[adamfarr]

Hi All - very lucky to be able to present another colab with PompeyJazz!

This one had quite a lot of twists and turns in its gestation.

We had both mentioned that we were fans of Roddy Frame and John sent me some Frame-like chords, a few lines of lyrics, and a picture of Ruth Ellis (the last woman to be judicially hanged in England, in 1955).

So much material there - not only her life and death, but also our own unhealthy fascination with women killers, and ongoing debates over the death penalty and the law around provocation, so a quite complete lyric splurged out very quickly.

Those original chords went on to become a different song, but my research had taken me to Elvis Costello's "Let Him Dangle" and that seemed to inspire John to produce a new melody and production concept, and it was easy to rejig the lyrics and add a new chorus. It started as a "you" song but we decided as her story was so unique to give her her name.

John then absolutely knocked the lead vocal out of the park - I'd probably still be tinkering with lyrics and phrasing, but we agreed that that performance had to be kept.

Add backing vocals from me to John's heavy lifting and sheer dynamism, and here we go.

John: concept, melody, lead vocals, other vocals, all instruments, mixing and mastering
Adam: main lyrics, backing vocals, mastering final touches

A pleasure to work on this and we're really pleased with the result. Comments always welcome, many thanks for listening.


Ruth's Blues
(John Bradley, Adam Farr, 2018)

V1
The coolest chick for the 8 foot drop
Never asked for a reprieve
The pain, the men, and the rejection
Made Ruth sure it’s time to leave

V2
Another playboy took Ruth’s bed
But she took punches in return
He’d never let her in his world
So bullets seemed his just dessert

CH
Is it right, that we take eyes for eyes?
Is it right, for Ruth to pay the highest price?
Who was saved? Revenge disguised as justice
Who was saved, when Ruth embraced the gallows’ kiss?

V3
A crowded courtroom sealed Ruth’s fate
For a crime she never denied
So obvious what Ruth intended
The judge and jury’s hands were tied

V4
Few have lived where life consists
Of bruises and your womb’s a toy
Would anyone still be interested
If Ruth was murdered by the boy?

Break
V1/V2
CH

[Johnnyuk]

Hi Adam and John,
This has a great mood to it. Very laid back and with crystal clear vocals from john set to a great backing track it is very easy on the ears.
Great song!
Johnny

[Skub]

Yo John and Adam.

I love songs about real people. It's cool on at least fronts. One it's a real life story and two,there will be folk who've never heard of Ruth Ellis and it will add to their general knowledge.

She was hanged six days before I was born,so I guess there is some historical affinity there for me too. I remember reading Pierrepoint's life story back in the day,a compelling read. He was someone who came to see capital punishment as flawed,despite it being his trade.

Anyway,kudos to you both for an entertaining and educational listen. 

[PaulyX]

You’ve got a pretty darn authentic jazz vibe going there guys... is the sax real? It certainly sounds it. Do you play sax John?
I had not heard of this lady or the backstory. I liked your first line in particular Adam -that’s an impactful way to start a song!

[pompeyjazz]

Hey Paul,

The sax is all samples, chopped, pitch adjusted and stretched to fit

All from this great free kit

https://beatproduction.net/saxophone-sound-kit/

[mickyplankton]

Hi Chaps. Another fine colab. The subject matter is a fantastic lesson in  history. I listened to this with the Wikipedia read in parallel. Fascinating and tragic story. Musically I think it works well. Although the guitar sound felt a little harsh at times. Perhaps piano would give a slightly fuller sound if you included it. The sax is incredible. Like skub I felt it sounded live. Really great work getting that to sound so.authentic.

[Darren1664]

What a great collab!

Very jazzy with a superb lead vocal performance. Pompz knows how to deliver. The concept is brilliant and like skub, I love it when lyrics are about real people and real stories. The fact that it's real gives the lyrics a lot more impact.

Reading the lyrics I thought they were excellent! They tell the story very well. Reading them I kind of heard your voice Adam so interesting to hear John sing it.

I don't think I have heard your earlier collab so I will have to dig that out!

Cheers both

Darren

[PaulAds]

Top notch stuff from two of my forum favourites!

One of the best opening lines ever...sets the scene brilliantly. This has a great smoky 50’s jazz/bluesy feel which suits the mood of the lyric perfectly.

Great story too...I can never really understand why so many writers make shit up when true stories can offer most of what any writer could ever need. Except for bonkers fantasy bullshit of course 

Anyway...that sax is so marvellous, I’ll be heading over that way to download it ASAP in a vain attempt to recreate some of this magic.

Great stuff, dudes.

[Katie Wilson]

Hi excellent collaboration well produced - after watching the recent 3 part series about Ruth Ellis my eyes were  opened .

I suppose having watched something like that it was hard to listen to something like this it left me feeling a bit uncomforble ( and that's no criticsim of the song or writers ) but it just didn't fit well with me maybe I'd listen to it 3 months down the line and look at it in a completely different vein but it challenged me which is good but I just wasn't ready I suppose for a smooth bouncy little blues number about something that I'd just watched ( once again not a criticsim but wrong time for me I think

[redrhodie]

Great story and singing. I don't know why I'm thinking that this would be good striptease music, but there you go. Haha.

[IronKnee]

Never did hear of her, but I now know her story.
Good stuff, Guys.....A great collab, and my hat's off to the both of you.
Good one, Adam!!
                                          -Tom

[Mikey]

Really cool jazz vibe guys......nice! love the sax solo, and pompey's vocal really suits the song and sounds great, backing vocals are really good too.

Great stuff, Mikey

[Viscount Cramer & His Orchestra]

Nice jazzy feel guys. No doubt there is a jazz noir genre so with the subject matter/lyric this must belong there.

Very fond of the chorus and might have snuck it in more if it was mine...but it ain't!

Got a good live jazz club sound which also fits nicely with the story.

Good solid lyric/music collab boys.

And no I don't suppose anyone would be interested if it had been the other way round!

Top marks Adam for that first line which is a great line anywhere but especially here in this cool, jazz noir setting!

Nice snappy and whatever-the-word-is title too. Can't get a lot more blue than that!