The Patterico Music Project: The Original Version of “Wrong Side of the Road”
Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for dreading: the original version of my song “Wrong Side of the Road.” Today is a great day to publish this, since everyone will be focused on the election and will skip this primitive and embarrassing version:
There is a side benefit that comes from hearing my 1991 version. Namely, it gives you a chance to hear how much better the professional version by Steve Bertrand is:
My version was done on a TASCAM cassette recorder, with a crappy acoustic guitar, a crappy electric guitar, and my crappy voice (probably about vocal 6 tracks in all, consisting of three vocal lines all double-tracked because I lacked reverb). And I can’t even keep a consistent tempo, for goodness’ sake!
Whereas, Steve Bertrand’s version? He tells me this about the production you just listened to immediately above:
There’s drums, bass, tambourine, 2 acoustics, 2 rhythm guitars, 2 solo guitar lines, piano, B3 organ and about 12 tracks of vocals.
Now that’s a good production.
Isn’t it just amazing how he took something like that first track above, and turned it into the fun, toe-tapping, listenable pop song you hear in the second track?
This couldn’t possibly be any more fun.
It’s seriously worth listening to both, to see what a great job Steve did.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 5/3/2016 @ 7:49 amOh my. 😯
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/3/2016 @ 10:29 amI’ll…take that as a vote of confidence for the extent to which Steve’s version is an improvement.
Patterico (6467ac) — 5/3/2016 @ 12:32 pmSpeaking of the wrong side of the road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzjC0O3H9k
A cautionary tale. Johnny Law wins in the end.
Steve57 (412496) — 5/3/2016 @ 12:34 pmI like the original. I do have to cringe a bit due to a Facebook acquaintance having lost her husband to a wrong-way driver, but that’s not your fault.
Dave (in MA) (037445) — 5/3/2016 @ 1:06 pmJust because I link to something, Dave, doesn’t mean I approve of everything the guy has to say.
Sorry about your facebook acquaintance. But if you don’t like the idea of sharks. If you have any feeling at all for guys going into the water blinded by fuel oil with hands too slippery to pull the lifejacket lanyards, then you’ll feel for these guys.
https://padresteve.com/2012/06/05/compounding-disaster-the-loss-of-the-mikuma-at-midway/
Not exactly a wrong way car, but still a collision course. Not mentioned in the article is that Mogami’s damage control ossifer committed what was the heresy in the Imperial Navy and jettisoned the torpedoes. Which turned out to be the winning move.
Steve57 (412496) — 5/3/2016 @ 3:34 pmhttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Sinking_of_japanese_cruiser_Mikuma_6_june_1942.jpg
Those are men crowding the fantail. You can see one guy dangling off the stern on a rope.
I’d have killed them. But it doesn’t mean I envy them their fate. That was a horrible way to die.
Steve57 (412496) — 5/3/2016 @ 3:57 pm