My most recent Battle Of The Bands contest took place HERE. The song was 'Why You Been Gone So Long?' and the competitors were Jessi Colter (a.k.a. "Waylon's Widow") and Mister Tony Rice.
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It was a pretty decent Battle that was actually tied 5 to 5 right up until very late in the voting. That's when Jessi grabbed the final 3 "botes", including mine, to win this BOTB installment:
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FINAL TALLY
Jessi Colter = 8 votes
Tony Rice = 5 votes
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I liked Mister Tony Rice's recording real well, but Jessi had that "Outlaw" bass sound rumbling through her song, and that's what sealed the deal for me.
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Anyone who has ever attempted BOTB knows that it's a tricky thing. Unless you don't mind shutouts and blowouts, you need to try to step outside of yourself and attempt to hear potential BOTB songs the way others might hear them (minus your own personal bias), and it's not always easy. In fact, I would even say it's a kind of skill, and maybe even an "art". Contemplating all the possibilities can even drive a dogg or doggette a wee bit o' crazy.
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My original idea for this Battle was to use Jessi against a different male competitor, and I thought it looked like an exceptional match-up. But then when I re-listened to both recordings again, about a month later, I suddenly thought: Oh, this guy'll DESTROY Jessi in this Battle!
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So, at the last minute, I switched to Mister Tony Rice as a competitor, thinking it would probably make for a closer contest. And although it WAS a good match-up, Jessi won by 3 votes, which is a fairly comfortable margin.
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So now I'm thinking about maybe revisiting this song sometime in the future, and going with my original idea of 'Jessi versus ____', to see if he really would destroy her in a Battle, or if it would actually be much, much closer than I imagined.
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BOTB can be a lot of fun. There's definitely a creative component to concocting good, competitive match-ups. It can also sometimes be a bit frustrating or exasperating. But SURPRISING is the one thing that it ALWAYS is!
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My sincere thanks to all y'all who participated in this Battle, and I hope to see y'all here again on April Fool's Day, when I'll have something quite different for you to consider and vote on. Until then...
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Bless And Be Blessed!!
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~ STMcC
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So now I'm thinking about maybe revisiting this song sometime in the future, and going with my original idea of 'Jessi versus ____', to see if he really would destroy her in a Battle, or if it would actually be much, much closer than I imagined.
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BOTB can be a lot of fun. There's definitely a creative component to concocting good, competitive match-ups. It can also sometimes be a bit frustrating or exasperating. But SURPRISING is the one thing that it ALWAYS is!
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My sincere thanks to all y'all who participated in this Battle, and I hope to see y'all here again on April Fool's Day, when I'll have something quite different for you to consider and vote on. Until then...
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Bless And Be Blessed!!
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~ STMcC
Excellent outcome to this Battle. I've appreciated the music of Tony Rice since I was first introduced to him back in the seventies. I've even got one David Grisman album that includes Rice in the line-up. But I've never been fanatic enough to pursue his other albums. In fact, I may have even seen him in a concert in Maryville TN. I can't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure he was part of the concert line-up.
ReplyDeleteI like Bluegrass and other such music, but Jessi's song is more like what I would normally listen to.
It would be interesting to see how she'd do against another artist more similar to her style.
Lee
Yeah, LEE, the other male artist I was originally thinking I'd use is much more similar in style to how Jessi sounded in this recording.
DeleteI'd been under the impression that Jessi's rendition of 'Why You Been Gone So Long?' was my very favorite. But then when I revisited this guy's version, I suddenly thought: No, I think this dude's better. And that's what kind of scared me away from that match-up. He really comes blasting out like a bull in a china shop. But... I may give it a shot late this year or early next year. Maybe.
~ D-FensDogG
Good battle! I need to announce my results...
ReplyDeleteI'll check it out, John.
Delete~ D'DogG
Good result there, Stephen. Much better than mine, which was a blowout. See you on April 1!
ReplyDeleteYeah, this wasn't a bad Battle. Tied up until the very end.
DeleteApril Fool's Day it is! This fool'll be here.
~ STMcDogG
Howdy, Stephen T.!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things about these battles is discovering new (at least, to me) artists. I had no idea flatpicking was such a skill.
I'm glad Jessi won ;-) I hope sunshine has returned to your neck of the woods.
Howdy, dIEDRE!
DeleteI've actually gone out and purchased at least three CDs as a result of others turning me onto recordings in BOTB that I hadn't previously been aware of.
We actually DO have blue skies and sunshine as I type these words. But we've got nut'n but rain in the forecast for the next 4 or 5 days.
Remember how in the '70s & '80s, a running joke was how often the weather forecasters were very wrong? Well, they don't get it wrong anymore. I wonder how come that.
I'm really looking forward to my April 1st Battle. I've got something *very* different from the norm planned, and I really have NO IDEA who is going to win. Usually, I have a strong and accurate sense about who will win my Battles, but definitely not this next one!
~ D-FensDogG
I like the way you ponder. How do they know now what they never guessed right before? Can't wait to see what you've planned for April 1st ;-)
DeletedIEDRE ~
DeleteHokey-Smoke!! I only just now saw this comment from you. Very sorry 'bout the long delay! After a substantial period of silence, I just ceased checking my blog's dashboard for comments.
When you have some free time, buckle your seatbelt, strap on your crash helmet, and then go to YouTube and watch the documentary titled 'THE DIMMING'. It just might surprise you to find out how the weather forecasters have gotten so good since we were young(er).
I just now finished putting my April 1st Battle together. I think you will particularly like this one... for reasons I can't divulge at the moment.
~ D-FensDogG
Now, I'm sorry it's taken me a bit to get over to check it how thing went in this showdown. Drats, my fella lost in this battle! That's ok. I still prefer his cover and that make him a winner in my book. :) lol Thanks for reporting the results. I hope your back continues to feel better. It's tough to when it doesn't want to cooperate. See ya soon, my friend!
ReplyDelete