For those of you keeping up, Battle of the Bands is slated for tomorrow. Well, folks, that just doesn't work for me. Saturdays are not high traffic days and that post will get buried by my Love Is In The Air posts if I wait. So, I am cheating and posting the battle today. You can't say I'm not a rebel.
In keeping with the spirit of romance, I chose the song Always On My Mind for this battle. Before I share my feelings about this song, let's see what Wikipedia has to say...
"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, recorded first by Brenda Lee in 1972.
Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers.[1] While Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972, other performers would reach the top 20 in the United States and elsewhere with their own versions: Elvis Presley in 1972; John Wesley Ryles in 1979; Willie Nelson's Grammy Award winning version in 1982; Pet Shop Boys in 1987.
I had no idea that the song was recorded by so many people. Being a child of the 80s, the first time I heard it was when Willie Nelson sang it. And then I heard it again when the Pet Shop Boys recorded it. I loved what they call synthpop, which is what Wikipedia calls their music. I also liked the fact that the Pet Shop Boys version was so different from Willie's version. Isn't that what Battle of the Bands is all about? One song. Two bands. Totally different sound. I am going to tell you up front that I like BOTH versions.
Even though I am (almost) certain you've heard it before, let's start this battle with Willie.
versus the Pet Shop Boys with their synthpop sound
Now your job is to vote for your favorite in the comments. What did you like about each version? What did you not like? Who has the edge here? Tell me. I really want to know!!!! I will post the results for this battle on February 6.
Other battles will be taking place tomorrow (on the correct date), so be sure to visit them and cast your votes there!
