Big Chris & D'Bare Bones Band update

Just did a quick review of ZZ Top's Greatest Hits album on Amazon (great album), and mentioned Big Chris & D'Bare Bones Band.  ... and then promptly noticed a spelling mistake in what I wrote - oh well!

I'm having a hard time picking out a few favorite songs from this album.  Which usually means one of two things: 1. I don't like any of it, or 2. I like pretty much every track on the album.

I would say this one falls into category number 2.  I love the "self-cover" of "Life's Just Bad" and look forward to hearing more remakes of old Mission of One songs.  Also "When Your Time Comes", and "Punch in the Face" are both excellent songs (and heavy contenders for my favorites).  I'm not a big fan of parody songs, but "Bound for a Throne" is also just a fantastic song.  "Girl in the Window" and "Daddy's Little Girl" are also fantastically written and performed (even if the subject material does leave me more than a little sad). I also really like "Thank You", and I have to confess that even with it's (fully intended) "campiness" "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" has some incredibly clever lyrics.

Oh yes, and "Telephone" is absolutely fantastic as well!

Staybrite wrote:

I'm having a hard time picking out a few favorite songs from this album.  Which usually means one of two things: 1. I don't like any of it, or 2. I like pretty much every track on the album.

I would say this one falls into category number 2.  I love the "self-cover" of "Life's Just Bad" and look forward to hearing more remakes of old Mission of One songs.  Also "When Your Time Comes", and "Punch in the Face" are both excellent songs (and heavy contenders for my favorites).  I'm not a big fan of parody songs, but "Bound for a Throne" is also just a fantastic song.  "Girl in the Window" and "Daddy's Little Girl" are also fantastically written and performed (even if the subject material does leave me more than a little sad). I also really like "Thank You", and I have to confess that even with it's (fully intended) "campiness" "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" has some incredibly clever lyrics.

Thank you for the kind words, sir!  I am proud to know that you find this so enjoyable.

There will be a few more "self covers" as you called them.  When I start to work on the EP soon, I want to redo "Where The Worm Dieth Not".  Expect some changes and some different instrumentation.  I might even work in a banjo just for giggles while keeping the rock edge.  I also, at some point, want to redo "Role Of Harlots" and "Man Overboard".  Then, I think I am pretty well done redoing old songs for a while as I keep writing new stuff.

I also am glad that people are liking the parody and the Christmas track.  You are correct that the Christmas one was meant to be campy.  To really honor that movie, you had to go that route.  I feel that the song does a great job paying homage to "A Christmas Story".  With "Bound For A Throne" it is a parody without striving to be exactly like the original.  I wanted to have fun with it.  I still find it hard to believe that this song sounds so huge considering I am playing a 3 string guitar made from a Batman license plate.

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Oh yes, and "Telephone" is absolutely fantastic as well!

"Telephone" is also in the category of a self-cover.  I wrote it when I used to play with my buddies in Stressin' several years ago.  We did a demo recording of it but never went any further than that with it.  I think that Yvonne might be the only person here to have ever heard the original, so it is new to everyone else!

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Just did a quick review of ZZ Top's Greatest Hits album on Amazon (great album), and mentioned Big Chris & D'Bare Bones Band.  ... and then promptly noticed a spelling mistake in what I wrote - oh well!

Thank you so much for the assistance.  If anyone checks out the record because of that, it will be amazing.  Oh, and thank you, Fundy, for the lyrics to "Thank You".

Very cool insights.  
I have to say that I'm having a hard time picturing what "Where the Worm.." and "Role of Harlots" will sound like in the new blues-rock style as they were some of the more "metal" sounding songs from Mof1.  I expect to be pleasantly surprised. 

Also cool to hear about "Thank You" being a revived Dickens classic.

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Also cool to hear about "Thank You" being a revived Dickens classic.

You mean "Telephone".  "Thank You" is a song that Fundy and I collaborated on specifically for this release.

alldatndensum wrote:

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Also cool to hear about "Thank You" being a revived Dickens classic.

You mean "Telephone".  "Thank You" is a song that Fundy and I collaborated on specifically for this release.

Duh   yeah, that's what I meant.

It's always a good sign when you can't choose your favourite song off an album.  Currently I'm loving tracks 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11.  But I don't find myself skipping songs at all.

Fundy wrote:

It's always a good sign when you can't choose your favourite song off an album.  Currently I'm loving tracks 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11.  But I don't find myself skipping songs at all.

If forced to pick one single song I would probably go with track 3 (When Your Time Comes).  But the album in it's entirety is too good to just pick one stand out track.

Fundy did you contribute to any of the other songs on this release (besides Thank You)?

I can answer that, Gary.  Fundy did not contribute any other lyrics.  With that song, I may have changed a phrase or two to make the syllables flow with the music, but they were minute.  Unlike the song "Hostile To The Gospel", we didn't send lyrical ideas back and forth.  He sent these at one time and I just didn't know what to do with them.  I came up with the music and had no words for it.  I tried this poem he had sent and it fit perfectly.  DONE!


"When Your Time Comes" is also my brother's favorite.  I was going with a more 'front porch' sound with this.  I was using the mic stand for a bass drum and a bucket for the snare.  Darren wanted to do drums with it, add some shaker and tambourine to it, and that's what we have today.  He wanted to do even more instrumentation to it, but I felt it was perfect.

alldatndensum wrote:

... He wanted to do even more instrumentation to it, but I felt it was perfect.

Glad you left it the way it was. 

Yeah, Darren would have had me do some fiddle, piano, and some steel guitar.  I don't know where I would have found those players, but he would have liked to have had them.  LOL