Tyson, Sylia Tyson, The Good Brothers and Natalie Mc Master. Both Al and Dennis Pendrith have often played with Lou Moore in Newmarket. Al and Graham Young have played with country singer Ed Smith from time to time. Dennis was a member of The Bebop Cowboys … a Canadian country swing band. I am probably the member of Burrows And Company with the least experience in this genre. When I had finished writing the song I told everyone who would listen that we would now have to hire a pedal steel player and record the tune … and that’s exactly what we did. We invited Burke Carroll, one of the finest pedal steel players in the country to sit in with us. Thereafter I was speaking with a friend of mine about our session when he asked … so where’s the fiddler? … which I thought was a very good question worthy of some consideration. So we invited a wonderful fiddle player that came highly recommended by Al Cross, to come and sit in with us on the track as well … Amber Dawn Nicholas … and she did a fine job for us.

This song came out of a conversation I had with someone when I asked … Why would Americans have re-elected a man for president who had tried to stage a coup against his own government by sending a violent mob to The Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in their history? His answer was … Because of the state of the economy … the price of milk and eggs, young people could no longer buy a new home today, the price of gas … and a litany of other similar complaints. Apparently in the USA whether you can buy stuff or not trumps having a democracy!!! Pardon the pun … but maintaining their democracy has certainly become a rather obvious problem since Trump took office again … he runs the country all by himself by executive orders.

As I drove home it seemed to me that all these complaints were ludicrous and rather frivolous. Because we have more stuff than any other humans have ever had on this planet … more toys, more gadgets, more conveniences, more leisure time, more communication, more of everything. And yet for some reason or other we still aren’t happy. There’s a saying about some who see the glass as half full and others who see it as half empty. Seems it may be time for us to take a step back and have a look at that glass again.

We got magnificent performances from all the musicians on this track … it was a great session. The song features a lovely split instrumental solo … common in classic country music … between Burke Carroll and Graham Young … where one of them plays a few bars, the other takes over for a few, back and forth … at the end they seem to be reading each other’s minds. And you have to keep in mind that none of this playing is predetermined … they make it all up and are improvising in real time together … which involves a very special set of skills and talent. David Chester’s piano playing is wonderful throughout the tune … wanders all over the place. And Al and Dennis created a fine foundation to build all the performances upon. Amber came in to record her fiddle part on a later date … she was a gem to work with.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Tale Behind The Tune. And for your ongoing interest in and support for our music … much appreciated.

Bob

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On this recording Burrows And Company are …


Drums … Al Cross
Bass … Dennis Pendrith
Piano … David Chester
Guitar … Graham Young
Pedal Steel … Burke Carroll
Fiddle … Amber Dawn Nicholas
Vocals … Bob Burrows


The song was recorded at Chalet Studio … www.chalet.com
Recording Engineer … Justin Meli
Mixing Engineer … Patrick Fockler
Graphic Art … Tamara Green


Produced by … Bob Burrows


The song Let’s Stop Whinin’ was written by Bob Burrows in November 2024
Published by Out Of The Wilderness … all rights reserved