First, I must say that I cannot believe how QUICKLY this year is moving along. It's flying, right???
Second, if you have been following this blog for any length of time, then you know that the 1st and 15th of the month means Battle of the Bands. SO MUCH FUN!
Have you ever wondered how I come up with the songs? Well, I have this list of songs that I know have covers. This installment, though, was not on my original list. Nope. About a month ago, I was watching Sea of Love (the movie with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin) again. I hadn't seen it since... well, a Long Time. So long, in fact, that I forgot who the killer was. It was almost like a brand new movie for me. And that made me think that I am losing it. Getting old. One step away from the Nursing Home. Well, maybe that is a bit much. But you get the idea.
Anyway, at the first crime scene the guy had a record player and the 45 for Sea of Love was set to play on continuous. Now, if you don't know what a 45 is... google it. Just watching that needle touch down on the record made me long for easier days. Kid days. Days when where to play was my toughest decision.
Anyway, that song showed up over and over again throughout the movie. Not a big surprise given that they named the movie after the song. And it had a crackerjack ending. It reminded me of why I liked the movie so much when I saw it the first time. As is my habit, I sat through the credits. Do you do that?
So, the upshot of this story (and how it pertains to this battle) is that Tom Waits covered Sea of Love. That was the version of the song that played while the credits ran. My first thought, "Was who is that guy?" So, I carefully perused the musical information as it rolled by. My second thought was, "I need to add this song to my Battle of the Bands list." So, when Arlee posted yesterday about Battle of the Bands being today, I smacked myself in the head. Once again, I was unprepared. This is beginning to feel like a pattern.
I hauled out the list and there was Sea of Love at the bottom. So, I pulled up Wikipedia. The song was written by Phil Phillips and George Khoury. Phil Phillips recorded the song in 1959. That was also the version used in the movie (the record). It's been covered by various artists. The Tom Waits version, recorded in 1989, is the *most* different, though when I went to YouTube, I listened to close to all of them. Then the hard part of this choosing process set in.
Do I pair off the original Phil Phillips version against Tom Waits? OR do I use The Honeydrippers version, recorded in 1985, against Tom Waits? The Honeydrippers (feat. Robert Plant as the lead singer) also scored a hit with this song. In other words, should I pit the covers against each other or use an original and a cover? I rather liked the cover vs cover action from the last battle, so we are doing that again!
Let's bring them up chronologically. Since The Honeydrippers recorded their song in 1985. They are first.
Take it away....
And now for the Dark Horse, Tom Waits!
Take it away...
Other battles can be found by clicking the following links, so be sure to visit them and cast your votes there!
Donna Hole
The rest of this post is up to you. Your vote counts!!! Just tell me in the comments which version you prefer and why. I will be back in one week (the 22nd) to report the final tally (and cast my vote). Be sure to visit the other battles listed above. You can sound off and they will LIKE IT:)
Any chance I can vote for the Robert Plant version?
ReplyDeleteActually, no. Waits' version is better. And he put a unique spin on it to make it his own.
I just realized the next Battle of the Bands is the first day of the Challenge. If you're doing it then, I might participate. My music choices might scare you though...
Actually, I am suspending Battle of the Bands for the A to Z. I should have mentioned that. I just didn't think of it. Shocking. I am on a roll of not remembering stuff. On the plus side, I am totally psyched about my theme for A to Z. Huzzah!
DeleteEarly in the morning the Tom Waits version is a little rough for me. I'm going with the Honeydrippers. I like the lush sound of the orchestra in that one.
ReplyDeleteYes, I almost always play a movie through the credits. I like to see who did the songs and where the film was shot and those credits are always the last ones.
Honey drippers. Not just because I like the name. I'm into a honey kick for eating too. The bees have it and have curative powers.
ReplyDeleteROBIN ~
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of Tom Waits, from the beginning of his career through '82 (the soundtrack to 'One From The Heart'). But there are only a few post-1982 Waits songs I really like - that period when his percussion consisted of beating on empty tin cans with cat bones.
However, I will say that his version of 'Sea Of Love', despite being recorded after his 'One From The Heart' soundtrack, really isn't too bad. I kinda liked it, surprisingly.
But... I'm voting for The Honeydrippers. I'm not really a Robert Plant fan, but I remember that hit (#3 in Billboard) and I liked it. I didn't like it well enough to buy it, but I never minded hearing it.
What I particularly like about The Honeydrippers' version is the strings, and how they recorded the vocal in such a way that it has a very old, 1950s sound to it. I'm not exactly sure what they did to capture that sound, but it is unmistakable and it really makes their version seem like it got caught in a time warp or something.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
It has an old 1950s sound to it.... yeah, it does. If I hadn't told you it was recorded in the 80s (or you didn't remember), I am sure you would have guessed that was when it was recorded. The video even has a 50s feel to it. BUT, I didn't want to use that because images confuse people.
DeleteI'm going with the Honeydrippers. I think they did an A+ version of it!
