Cruel to be Kind
Cruel to be Kind
[Verse]
Oh, I can’t take another heartache
Though you say oh my friend
I’m at my wit’s end
You say your love is bonafide
but that don’t coincide
With the things that you do
And when I ask you to be nice
You say you’ve got to be…
[CHORUS]
Cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you
Baby, you got to be cruel
You got to be Cruel to be Kind
[Verse]
Well I do my best to understand it
But you still mystify and I want to know why
I pick myself up off the ground to have you
Knock me back down again and again
And when I ask you to explain
You say, you’ve got to be…
[CHORUS]
Cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you
Baby, you got to be cruel
You got to be Cruel to be Kind
Well I do my best to understand it
But you still mystify and I want to know why
I pick myself up off the ground to have you
Knock me back down again and again
And when I ask you to explain
You say, you’ve got to be…
[CHORUS]
Cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you
Baby, you got to be cruel
You got to be Cruel to be Kind
[CHORUS]
Cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you
Baby, you got to be cruel
You got to be Cruel to be Kind
Song Length: 4:10
Writer: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Anglo-Rock Inc.
Writer: Ian Gomm
Publisher: Albion Music Ltd.
Paul Kaiser: Drums
Jody Whitesides: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Synths
Chris Hellstrom: Drum loops
Recording Info:
Cover Art: Jody Whitesides
Recording Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mixing Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Mastering Engineer: George Leger III
Vocal Engineer: Jody Whitesides
Producer: Jody Whitesides
Tracked at: Das Poolside Studio in Tujunga CA
The Setup: Mac Dual 800 Quicksilver
Logic Audio Platinum
Delta 1010 by M-Audio
GrooveTubes MD1a
Mesa/Boogie Triaxis
Shure SM57beta
Mixed in: Logic Audio Platinum
Mastered at: Utopia Parkway Music
Guitar(s): Joe’s Guitar Whitesides Viper 7 Redwood: This is a custom 7-string guitar that Justin built for me to specifications for the neck. The body is two different woods, the back of the body is alder with a redwood top. The neck is maple with a Bocate fingerboard, jumbo frets. Strung with Dean Markley Blue Steels. The bridge pickup is a custom built Seymour Duncan Custom Custom, made specifically for me prior to 7-string guitar pickups becoming an actual line. Thus it’s pieced together by Seymour’s custom pickup department. The neck is a stacked humbucker, also created by Seymour Duncan’s custom pickup department. This was voiced to be more like a custom.
Ibanez Universe 7 string guitar: This is number 96 off the assembly line. I got it for $400 with the case, about 6 months before Korn hit it big time. Then the value shot up to over $2000. Seymour Duncan Custom Custom 7 string model – custom wound. Plus my middle pickup was custom wound by a guy in Canada, sounds ok, but I don’t have his name. Neck pickup wasn’t used on this disc but is the stock pickup. Tremolo was useless with strings this heavy – so I blocked it off. This guitar was strung with Dean Markley Blue Steels medium gauge.
Joe’s Guitar with Jesus paint job: This guitar has a Seymour Duncan Custom Custom pickup and a Cool Rails. It also has a Wilkinson Tremelo installed by Trev Wilkinson himself. Strung with Dean Markley Blue Steel medium gauge strings.
The Amp Setup:
GrooveTubes Trio and Solo head
GrooveTubes Dual 75 Power Amp
GrooveTubes 2×10 Cab
Bass(s): Hohner B Bass V: 5 string bass that was relatively quite cheap but records very very well. At the time of this recording it was strung with Dean Markley Blue Steel at the time.
The Amp Setup: recorded direct.
Drums: Roland V-Drum TD-10
Additional drum loops by Chris Hellstrom
Vocal: Mic’d with a GrooveTubes MD1a
Synths: ES1
Song Story:
I’ve never been one of those musicians who plays a lot of cover tunes. It was never really my thing. My philosophy was that if I enjoy the original version by the artist or writer, why would I attempt to destroy that magic that I love.
Enter a few friends in the industry that pestered me saying I really ought to consider doing a cover song of something that was a pretty big hit. In my mind it was like getting my arm twisted and I felt that if I was going to do a cover of anything I would need to do it such a different way that it would become as if I had written the song.
Enter me thinking about my songs from my childhood that I really thought were hot shit. There was one song that I loved playing over and over on a record player that popped into my mind. That song was Cruel to be Kind by Nick Lowe. I don’t know what it was about that song as a kid going thru puberty that seemed to describe what I was hoping for in a future female.
If you are not familiar with Nick’s version, mine is a massive departure from it in a sonic sense. His is very bouncy and kinda upbeat. As you can hear in my version, it’s darker, heavier and not nearly a bouncy. It’s also in a different key and time signature. Did exactly what I could to make it my song, so to speak.
Ian Gomm, Nick’s co-writer on the song, was super nice when I reached out to him about getting permission to do a cover of their awesome work of art. He was also very inquisitive and wanted to hear my version when it was finished. Not long after I sent him a copy of the recording, he wrote back to tell me how much he enjoyed hearing my take on their song. Said it gave the song a very different and cool vibe.
At this point, I have covered a small smattering of other songs and have gotten similar feedback on versions of songs that I have done. It’s a fantastic feeling to hear a writer tell you that you did their creation in a way they enjoyed and didn’t imagine.
Factoids:
1. I wanted Nick to hear this version. I’m not sure he’s ever heard it. I licensed his portion thru Harry Fox.
2. Ian Gomm wrote me back after I had to also contact him to get permission to release it. He loved the harder and darker nature of it.
3. This is one of my favorite songs from my childhood and Nick certainly wrote some amazing songs!
The middle 8 as Nick and Ian would have called was a “guitar-chestration” style of music. A concept that I borrowed from another English guitar player who goes by the name Brian May. He was known for layering a lot of guitars in various ways and EQs to make a sort of orchestration by guitar. It was a lot of fun and turned out pretty cool.
Using 7 string guitars made it easy for me to take this song to a very different place. Plus using copious amounts of distortion made it very different from Nick’s version.
Copyright:
ISRC: US32P0600001
ISWC:
SESAC Song ID:
Harry Fox ID:
Harry Fox Publisher ID:
UPC: 654433000924