Thursday, August 15, 2013

Battle of the Bands II


Holy Carp! It’s the Fifteenth of the month already, and time for another Battle of the Bands. I don’t know about all of you, but I had a good time reading your comments on the last Battle, and I know Mr. McCarthy did too.

So…for Battle of the Bands II everything remains the same. Listen to the two versions of the same tune, that I have posted here, and then ‘boot scoot’ your way on over to Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends the home of Stephen T. McCarthy and see what Mr. McCarthy has in store for you there.

Did I say everything remains the same, well, that’s not exactly true because Mr. McCarthy and I have decided to make a little change, just to make this more interesting, but I digress (I’m good at that). So don’t get too distracted. Listen to the two videos and the information about this little change will follow.

This week I’ve chosen an oldie but a goodie. This little ditty was written by Glen Frey and Don Henley (that’s right, two of The Eagles). It first appeared on The Eagles album of the same name in 1973. On its 2004 list of ‘The 500 Greatest songs of all Time’, Rolling Stone ranked it at 494. I think at one time or another, almost everyone liked to think of it as their personal theme song. A simple slow ballad that has been covered by a whole lot of folks, including but not limited to; Kenny Rogers, Clint Black, The Carpenters, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Andy Williams and Neil Diamond. (Andy Williams, are you kidding me? Yep, it’s ANDY WILLIAMS all right. YIKES!)

For a minute I thought about pitting ‘the ladies’ against each other, but then I thought NAW! So, here’s Battle II. First up, the original sung by none other than Don Henley backed up by The Eagles.




Second, let’s see what you think of the female version. Number two sung by Karen Carpenter.



OK, you know the drill, vote in the comment section and tell me little bit about why you like this particular version. Then get 'yerself on over to Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends and vote for the selections there.

NOW, read on for the exciting changes we’ve (Mr. McCarthy and I) made to this little contest. Somebody besides these recording artists is gonna win big.

Find The True Meaning of Christmas: Win Money!- Money!- Money! Spectacular, Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display contest.

Find The True Purpose For Voting On ‘Battle Of The Bands’ Installments: Win Compact Discs!-Compact Discs!-Compact Discs! Spectacular, Super-Colossal Blogosphere ‘Battle of The Bands’ Voting Contest!

Here’s The Deal: By voting on the ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bits here and at the ‘FERRET-FACED FASCIST FREINDS’ blog, you can win the compact disc of your choice. Every 4 months, Stephen and I will add up how many times you voted on our blogs, and the person who has participated most often (i.e., submitted the most eligible votes) will get to select one compact disc that contains any one of the songs that were included in either of our ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installments (“Super-Colossal” expensive boxed-sets, imports, and ‘out-of-print’ compact discs not included). In the event of a tie, the names will be put in a Stetson and the name drawn from the cowboy hat will win the CD.

Rules For Voting: Stephen and I post new ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bits on the 1st and 15th of each month. We also post our own personal votes for the respective blog bits on the 7th and 21st of each month (i.e., six days later). For your vote to be counted, it must be submitted in our comment sections BEFORE we post our own votes (BEFORE we make our own votes known on the 7th and the 21st).


Every 4 months there will be a new compact disc winner. In other words, ‘Battle Of The Bands’ #1 was posted on August 1, 2013, so at the end of November, one of you lucky voters is going to win a CD that includes one of the songs we’ve featured in our ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installments (you get to choose, and it doesn’t matter if the song won or lost its battle – if you like it, it’s YOURS!)

Alright, now... VOTE ON and ROCK ON! (while we ‘Count On...’)

Don't forget to come back on the 21st to see the results and read about our choices.

PLEASE, tell all of your friends to come by and let's make this a real contest.



22 comments:

  1. I have never liked the Eagles and Carpenter has a beautiful voice - her version gets my vote.

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  2. Sorta like the first one. but i liked the second one way more. So #2.

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  3. FAE ~
    Dang you! Dang you! Dang you! May you step on a huge, steaming cow patty that clings to your cowgirl boot for the rest o' yer life!

    Well, I guess I can scratch this BOTB challenge off of my list. Yep, that's right... I had this EXACT SAME match-up ('Eagles Vs. Carpenters') scheduled for the future; it was one of the very first BOTB contests that came to my mind when I started thinking of possibilities.

    I would have called "Dibs" on this except I figured you probably weren't aware that The Carpenters had also recorded it.

    I will return later to cast my vote, but I want to add that THIS is a different take on 'Desperado' by The Eagles than the one I'm familiar with; they must have re-recorded the song at some point, because I could tell within seconds that this track is somewhat altered from the one that appeared on their 'Greatest Hits' album (the one that gets played on 'Classic Rock' radio often).

    Alright, Thief, I shall return to vote, but right now, WORK is singing my name... damn-it!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  4. Karen Carpenter gets my vote.

    I love a strong female voice, and she seems to instill the song with more urgency.

    Don and the Eagles are fine, but his version seems more reflective and quiet.

    That said, I'm not a big KC fan, but she did some songs very well. It's unfortunate what happened to her.

