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Ah, April 15th…a time to
render unto Caesar…Problem, as I see it, with this modern day Caesar is that he seems to think
everything you have is his (whether his image is placed upon it not); like your
home, your kids, your livestock, your livelihood and your money. YIKES! Oh
well, you’re not really gonna do anything about it, are ya?
So…let’s get onto a more pleasant topic
shall we? BATLE OF THE BANDS. Yes, it’s also THAT time again.
I love me a good musical. I know they are
kind of silly. People walking down the road and bursting into song and dance.
Tough guys singing their threats, and quite literally wearing their hearts on
their sleeve as they belt out a ‘love song’. BUT, I don’t care, I love ‘em.
Well, maybe not all of ‘em, but I do like quite a few.
One of my favorite ‘musicals’ is ‘Paint
Your Wagon’. Yep! What could be better than a ‘Western Musical’? Its set at the
gold rush days of California in a little ole mining town called ‘No Name City’.
Predominately male cast, but there is a love story of sorts in there, and a great buddy tale also.
‘Paint Your Wagon’ a Lerner and Loewe
production, was originally a Broadway play set on the world in 1951. It was
basically a flop. BUT, in 1969 it was adapted for the screen by Paddy Chayefsky.
Jay Lerner teamed up with Andre Previn to add a few new songs, with the whole
thing being directed by Joshua Logan. The two male leads were…are you ready for
this…Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood…in a musical, and they each sing a solo.
This already sounds like a wild time.
First up let’s hear Lee Marvin as Ben
Rumson Singing ‘Wanderin’ Star’
Next up ‘Mr. Smooth’ Robert Goulet up
against Lee with the same tune.
OK, now you know what to do. Vote in the
comment box and give me your why. Next, head on over to the home of the
handsome, and ever popular Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy and vote in his BATTLE. STMc will give you
links to other participants in this BATTLE and I urge you to visit everyone.
As a side note, read Mr. McCarthy’s
disclaimer on his site. If he doesn’t start getting more votes he’s done,
finished, gonna quit BATTLE OF THE BANDS. So, if you enjoy this bi-monthly
diversion into silliness, better head over there and cast a vote also.
I’ll be back on the 21st with
an in-depth analysis of the voting and an explicit overview of the necessary
material. NOT REALLY, but I will come back and give you my vote and reasons. I
might even give you some fun facts about ‘Paint Your Wagon’.
While Goulet did a good job with his rendition, got to give it up to Marvin and the original.
ReplyDeleteBesides, Clint Eastwood in a musical? That has to win.
I hear ya.
DeleteGoulet looked okay in his buff days, but the heart of the song comes through with Lee Marvin. Who expects a tough guy to sing? I feel his song comes from his heart. My vote goes to the bearded guy - Lee Marvin!
ReplyDeleteI totally love musicals. Even had my kids in performance theatre, and helped as supporting staff in an adult musical theatre group for a while.(did their invites to the VIPs, etc.)
Thanks D.G. I'm with ya on the musicals (at least most of 'em) and Goulet sure is buff in this rendition. I don't remember him every being that young or looking that good. Ha.
DeleteI liked them both for very different reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst up, Lee Marvin. I liked his version because it was crusty and gravelly and felt "cowboy" to me in a way that was true and real. It was slower and more melancholy and that worked very well for film (where even a musical attempts to lend itself to being somewhat realistic).
Robert Goulet sang this song like he was on a stage doing a live performance. And it looks from the video that he was. His wandering star was more adventurous and kept people from falling asleep in what were very likely uncomfortable seats. In other words, this interpretation lent itself quite well to a live venue.
But this vote isn't about the best interpretation for the best venue. If it was then they both would win, because I think they both got it right.
However, I liked Lee Marvin's version better... though, I would have preferred a shorter introduction. Once Lee Marvin began to sing it was magical. I really felt like I was listening to a cowboy sing. So, Lee gets my vote.
Great battle, FAE!
Yeah, that into is a little long. I think it's just this particular video and what they wanted you to see from the movie. Interesting analysis of both versions. Thanks for your vote.
DeleteWell, I gotta go with Lee Marvin...any song from a Clint Eastwood musical...
ReplyDeleteLarry
Somehow Musical and Clint Eastwood just don't seem to belong in the same sentence, but there you have it.
DeleteLee Marvin delivers the angst, passion, and rawness. I love Goulet, but Marvin? He wins.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan, great analysis in ten words or less. Sheesh! You're good.
