Magic 8 Ball Rules The Day

I should've known better than to doubt Stephen T. McCarthy's Magic 8 Ball. M8B said that The Foundations would beat Alison Krauss on Baby, Now That I've Found You two to one. And sho 'nuff it's looking pretty much that way. How did it all shake out?

THE FOUNDATIONS: 12

ALISON KRAUSS: 5 (inc. my vote)

Sheboyganboy VI left a comment for the first time at this blog on this battle. He said this:

I rarely get around to visiting BOTBs other than Stephen McCarthy's and Tossing It Out, but I'm glad I stopped by here this time!

Over the years of BOTB, I have occasionally read complaints by other BOTB hosts that sometimes lesser known versions of songs are not given a decent listen by the voters because the “hit" song was just too familiar.  Maybe they are right.  That’s what I think is happening here with “Now That I’ve Found You.”

Like others here, I heard this song over and over again in the mid-sixties.  It brings back memories of laying on the beach at Del Mar and listening to my AM portable transistor radio.  The Foundations do it well, but it feels about a minute too long as originally done.  They built it up a little too much, Buttercup!

Allison Krause, though - I say in dramatic disagreement with some other comments here - makes it interesting.  She makes it her own, and the bluegrassy fiddle solo at around 2:00 was very fun.  Then her vocal stylings and harmonies that follow are just excellent.  I’ve been a fan of her for years, and this take on the song just reinforces my belief. A vote for Allison.

I suggest that your readers listen again and see if it grows on them.  I’ll bet it does.  They have a few days to change their votes.

His comment pretty well sums up my own feelings on Alison's cover of this song. The Foundations drag out the ending of this song for what seems like a very long time. No one loves the 80s more than I do, but when I started singing karaoke I realized how lazy writers/singers were when it came to ending the song. Repeating the chorus a hundred times gets really old. Funny that I didn't notice it until I was singing it in front of an audience. And then it became crystal clear. The Foundations seem to have looked into their own magic ball, saw the 80s, and decided to use that formula on the ending of this song. Aside from that, I don't have any complaints with The Foundations and this song.

What I like about Alison's cover is that it truly is a unique cover. She put her on stamp on this song making it very different from the original. 

Even though this wasn't a horse race by anyone's definition, I heartily enjoyed this match up. I hope to put together something for next time that you truly struggle with... now that is the BEST kind of Battle of The Bands. 

Until next time... 

BoTB ~ Baby, Now That I've Found You

 Fellow bloggers, once again blogging has gotten away from me. I could say I was disheartened by my last Battle of the Bands (true), but that isn't the sum total of what's going on here. Never is, right? I'm struggling a bit with "where do I go from here?" given that life is beginning to look more positive for me.

I confess that I did have a bad bout with migraines a few days ago. Interestingly enough, I think it's because I'm also having trouble with my sinuses (allergies?), which caused my vestibular issues to become issues (again) and my migraines to become problematic (again). I really thought I was in for another ear infection, which was really bad (understatement), and I freaked out for about two days. My ENT doctor confirmed there was no infection, but lots of drainage, which probably started it all. BUT, the really interesting thing for me was having the migraine again. It was two days of pure hell, which turned into enlightenment when I grasped that was EVERY day for fourteen years. Fourteen years. This all began in January 2003. Those two days were miserable, but when I remembered that every day used to be like those two days... well, let's just say gratitude became the prevailing attitude.

Anyway, I shall endeavor to be better in the next week about visiting your blogs. I really appreciate taking this journey with you.

On to the battle at hand! My friend, Stephen T. McCarthy, consulted his Magic 8 Ball on this battle (after getting a whiny response from me about my last battle results). Oh wait... what were those results? Dolly Parton stomped all over Al Green and Annie Lennox until their egos were the size of my pinkie finger. Dolly ran away with 12 votes (inc mine) while Al and Annie only netted 3. It was very sad. So, Stephen lent me an ear and offered to consult on my potential match-up. According to Magic 8 Ball, The Foundations are going to heartily beat Alison Krauss (my two contenders today) by 2 to 1. Even so, I'm going forth with this battle. I think Magic 8 Ball might be off on those odds. The Foundations has familiarity going for them since they recorded this song first, but Alison Krauss sings like an angel (in my humble opinion). So, let the battle begin!

The song is Baby, Now That I've Found You. I'll let The Foundations go first (since they actually recorded it first).


And, here is Alison Krauss.



Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles. I've stopped trying to keep up with who is running a battle and who isn't. To see who is participating, go here: Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog.

BoTB ~ Put A Little Love In Your Heart

 One would think that I'd have been more on top of this Battle of the Bands. But Nooooo.

Before I get down to the meat of this post (read: Battle), I just want to thank you for the kind comments on my last post. I realize that I sound like a person very much stuck in the past. In reality, I'm better (as in much better) than I was. I used to be sad about Jack's suicide all the time. Now, just sometimes. Days like his birthday and the anniversary of his death are particularly tough. Most of the time, I feel confident that he is in a much better place. I think God understands things that we don't. In any event, just wanted you to know I wasn't a basket case (well no more so than you already thought I was). And since I started taking the iodine, even LESS a basket case and more an energized, migraine-free person (again, most of the time). If this is news to you, go back a few posts to The Fight for My Life. Things are looking up in the land of Robin (still!).

After all that I was going (stress was) going to choose a song for this battle that I had in mind for my Soundtrack of My Life Series (am I still doing that???), but I decided against because 1) that is chronological and we aren't there, and 2) It's a Jack Song, and I fear that it would make you change your mind about my "basket case state." Instead, I decided to go with something upbeat and positive, which is a true reflection about how I feel regarding 2017. I'm excited. I think this is going to be an amazing year!!!

The song is Put A Little Love In Your Heart. The song was originally performed by Jackie DeShannon in 1969. I'm not going to use that version. Instead, I'm going with two covers. Drum roll please.

Al Green and Annie Lennox recorded the song in 1988 for the film Scrooged. It was a hit for them. They are battling it out with the legendary Dolly Parton.  I went to Wikipedia for information on the covers only to find out that Wikipedia doesn't know everything. Point of fact, they have no mention of Dolly's take on this song. Sigh. Of course, that doesn't really matter since this is all about who does it better (rather than being a learning experience for you). So, sit back and let your ears determine who puts more love in your heart! Vote in the comments. I'll tabulate in approximately a week. Then we find out who wins this epic love battle!

Al Green and Annie Lennox...



Dolly Parton...



Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles. I've stopped trying to keep up with who is running a battle and who isn't. To see who is participating, go here: Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog.