[Neil C]

Hi,

Here's ode to a one of a kind who died last year. Well he certainly lived a life and was a fun to write lyrically.

Hope you like it and look forward to your feedback.

  neil

https://soundcloud.com/neilconnor-2/quarter-to-midnight

Its quarter to midnight
The blackest white man I knew
I’ve been hoodooed baby
And been taken down so low

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

Dr John weren’t his real name
Not that that mattered that much
He nearly lost a finger
He never lost lost his touch

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

Furs and voodoo, charms and feathers
Champion Jack and Big Joe Turner
Playing knock ‘em down and drag ‘em out juke joints
And tragic magic busts

Its quarter to midnight
Money’s flowing like fine French wine
But the tables ain’t for turning
What’s your’s sure ain’t mine

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

Lawyers bogarting my money
Doing what I had to make them rich
Rhythm and strumming, kept ripping and running
I just couldn’t call it quits

Its quarter to midnight
When I heard the news
Gone to meet his maker
Mac Rebennack sure paid his dues

No more night tripping, no voodoo charms
Or stride piano or big easy slides
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
I’ve been been night-tripping, when I heard
That old Mac had died

c N Connor 2019


 

[Grubstar]

Hi
I really enjoyed this track I cant believe how professional and great sounding the production is and as for the guitars and vocals; fantastic, What a great and fitting tribute track.

[pompeyjazz]

Great bluesy vibe @Neil C This one really rocked. Superb playing and your voice suits the blues for sure. Love the harp in there as well. Top dollar 

[Bostonfan2]

Sounds great Neil, I'm digging the bass line with the great sounding guitars &
your voice does the blues well. for a blues groove the flow of the lyrics is so
important and these lyrics & phrasing are right on, well done Neil!

[MidnightCoffee]

Hello
I think this song is great, it's groovy and the sound is very good.
The harp kicks ass seriously !
The two guitars tracks fit well together, we can heard them very clearly and it's not a an easy things to do.
The chorus ad lib at the end is very good

If you want some things to do just a little better, just as a personnal taste :
- the voice a bit too loud and above the instruments, especially at the end
- maybe too much lyrics for blues, maybe delete one verse for a real solo
- the organ at the end is good, maybe make it louder

Congratulations again, it was good
Bye
(sry for my english)

[cowparsleyman]

Instantly recognise you style @Neil C - oozes feeling, and the harp and B3 makes it super cool.

Lovely playing and solid drum programming. I could imagine this one live, would go down a storm near the end of a gig.

Glad you kept the 'Yeah' in at the end.

[LostBoy]

Great vibe on this Neil mate. Musically it's awesome. Lyrics are great...."nearly lost his finger..never lost his touch!" Is my fave line. 😁👍🏻 the vocal melody if I'm being honest didnt really float my boat...a bit safe perhaps. I did like how u pushed your voice at "quarter to midnight!!" though. Good stuff man.

[mickyplankton]

This is really good Neil. Very cool lyrics and a very well put together bluesy arrangement. Reminds me a bit of Gary Moore which takes me back a bit. Love the mouth organ. Are you playing that live? If so keep it up. It sounds great. Cheers Micky

[MichaelA]

Seems an effortless production, just rolling along and all fitting together so well. Great separation and clarity in all the instruments, and a very cool blues song that is totally accessible from start to finish. Enjoyed very much! 

[MonnoDB]

Lovely bluesy number @Neil C. Harmonica is the star for me - the whole thing sounds very polished and true to the style. Great lyrics!!

[adamfarr]

I have to confess I'm not familiar with the work of the great man - but this style really seems to suit you. Nice playful lyrics and great harmonica work!

[Jamie]

Hi Neil, great vocal on this. Love the harp and the whole blues feel of it (Not really my thing, but I can hear the authenticity).Great production too Neil! Nice bit of hammond as well.
Really polished
Nice one!
Cheers
Jamie

[pnb99]

I’ve listened to this song about 5-6 times.

I really enjoyed this.

I think the balance of instruments and vocals is very good. A nice, warm sounding mix. I never thought a “bluesy” style was really my thing….I’d certainly make an exception for this track.

Loved the harmonica…just superb.

There are some great lyrics “nearly lost his fingers, but never lost his touch” :-)

The vocal kind of reminded me of Paul Weller during his Wildwood phase..That is a genuine, sincere compliment.

I had a couple of thoughts that you may want to consider (or indeed completely ignore)

1. I thought that some backing vocals slightly earlier in the track might be a good thing
2. The second lyric line “triggered” me…not that it offended me (and who cares if it did?)..it just got me thinking that if you inverted that line, it would most probably be considered an insult. That got me thinking about how we use these characterisations and how, in the search for equality etc., we can be guilty of exchanging one set of generalised prejudices for another set. Anyhow, I’m sure that wasn’t your intention, but it did trigger an interesting internal dialogue.

Overall, I enjoyed the song very much indeed. It was a real surprise to me that I did.

Thank you for sharing your music with me.

Hope this helps,

Paul

[montydog]

Hi Neil,

A musician scholar is in the house! Very clever tribute to Mac with some lovely harmonica, keyboard and lead guitar work. Confident vocal but could have maybe brought the double tracked vocal in earlier in the song. As usual, production and musical setting perfectly judged. You make it all sound so easy 

M

[Inanité_sonore]

Hey,
Good guitar, good bass, good voice ! It's a very good song  .
The only thing I regret is that the harmonica only expresses itself at the same time as the voice, but that's a detail, and a matter of personal taste, not a criticism.