Saturday, November 1, 2014

Battle of the Bands ~ When The Stars Go Blue

Welcome to Battle of the Bands! We've got another good one for you today. I'm Robin. And to get the vote, you gotta play the game! If this sounds to you like a typical Steve Harvey opening from Family Feud, you would be correct! Score!



I think I've mentioned, on numerous occasions, that my migraines have been better and worse. In the year 2005 they were particularly worse. I couldn't even commit to a half hour TV program. Pretty much all I watched during that time was CMT, because they still played music videos. I could click that on and off, and watch just as much TV as I could tolerate. And then back to bed. Really terrible year. I also listened to a lot of music during that time on the stereo. I'd discovered Ryan Adams (not to be mistaken for Bryan Adams) on a soundtrack CD. I loved that song so much, I actively sought out his other music.

So, anyway, I am watching CMT and a new Tim McGraw video came on. The song was When The Stars Go Blue. I loved it. At the end, it shows stuff like who wrote it. Writer: Ryan Adams. I was like, "Heck, yeah." That SOUNDS like something Ryan Adams would write. That is the story of how I found this song.

I thought I would pit Tim McGraw against Ryan Adams singing his own song. Then I discovered The Corrs did a cover, too. What to do???? I hate 3-way battles as a general rule, but I cannot decide!

So, I am going to post for you the songs as I found them. Tim McGraw. Ryan Adams. The Corrs. You will hear them in the same order I did, albeit back to back.

First up is Tim McGraw with a not-so country song (which I think explains why it didn't do all that well in country radio):



Next is Ryan Adams with the original:



Lastly, The Corrs with their interpretation:



I really hope I don't end up being the tie-breaking vote, because I am undecided on my own vote!!!  So, please, pretty please, cast a vote!!!!!!!!!!!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

Now, is the critical moment. It is time to vote for your favorite version of this song. I even encourage you to leave me long comment explaining all the ins and outs of why you voted as you did! 

27 comments:

  1. Ryan Adams has never resonated with me so consequently I've not listened to much of his music very closely even though I do own a couple of CD's by him. He strikes me as being a bit wimpy in his sound.

    This is a nice song overall, but I find some of the lyrics to be a bit dopey (Dancin' in your wooden shoes?). I do enjoy the song though. I like the Adams version the least, however I did like the instrumental break. Tim McGraw's version seemed to have an abrupt start, but I liked it for the most part better than the original.

    My favorite is the Corr's. Firstly I'm a bigger fan of this band than McGraw or Adams. I much prefer the vocals of the Corr sister and Bono's voice is fine with me. I just think the Corrs deliver a superior more listenable presentation perhaps by a margin over the others, but better to me. I can understand why this would be a close one for you.

    That was another "new" song for me--at least I don't recall having heard it, but I probably have since it did have a kind of familiarity with me.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  2. My vote goes for the Coors. I really liked their version best, so it was an easy vote for me. :)

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  3. We've got another good one for you today

    Kind of presumptuous, dont'cha think? Shouldn't the readers decide if it's a good one?

    I had forgotten about Ryan Adams' version (from his Gold album*) and have come to think of the Corrs' version as the original....which makes me wrong, but I'm voting for their version anyway.

    * it turns out that Gold was a presumptuous title-it did not sell enough to be certified gold in the US

    Larry

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  4. I'm going to go with The Corrs. Never liked Ryan Adams and the first is too country.

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  5. For me - Cors & Bono, hands down. Better instrumental; love the voice changes with a phrase; great harmony between the voices; much better paced.
    Tim McGraw has a great voice; I remember this song, but it wasn't it fave of mine. Though it's not bad pitched in a country flavor.
    Ryan - did not impress me. Great song that he's written but I think the Cors did the bang up cover.
    Tada!

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  6. I was going to give Ryan my vote until I heard Corrs, so I say: Corrs for the win.
    Smiles.
    Be well, Robin.

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  7. Wow, looks like a blowout so far. I'm gonna second what Arlee said about Adams sounding kind of wimpy. I don't like that. McGraw's isn't terrible, but the Corrs was good enough that I choose to vote for them even though Bono is in that song... and I can't stand Bono.

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  8. They are all good versions. But this song was made for Tim's voice, And you can still do a country swing to it. Love those belt polishing movements :)

    I remember when CMT had music. MTV too. Boy do I miss music videos.

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  9. I'm going to have to go with Ryan Adams, but only because I had a crush on him in high school.

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  10. The Corrs and Bono get my vote, because I couldn't listen very long to the other two, although I sampled bits at the beginning, middle and end. The last one just seemed to sound the best to my ears. . .but don't care that much for the song

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  11. #3 ... coors. I listened to this on the iPad but I hate to write on them.

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  12. GIRL WONDER ~
    I listened to all 3 versions while at work last night and I made up my mind BEFORE reading any of the comments here.

