Stream "No One Else Can Do It"
Watch "No One Else Can Do It" Music Video
Cover Art
Someone said "this song sounds like Lyle Lovett and Cole Porter were drinking at a dive bar watching Blind Willie McTell. "
A Few Thoughts About The Creation of "No One Else Can Do It"
“No One Else Can Do it” was an upbeat fun song from the word go. When I sat down to write this song I wanted the music and the message to be lighthearted. Nothing says lighthearted like Ragtime so I wrote verses around a Ragtime acoustic guitar that is reminiscent of songs from the 1920’s & 1930’s. I added in some 1930’s era delta blues changes on the refrain. And then a funny thing happened. I was trying out different chorus ideas and messing around with some jazz chords I had never used before. Bada-bing! I stumbled into a chord vamp that had a real cool 1920’s “Flapper era” feel, a little bit Ragtime and a little bit Great American Songbook. My music partner, Tim Freund, helped me write some of the lyrics so I think a bit of his story is in here too!.
For the recording, I wanted an acoustic arrangement with an upbeat rhythm. Tim added in a clever groove and I played a swing style bass line. Like Ella & Duke said- “It don’t mean a thing if it aint got that swing!. On the choruses I added in the Hammond Organ to give the track a little touch of gospel feel. As the arrangement unfolds, I bring in some 1920’s style piano riffs as counterpoint to the Ragtime guitar. I was almost done when I bumped into one last surprise on the final chorus. I tracked the natural 3rd harmony and it sounded pretty good but suddenly I could hear a unique harmony to add on top of it. The part I was sensing turned out to be a chromatic harmony that reminds me of something Manhattan Transfer would have sang in the 1970’s.
This song allowed me so much exploration and creativity; all in a compact 3 minutes and 28 seconds.
A Few Thoughts about The "No One Else Can Do It" Video
This video was a collaboration with Philadelphia based Creative Director Chris Emmanoualides. Our concept was to build on the ragtime theme of the music by mixing green screen performance footage with licensed silent film images from the 1920's. The result is a fun filled video that captures the lighthearted sentiment of the song. Chris did a nice job framing the performance footage in art decco designs. This is the 1st video to feature footage of drummer Tim Freund.