DeleteMarvin wins hands down for me, or would that be hands up?
ReplyDeleteHa! Either way your vote gets counted for Lee.
DeleteLee Marvin all the way. His voice, as well has his character, is gruff and unkempt. Goulet's voice is just too pretty and refined.
ReplyDeletePretty and refined is probably not exactly what Goulet was going for here, at least not by the display of muscle he's giving. BUT, it is a pretty apt description. Thanks for the vote.
DeleteDon't worry, FAE, you do NOT have a shut-out on your hands here. I'm gonna fix that for ya.
ReplyDeleteNow, I know that must come as a shock to you, because you KNOW I like Lee Marvin a LOT; and you know my favorite movies are Westerns, and my all-time favorite Western stars Lee Marvin ('MONTE WALSH’ - 1970).
Furthermore, I have never been a Robert Goulet fan. So, I'm obviously voting for Marvin, right? As Waylon Jennings sang: "WRONG!"
[Out of curiosity, I just looked up 'Paint Your Wagon' in my old 1990 'Uncomplicated Guide To Western Movies For The Simple-Minded Cowperson' and I see I gave 'Paint Your Wagon' a B-. Not bad, but not really good either.]
Now, here's how I analyze and rate these two songs "AS" songs and not as plot devices or character descriptions in a story.
Marvin performs it in a very beaten-down, melancholy way. It's as if he finds himself living a life that, for whatever reason, requires him to keep moving on. He's a drifter who would really rather settle down somewhere, but always, something forces him to move on like a nomad, cow-town, desert wanderer.
That's OK, but it makes the song a real downer. And that's even OK too except... Lee Marvin, as much as I like him as an actor, ...can't sing. (He did have a drink with my Pa in a Santa Monica bar one night though, and that was definitely a serious man's man meeting at that bar!)
Now, Robert Goulet sings the song from a 180-degree different perspective. He’s singing it like he is a hearty adventurer who can barely stay in one place longer than 48 hours because he is eager as hell to find out what new excitement, what new adventure might await just beyond that next bend in the road, or over that next mountain ridge!
And... Goulet can DEFINITELY sing! It’s not my preferred style of singing (that “Hey, I know, Kids! Let’s put on a show!” type of performing), but there’s no denying the guy has a voice and knows how to use it.
Personally, I would have liked Goulet’s performance a little bit better if he had dialed down the “showiness” of it by a notch. Like, if he had performed it at “ten”, rather than “turning it up to eleven”!
But nevertheless, I gotta give my vote to the only contestant in this ‘BATTLE’ who really could sing a song. I go Goulet.
Shut-out over.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
Another interesting analysis, if one that takes a completely different direction, although you do pretty much concur with Robin except in the final vote. I do admit to being a tad bit surprised that your voting on the quality of the voice rather than the interpretation of the song, or maybe I'm misunderstanding something here (that has been know to happen). At any rate, your vote has been recorded and the shut-out is over. (Just in case you're wondering, whether this BATTLE was a shut-out or not really did not matter one little bit to me.)
DeleteAn unpredictable man is hard and good to find.
Delete>>... in case you're wondering, whether this BATTLE was a shut-out or not really did not matter one little bit to me.
So, you really just don't care anymore, huh?
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Apparently, finding a man who really listens is even harder and gooder to find.
DeleteYou are misinterpreting my meaning. It will explain more when I come back on the 21st. Don't want to tip my hand in the voting.
Oh, you just did. I get it.
Delete~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
I'm a big fan of musicals. This one I saw at the drive-in theater when it first came out. I wasn't a fan of musicals back then for the reasons you mentioned. I don't remember the musical and haven't seen it since.
ReplyDeleteFor a while I thought maybe you had a wrong clip for the Lee Marvin version. I kept waiting for someone to start singing and that humming music just kept going and going. It was like I was on an elevator with actual elevator music playing when all of a sudden some guy on the elevator with not so good of a voice starts singing along. Seriously I'm surprised they let this take by Marvin into the music. He sounds almost embarrassed that he's singing the song and the way he's singing he should be embarrassed. I thought it was pretty bad.
Goulet definitely has the superior voice. His version is more showy and thank goodness much shorter. I wouldn't sit around listening to this song, but Goulet gets my vote.
Now I'm going to go back and read through the comments to see how my vote compares.