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  5. The first one didn't sound like Don Henley at all and is not the version I am used to hearing. Reading Stephen's comment, I see that he is in agreement. This one must have been recorded much earlier.

    This is a tough call, as I have liked the version by The Eagles for many a year. I was surprised that I enjoyed the Karen Carpenter version as much as I did. I read somewhere that her brother was the genius mind in that duo (in terms of the music) while she had the lovely voice. The arrangement is wonderful and complements her voice so well... I hate to vote against the Originals here, but I do believe that I liked the KC version better. ::color me shocked::

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  6. I had heard Linda Ronstadt do Desperado, but not Karen. I'll give Karen an edge over Linda... but sorry, Karen, my sweetheart, this one goes to the Eagles.

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  7. ‘NEVER trust a sleep deprived, over-stressed, dumb blonde with a keyboard.’ I can prove that statement.

    For those of you who didn’t think that first version was the Eagles tune, that you were used to; well, you were right. That’s was not the Eagles. I sincerely apologize. I’ve corrected the problem now and if any of you want to change your vote please leave me a new comment. I was overly concerned with posting a video that included the lyrics and not careful enough to check out the artists. Again, I’m sorry.

    FYI – I also corrected the sections in the ‘rules’ portion that was written by Mr. McCarthy (as if you couldn’t have figured that out) to read more like it belongs on THIS blog.

    One more thing – I’m pretty sure that picture that comes up with this NEW video is NOT The Eagles, but don’t trust me completely on that. I am sure about the recording – this time.

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  8. One more time...

    That 'Oh Well' comment did not show up in the right place (not like it did on my phone). That was intended for you STMc.

    Man I'm having a bad day, or something!

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  9. In my earlier comment, I very nearly wrote that I didn't even believe the lead singer was Don Henley (his voice was too high), but it was so damned early in the morning, and half-asleep, I was afraid to say sumpin' stoopid. So I left it at the "alternate take" level.

    Now for my vote...

    I am not a huge Eagles fan, but I do like a number of their songs and the whole anti-Eagles thing today mystifies me.

    I love 'I Can't Tell You Why' and 'Desperado'. I really like 'Take It Easy' and 'James Dean' (of course!). 'Hotel California' is OK but it's been played to death. I still listen though, because it has one of Rock's all-time greatest guitar solos (or more accurately, "leads").

    I think the lyrics to 'Desperado' are probably Top Ten in all of Rock 'N' Roll history. (Really concentrate on each word and you'll see that's some fantastic writing with metaphors that are genuinely poetic.)

    However... KAREN CARPENTER is my all-time favorite vocalist (including both females and males) and that natural "melancholic tinge" in her voice made it absolutely PERFECT for a song like 'Desperado', which expresses a sad sort of longing. (Karen couldn't even sing a happy song like 'SING' without her voice naturally making it sound a little melancholy.)

    God gave Karen Carpenter THAT voice specifically so she could interpret songs like 'Desperado'. Therefore, I am casting my vote for ...The Eagles' version.

    Both versions of this song are truly excellent, but somehow the original recording just absolutely nailed it PERFECTLY, and you can't top perfection.

    NITRO: Now I'm wondering how many more BOTB challenges you are going to steal off my list. (Well, at least I know my selections will be safe in BOTB #4.)

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  10. You know, FAE, I actually stopped by the blog a lot earlier and had a listen. I couldn't quite decide which I liked better, so I thought I'd chew on it. And for not being big into the Eagles, I thought, "That sounds kind of, I don't know, a bit feminine for the Eagles."

    Now that the correct videos have been posted, my decision has been made a lot easier. Definitely #1. Karen has a great voice, but musically, The Eagles hit the nail on the head.

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  11. I love Karen Carpenter but I prefer the Eagles.

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  12. Eagles all the way. Love the song, love the lyrics, love the metaphors. Has always been one of my favorites....personally I LOVE CLINT BLACKS version best!

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  13. Hey everybody, I am enjoying the heck out of these comments. Keep 'em comin'.

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  14. I've always been a Carpenters fan and I can't say anything bad about Karen's version of the song, but for the sake of tradition I gotta go with the Eagles version. It's the one I started out with and it still works for me. And I'm still an Eagles fan.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

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  15. I LOVE the Eagles, and that's one of my favorite songs, so it's an easy vote for me. I like the Karen Carpenter version okay, but I've gotta go with my boys. (Has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Joe Walsh is a very active... and nice... fellow amateur radio operator.)

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  16. I prefer the Karen Carpenter version of this for sure. Though the Eagles version is one of the few Eagles tracks I like.

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  17. I have always loved Karen Carpenter's voice, but I have to say I have to give my vote on this one to the Eagles.

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  18. Hey you guys, sorry I haven't been around to visit you back. I've been more than a bit under the weather. I am loving your comments and will be back on Wednesday with my vote. Hopefully by then I'll have made it over to your place.

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  19. No fair! Don Henley vs Karen Carpenter? They both define "awesome." Henley/Eagles get(s) my vote, though. They are the ORIGINAL singers of the song. That version runs through my head frequently and often. Karen could sing anything. She didn't need to steal this one. It belongs to the Eagles.

    I hope you're feeling much better.
    xoRobyn

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