ReplyDeleteTom Wait...deeper, more evocative. I'm swaying with my eyes closed listening to it...
ReplyDeleteDid you mean to say that The Honeydippers featured (as in that's really him singing) Robert Plant as the lead singer on their version? I admit I'm pretty fuzzy this morning, but you could 'butter my butt and called me a biscuit', before I would have ever guessed that was Robert Plant. I just went back to check AGAIN, and yep, that's what you said.
ReplyDeleteAnyway... all that 'shock and awe' aside my vote goes to Tom Waits. I'm a sucker for those gravelly voices guys who almost can't carry a tune. Maybe it's because they have no choice but to put more heart into their version. I also like that he changed the tempo, slowed it down, it has a more seductive quality. OK, enough said. I'm going to shut it before I get myself into trouble here. Tom Waits it is for me.
This is was what Wikipedia has to say about The Honeydrippers. (I admit that I was confused, too, when I kept seeing Robert Plant's name attached to this group):
DeleteThe Honeydrippers were a rock band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal in having a rock band with a heavy R&B basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire, the band went on to record an EP in the US. In addition to Plant, the band was composed of fellow former Led Zeppelin member Jimmy Page; Jeff Beck (a former Yardbirds member like Page); and other friends and well-known studio musicians. They performed in a concert at Keele University in 1981. The band released only one recording, an EP titled The Honeydrippers: Volume One, on 12 November 1984.[
Hi human, Robin,
ReplyDeleteThe Honey drippers is much preferred by my human and I. Tom Waits version sounds like he is in a lot of pain. Yuck, methinkest.
Pawsitive wishes,
Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! :)
Stephen T. McCarthy and I have spent much time discussing the music of Tom Waits, who is a tremendously gifted songwriter. Everyone in the world needs to go out RIGHT NOW and buy the first two Waits albums, “Closing Time” and “The Heart Of Saturday Night.”
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is similar to Stephen’s. I think that after “One From The Heart,” Waits seemed to take his alternative icon status a little too much to heart, and his voice seemed to be too put-on, and his musical arrangements not very musical.
The box set “Orphans Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards,” released in 2006 and including this cover, was a change of pace-there were several sons that were quite melodic.
All that said, I am going with the Plant vocal on the Honeydrippers version. When that came out, I liked it better than anything Led Zep had done.
Had Waits tweaked his arrangement a little he might have gotten my vote-his voice suits this type of ballad (just listen to his version of Somewhere from West Side Story), but I think the Honeydrippers nailed this one.
I almost forgot...what's that round black thing on the Honeydrippers video? Is that an old school MP3?
ReplyDeleteYes. Actually, that is an old school MP3. Ha!
DeleteI have to go with the Honeydrippers by a country mile.
ReplyDeleteI love both of these choices. But for that song, I vote for the Honeydrippers. We have a lot of Tom Waits, hubs has liked him for years. Waits, I would expect to find in a blues bar downtown, the Honeydrippers at the jazz club . . .
ReplyDeleteGood choices!
Honeydrippers. That is all.
ReplyDeleteI liked Tom Waits. I'm a sucker for a gravelly voice!
ReplyDeleteI like Honeydrippers. Tom Waits sounds like it's from a James Bond movie.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of movie music, so yes I sometimes sit through the credits. If the music is really good.
ReplyDeleteThe Honeydippers version really does sound like it was played on a record! I remember 45's; so much easier to find a "single" song you liked and argue with the friends with the little records.
I didn't get past the first few seconds of Tom Wait, though. So Honeydippers gets my vote, but I'm pretty sure they would get my vote against anyone. Their version always melts my heart.
And, I love it when I know I've seen a movie, and don't remember enough of it so that watching it again is like watching it the first time.
Don't remind me of geting old. Or maybe you should so I'll learn to seize the day. Sea of Love.... I remember that.
ReplyDeleteSome people love Tom Waits and his odd, gravelly voice, but I guess it just never rubbed off on me. I don't dislike his version, but for me, the Honeydrippers take it by a mile.
ReplyDeleteThe Honeydrippers gets my vote, too and you win my St. Paddy's Day "Yer a Mad Woman" award for your comment :)
ReplyDeleteHoneydrippers (not Honeydroppers, which what I originally typed) was my first exposure to the song, so I can't vote for anyone else but them.
ReplyDeleteTom Waits sounds like he needs more fiber.
Loved that movie and Tom Waits :)
ReplyDeleteHoneydrippers! Tom sounds like a dying frog.
ReplyDeleteBe well, Robin.
xoRobyn
Tom Waits sounds like a dirty old man here. Gotta go with the Honeydippers. Love the movie, though. And the song.
ReplyDeleteGotta go with the 1985 sea of love classic. It's the original.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a traditionalist. I prefer the Honey drippers.
ReplyDeleteI also prefer The Honeydrippers to Wait's gruff version.
ReplyDeleteJulie