Writing For The Voice – Doug’s thoughts on “Gonna Get It Right”

Following the “Download of the Month” release, members of MBG will share their thoughts about that song in subsequent blog posts. We hope it’ll give you a greater appreciation for the tune and all that went into writing and recording it. Enjoy!

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When I first became peripherally involved with the Bad Guys, there were several things that attracted me to the band. In addition to being an easy-going group of friends that not only played, but harmonized, well together, they were anchored, in my opinion, by Les Slate’s voice. Although at the time, the band was playing a lot of Jack Johnson songs (an artist that, though I’ve come to appreciate, was hardly on my “top ten” list), I heard a different kind of depth to Les’ voice, a kind of measured sorrow that really resonated with me. It’s the smoky kind of sound for which I feel I’ve been writing songs for years. Unfortunately, my voice doesn’t have any of that quality! From the day we first started playing music together, I wanted to write songs for Les to sing. “Gonna Get It Right” was the first of those songs, and the result is everything I was hoping for.

Most of the songs we’re working on right now are collaborations among different combinations of band members, and I love the thought of all the possibilities that that might bring about, but this is one that I contributed that I wrote on my own. “Gonna Get It Right” is a sad sack’s song, sung from the point of view of the perennial loser that just never can seem to make the right decisions. I wanted to strike the same kind of tone that Tom Petty has been able to strike in a number of songs: a careful balance between that of someone that you can sympathize with, but only so far. You know that he’s probably going to screw it up, that things probably aren’t going to go so right for this fellow. There’s the possibility of some kind of redemption, and if you want to dwell on that, well, I’d be happy if it brought you a little hope. But the end of the story is far from unwritten. Maybe this guy will turn up in another song again soon and we’ll learn more.

Musically, it’s a pretty straight-ahead affair – simple American roots-rock. As with a couple of the songs we’ve been working on, they’ve gotten a little beefier in the studio, as we’ve built up the guitars and harmonies. Jerry’s harp strikes that high, lonesome, “Nebraska”/”Unknown Legend” sound. Steve and I layered acoustics, and I chose my Strat for the main rhythm guitar, which is a bit of an unusual choice for me – I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with Strats for some reason. In any case, somehow that single-coil sound keeps it on the honest side for me; it keeps it from getting too beefy, too “rawk,” at least until the heavier Les Paul overdubs come in on the bridge and the solo. Steve lays down lots of tasty Benmont Tench piano licks and organ pads from my Hammond M3. Drums and bass were pretty much straight in, one or two takes.

I couldn’t be happier with the way this one turned out, and I hope you enjoy it as well!