That was a very different pairing, it was.
Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out
It took me awhile to recover from laughing at your analogy to the guy in the elevator. I guess you really didn't like Lee Marvin's version at all. Well, it was looking like a shut-out for a few hours there, but you and STMc have ruled or should I say voted that out. And, if you'll check below, C.W. Martin seems to agree with the two of you. Maybe by the time we're done here, this one will be closer than anyone would have thought.
DeleteGoulet. I like his type of cool better than Lee's.
ReplyDeleteWell, there you go...three votes in a row for Goulet, and his type of cool. Thanks Chris.
DeleteLee has my vote, Goulet is too hard on the head
ReplyDeleteThanks HGW. I like how you put that...'Goulet is too hard on the head'. Seems some of the other voters think Marvin is a little hard on the ears.
DeleteFor the character in the movie, Marvin did great. For sheer listening pleasure, Goulet.
ReplyDeleteSo, let's see here do I count that as one vote for each or just let your votes cancel each other out. I have to admit, it was a good way of putting what so many other have already said.
DeleteOh how I love me some musicals! Paint your Wagon was always one of my favorites too. It's awesome how she winds up married to both men. So, I'm very partial to the original version- Lee all the way.
ReplyDeleteHey Jaybird, thanks for coming by. You and I are definitely on the same page as far as musicals and 'Paint Your Wagon' go. Yeah, the idea of polygamy in reverse was pretty clever in this movie. Got your vote down for Lee Marvin/Ben Rumson.
DeleteMm. I like the first one more. It's got more personality to it, or at least, I feel the personality of the performance fits more with the actual lyrics. The other one is fun, but it just feels off.
ReplyDeleteHey Crystal, thanks for your vote. Lee Marvin pulls far ahead. I'm thinking Robert is going to have a hard time catching up here.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Maybe he should just back out of the race. ;)
Deletetook me awhile to get back to your comment and what do you know? Goulet has picked up a few more votes. I guess it ain't over till it's over. come back on the 21st to see who actually wins.
DeleteI like Lee Marvin's version better.
ReplyDeleteRobert Goulet...I know he's pretty well known for Camelot and his other Broadway starring roles. But for me and people my age, we just remember him making cameos everywhere.
Thanks Jay. I did not know that about Goulet, the part about making came. I do remember that he was in Camelot, but I'm not sure what part he played. I guess that was a musical that I really never got into.
DeleteWell, I hate to say it, since I'm a big fan of musicals, but I didn't like either version. Lee Marvin's gravely voice was better suited to the song but he was drowned out by the overdone orchestration and chorus (the humming lead in lasted forever). There seemed to be an attempt to drown out Robert Goulet as well but his voice was strong enough to push through. I'm going to vote for Goulet just because it was shorter.
ReplyDeleteThanks LD. Got your vote for the shorter version by Goulet.
DeleteI know that humming intro was loooong. I think it was for the purpose of that clip, mainly introducing the movie. Sorry about that.
Oh, Lee Marvin singing. The only thing I can think of is (back when they were actually good) The Simpsons' parody of this, aka Homer excited to watch a western with two of his favorite tough guys only to find out it's a musical.
ReplyDeleteCan I submit this as my vote?
Simpsons - Gonna Paint a Wagon
I know Marvin's probably winning, but he's got a vocal range of like 5 notes. When I hear singing, I want to actually hear singing, so I give this to Goulet. But not by much.
Well maybe Marvin can't sing worth a dran but 'He's dreamy'.
DeleteI don't watch much TV, so I've never seen a whole episode of The Simpsons, THAT was funny! I suppose it about sums it up, as to what most people thought about Eastwood and Marvin in a musical.
got your vote down for Goulet and 'actual singing'.
Goulet, classic stage performance and what a baritone. Liked em both and Marvin lends nicely to a movie style. But its a musical it sould be sung like one.
ReplyDeleteso i didn't vote i just realized that I really didn't vote. You know why, I was actually dumbfounded that I had never seen Clint Eastwoods Paint Your Wagon, so I was in such a hurry to get to Netflix I didn't vote I gave them each a vote. I kind of should where I was leaning, but no official nod...
ReplyDeleteGoulet, I'm voting for Goulet.
Thanks for your vote Luckymama. Another one for Goulet. Can't believe you've never seen this one. I own it on VHS and have for years.
Deletehuh??? missed my early years musical phase i guess
ReplyDelete