    I'm not really familiar with Ryan Adams' stuffs, and in listening to him I had the thought that I didn't care for his minimalist, high-pitched wimpy voice. And then I saw that both Lee and Bryan had also associated the word "wimpy" with him. That's three strikes: the wimp is OUT!

    The Corrs' version wasn't bad but the song is coming from a singular viewpoint so I think it works better with one lead vocalist rather than having multiple lead vocalists. Aside from that, I just thought the Tim McGraw "Country" flavoring really added a nice touch to the song. So, I vote for Tim the Enchanter.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    POSTSCRIPT: I didn't know anything about The Corrs either, so I looked them up at Wackypedia and saw that they had all appeared in the movie THE COMMITMENTS. That's a really fun little movie that my friend DiscConnected turned me onto years ago. I've seen it 2 or 3 times and will probably buy the DVD someday.

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  13. I have heard the 2nd and 3rd version and they are ok even though I like the Corrs better than Adams. Now did he grow up in Holland? Who would ever dance with wooden shoes??-nyuck, nyuck. OK Ryan Adams actually sounded like Tracy Chapman to me at first. He is too nasal in voice for me. I am going with Tim McGraw. he sounds great, voice is strong and the song resonates with me more when he sings it

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  14. OK, I'm having a hard time deciding here, but not necessarily for good reasons.

    I really like Tim, but he seems a little too twangy for this particular song. It just isn't doing it for me the way most of his other stuff does.

    Ryan Adams - I don't really care for (unlike Bryan Adams whom I do like). I had never thought of him or his voice as wimpy, but after several others mentioned it, I kind of agree.

    Then there is The Corrs. I think I like their version best, but I really dislike Bono for a number of reasons and am having a hard time giving them my vote - Why did they have to include that poseur on this tune?

    OK, I'll go with The Corrs and forgive them the Bono slip up this time. I do think they have the best sound for a very nice song here.

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  15. While the Corrs were not bad, I am going with Tim McGraw. His strong smooth version fits this song better than the multiple vocals of The Corrs. Ryan sounds slow and boy-bandish. I like Tim!

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  16. The Corrs... there's no doubt about it! What do I do when I am blue? Good question.

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  17. The Corrs version held my interest the longest, so they get my vote. Though you still experience painful migraines, I'm glad 2005 is behind you.

    Julie

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  18. I appreciate everyone taking the time to listen and vote. Battle of the Bands is so much for me to put together. I hope you enjoy participating as much as I do planning:) I apologize for not commenting on each of your posts. Once again, life is chaos here. I don't know why this keeps happening....???? I will get around to visit all of you as soon as I can!!!

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  19. Not even close for me. I like Ryan Adams. His voice seems to fit the lyrics. I found McGraw too twangy for something not a country song.

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    Replies
    1. Susan, It's technically a country song, but hard-core country fans (and radio) didn't really embrace it. Not country enough for them!!!

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  20. Yes. Finally. The Corrs is a band that I feel was greatly underrated. They are amazing, so I'm going with The Corrs/Bono.

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  21. Hi Robin! Sorry for the delay in responding -- I was pretty much AWOL all weekend.

    I'd never this song, but I like it. Ryan Adams's original is OK, but strikes me as kind of weak. He seems a little whiny for my taste in general. I know it's all subjective, but I've never really connected with any of his stuff..

    The Corrs version is better, I think, but I don't like Bono on this song and the delay-heavy vocals only make it worse. And note -- I AM a U2 fan, although strongly leaning towards their very early stuff, and usually in spite of Bono rather than because of him.

    But Tim McGraw's version is excellent. The tempo has more of a groove, the instrumentation is much better, and the country-ish vocals adds a much more 'down-to-earth' counterbalance to the song. It feels more organic and natural. I really liked it, and it's a clear winner for me.

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  22. This was a really good song, and I enjoyed all three. I'd say for me it was McGraw, then Corrs, then Adams. Mainly on the chorus. If you wanna count it or not, Laurie votes McGraw as well. I'd put any of the three on my spotify.

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  23. The Corrs get my vote! I thought Ryan would get it but I lied the Corrs better.

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  24. What a beautiful new-to-me song! I liked all three versions, but it was easily to narrow it down to two. I eliminated the Corrs pretty quickly. Not that I don't like them because I do! Over all I like Ryan Adam's singing style, but his vocals come off a bit lazy to my ear. McGraw's cover is very close to the original and with his clean sounding vocals then it was easy for me to cast my vote for Tim McGraw! Thanks for sharing a new (to me) tune

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  25. Ryan Adams wins this one by default, because I don't like Tim McGraw's version or the Corrs's with Bono (I don't think much of Bono, anyway). There really isn't that much difference between the three versions here.

    I was kind of AWOL myself...

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