Stephen T. McCarthy has asked a couple of times if I would return to BOTB as a regular, and July 15th's post was meant as a joke to him.
Now I am not promising that this post means anything, but the other day I was listening to a new (for me) CD and heard a song that I thought would be perfect for a BOTB post.
Robin McKelle is a recent discovery for me, and her albums seem to vary between old-school soul/R&B (which I love) and jazz (which I've been experimenting with more over the past few years).
The jazz experimentation comes after years of McCarthy being a pain in my ass, "Jazz, jazz, jazz, fuck rock, liberals suck, star trek fans are wussies, Springsteen fans are commies, jazz, jazz, jazz"
These are real quotes-he calls me and leaves this stuff on my voice mail-I wouldn't make this up!
Or would I?
Anyway, I heard a song that sounded strangely familiar...you will know it by the Steve Miller original, which I am posting below.
This went on to become one of Miller's biggest hits, topping the charts in six countries, charting and ten, and staying on top of Billboard's chart for two weeks.
Robin's cover was nice and jazzy, and that is my first entry.
Now the easy thing would have been to pit McKelle against Miller. That's what I usually did when I was a regular participant.
Think of the build-up:
Old dog versus young lioness
The battle of the sexes
Nah, too easy.
I still pop over to a few of your BOTB blogs regularly, and I like the trend of finding two versions OTHER than the original-makes it a lot more of a discovery for people and is (often) less predictable. I even went back to Far Away Eyes original BOTB post (remember, she's to blame for all of this nonsense), and there was nothing there saying one version had to be an original-I'd simply inferred that.
So I'm going to follow the crowd and pick another cover of Miller's song, this one by Sugar Ray.
I think everyone knows the drill by now...comment...vote...I was never much good at doing a results post but I will try to remember it.
Remember, the Miller original is there for reference-you are voting between Robin McKelle and Sugar Ray.
Stop by and check out my new music Friday posts, and be sure to leave a note letting me know you were there.
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Sugar Ray maintains the pop rock integrity of this song, but Robin McKelle & band perform the song as though this was the way it was meant to be do. My vote goes to Robin.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back with a BOTB post. This was a good one.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Considering I do not expect many of the usual BOTB voters to drop by, this will probably be a shutout-maybe I should have pit McKelle against the original.
DeleteBy "maintaining the pop-rock integrity of the song", I take it Lee means "added nothing at all to it". Vote for the jazz version, surprisingly to me.
ReplyDeleteHard to argue with either of your takes...
DeleteWell, consarn it all to hell, LC, why didn't you tell me you were going to play BOTB this time? I would have added a link to your blog at my BOTB page. (I'll do it now, but it's probably too late to generate much, if any, traffic. But, it's worth a try.)
ReplyDelete>>... "Jazz, jazz, jazz, fuck rock, liberals suck, star trek fans are wussies, Springsteen fans are commies, jazz, jazz, jazz"
That's NOT what I said and YOU KNOW IT! I said: "Rock sucks, fuck Liberals!" Man, if you're gonna quote me, get it right!!
I was all prepared to say that I still kinda-sorta like a few of Steve Miller's songs, but not many. And 'ABRACADABRA' has ALWAYS been the one Steve Miller song that I simply couldn't stand to listen to. (And that's still true.) I was all prepared to say I was voting for the lesser of two evils here, but...
But then I heard ROBIN's take on it. HOKEY-SMOKE! That was friggin' GREAT! Goes to show that in the right hands, even a crappy song can be molded into a true gem. I loved it! It even had a little scatting in there, and some Duke Ellington piano licks.
I gotta check her out at Spotify. I dug her voice and the entire arrangement!
And yeah, Sugar Ray was so almost note-for-note identical to the (crappy) Steve Miller (Disco-ish abomination) that you might as well have made it Robin Versus Steve.
Thanks for turning me onto a new Jazz artist who's damn good (if this track is any indication).
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Well at any rate, you're to blame for the money I have spent on Jazz CD's.
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard McKelle's version, I could not place it at first-and had the same reaction as you.
I looked for another cover in lieu of Sugar Ray's but no luck. After hearing the song on the McKelle album, I was determined to use it here....so since I figured I wouldn't attract some of the more mainstream BOTB-ers, I anticipated a shut out.
I have a BOTB post for the 15th as well-not sure how often I'll post-but if the ideas keep coming....
Welcome back to BOTB! I missed your last one, but will check it out after this. Robin McKelle's version gives this song a completely different flavour. Please give my vote to her.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie-I'm not sure I'll make every installment depending on how crazed work is and whether I have any fresh ideas, but I do have one for the 15th.
DeleteI figured McKelle would win, but without the broader BOTB audience (my fault for sneaking this post in) it is looking like a shut-out!
I did add your link to my own post, but it's probably too late for this time. You'll get a better turnout for the next one. Some people participate sporadically and I've missed a few as well. I don't think anyone minds.
DeleteWelcome back! Sugar Ray gets my vote
ReplyDelete