DownTown Mystic – “Think A Little Louder”
Americana Highways presents this premiere of DownTown Mystic’s song “Think A Little Louder” from their forthcoming EP Rock’n’Roll 4 The Soul: Acoustic Sessions. Rock’n’Roll 4 The Soul: Acoustic Sessions was produced by Robert Allen; mixed by Joe DeMaio; recorded at Shorefire Studios in Long Branch, NJ with engineer Joe DeMaio and also at Showplace Studios in Dover, NJ with engineer Ben Elliott.
“Think A Little Louder” (Acoustic Mix) was co-written by Robert Allen and Eddie Walker, and is Robert Allen on vocals, acoustic guitars and shaker; and Steve Holley on cajón, maracas and tambourine.
“You make me dream when I see that gleam in your eye.” Don’t we all need that positive accomplice to help plan all our visions for the future? And then we hope for the partner we can often only imagine is real. DownTown Mystic will give you the hearty rock ‘n roll boost while you hold out hope for the best partner in the world. Even when it doesn’t always pan out in real life, we can absolutely enjoy the sentiment.
This song has some epic stories behind it, from the writing to the recording. I was working with a guy in NYC named Eddie Walker. He and his band were rehearsing in Soho near Little Italy. After listening to them a few times I approached Eddie with the music to a song of mine. I played him the song with a melody but no lyrics. I asked him to write them. I knew Eddie was going through some things in his relationship with his girlfriend/fiancée at the time. Eddie wanted to marry her and I think she was starting to get cold feet. The next time at rehearsal Eddie, accompanying himself on his guitar, sang the finished song to me and his band. I still remember how he sang it. That’s how good it was to hear it the 1st time. A real Moment!
When I recorded the song, I didn’t like the key, so I decided to change it. Since it was recorded on 2” analog tape on a Studer 24-track machine, this meant I would have to erase all the parts, with the exception of the drums! The other change I decided to make was write a bridge and connect it to the final chorus for the fade out. This meant editing out the 3rd verse. For the acoustic version, I put the 3rd verse back in the way Eddie wrote it. This is the first time the full song has ever been heard.
Unfortunately, the story didn’t end well for Eddie. A few months after writing the song, Eddie and his girl split. She went back home, and Eddie quit the band, left NYC, and moved to Austin. On the plus side, I got a great song from it and hopefully, have given Eddie his due. I think his lyrics show the give and take in relationships and the frustration that can build when one of the pair is not forthcoming with their true feelings. I could feel his emotion the first time he sang it and that’s what I tried to keep and convey in the recording. – Robert Allen
“Think A Little Louder (Acoustic Mix)” pre-save link is here: https://orcd.co/dqeo7ek
