{"title":"Will Ragar","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"forever-bayou-paradise","title":"Forever \/ Bayou Paradise","description":"\u003cp\u003eBBE Music with the first-ever re-issue of this sun baked folk\/jazz hybrid 45 by Louisiana brothers Will and James Ragar. First released in 1981, this private press 7\" showcases their songwriting skills, refined performance and sophisticated compositions. Remastered by Frank Merritt the re-issue has an analogue warmth that the brothers say sounds even more pleasing than the original. Will and James Ragar began as the Will James Band performing on the popular 'Crawfish Circuit' of Southern Louisiana - this circuit included New Orleans, Thibodaux and Baton Rouge. They played blues, rock and jazz combos, covering everything from James Taylor to Jimi Hendrix. Eventually evolving into an acoustic folk-rock duo by the time they entered the studio in 1980. Both tracks on the 45 were recorded at River City studios in Baton Rouge in 1980. The engineer had the Allman Brothers on his list of recording credits, so they felt they were in excellent company. \"Bayou Paradise\" was an ode to the beauty of Southern Louisiana. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe studio band included Will \u0026amp; James, John Smart on keyboards, his solo on \"Forever\" was achieved with the Legendary Analog Prophet synth and saturated the studio with rich layers of its distinctive sound, driving the up-tempo chorus. Dave D'Aubin, a versatile bass player whose resonant tone is very present on both songs. Tommy Jefferson is on drums, an alumnus of the Southern University jazz program, the same place Randy Jackson and Billy Cobham studied. Tommy used a tight higher pitch snare drum on the recording, a sound that would soon become very popular, but at that time was a little ahead of the curve. The session was recorded on analogue tape using the 24-track MCI recorder and mixed down to analogue tape for the single. Will \u0026amp; James added vocal harmonies and soaked up the fidelity during mix-down. The release coincides with the long-awaited re-issue of the brothers' album \u003ci\u003eWill \u0026amp; James Ragar One\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BBE","offers":[{"title":"7\"","offer_id":50477277872459,"sku":"2006003","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d507a18d9e275a5815ca97c027c094c7_125f436e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727467939"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/will-ragar.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}