Maid In Heaven - Robbomac cover Be Bop Deluxe

[Johnny Robbo]

Be Bop Deluxe are one of those bands who rarely get a mention nowadays despite being a major act in their time. Any discussion of classic '70s rock will doubtless name-check all the usual suspects: Led Zeppelin; Black Sabbath; Deep Purple; Uriah Heep... and all the rest. But my fellow Yorkshireman Bill Nelson & his band seldom get any exposure now, which I think is a crying shame.

This is Kenny's & my attempt to redress the balance a little with our version of a track from their "Futurama" album which came out in 1975. Personally, of all the tunes Kenny & I have done together, this is up there as one of my favourites. Kenny's vocal on this is pretty much exactly how I wish I could sing... but can't He sent me his  dry vocal part, all pre-mixed (lead & harmonies) & it just slotted beautifully into the mix in my DAW – I just added a little compression & reverb, then re-worked some of my guitar parts around his voice a bit & that was it.

If this track has whetted anyone's appetite for some more Be Bop Deluxe, a good sampler album would be their live cut "Live In The Air Age" - well worth checking out.

The usual cast make the credits here:

Drums – Cakewalk Studio Instruments (Slight Beef preset kit)
Bass – Ebay cheapo (I'll post a picture of it sometime in case anyone knows what it actually is)
Rhythm Guitar – Tele (double tracked, as always)
Lead Guitar – Harley Benton LP copy
And the ever faithful Vox Tonelab ST

I always use the same FX, all native to Cakewalk... The reverb is the "Tiled Room" preset; The flanger is just the Cakewalk "Classic Flange" preset; I put the "Breathe" preset compression on the bass; Medium Vocal Compression on the vocals, and a 30ips tape sim (great for adding a bit of faux analogue warmth to a digital recording) on the master bus, along with the "Final Mix Compression". Then as a final touch I wash all my mixes through the LANDR online mastering service.

Thanks for listening, chaps

[Oldrottenhead]

Bill Nelson is one of my heroes, have met him a couple of times too.

brilliant faithful cover guys bloody magic. was hoping it was gonna be an instrumental so i could have a go at the vocals. lol. forgot robomac was a group. made my day guys.

[Farrell Jackson]

I'm not familiar with Be Bop Deluxe's music but I know a good song and recording when I hear one and this has all the elements of excellence! Well done Robbomac...I'll have to check out some more Be Box Deluxe music.

Farrell

[Redler]

Not familiar with the original, but if someone had asked in which decade this has been written, I'd have guessed it right - sounds very '70's-stuff' . And very fine song, indeed!

Just great guitars and vocals! Fine production as well - thanks for the technical info!

Bravo Robbomac!

[ODH]

Bill Nelson & Be Bop Deluxe were a huge influence on me. I can remember trying to unpick the Crying to the Sky solo at great length, note by note. And his later solo work was much played too.

I'm really pleased you did this song and that you both did such a great job.

Top drawer stuff.

 

[cuthbert]

Bill Nelson is one of my heroes too, and I played their LPs endlessly through the late 70s - and so I was very excited to press the play button!

Wow! You guys did not disappoint. Amazing guitar work Johnny, and Kenny did a great job on the vocals (and backing vox). Really fine production, and I too always appreciate reading the technical details.

Great collab, guys. Oh, and more Be Bop Deluxe covers, please.

[bruno]

super cover gents.
B

[Hook]

Top shelf all the way my brothers, surprised I'm not slurring my type.
Rock on!!!!!!!!!!

[Groundy]

Great Guitar, Great Vocals, Great Duo...


Alex

[Johnny Robbo]

Oh, and more Be Bop Deluxe covers, please.

Thanks chaps... I'm hankering to do "Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape"... Probably going to have a crack at some Badfinger first though if Kenny's up for it. Not giving anything away, but if you watched Breaking Bad then you'll probably know the song I'm thinking of