Thursday, January 1, 2015

Battle of the Bands: California Dreaming



Welcome to my Battle of the Bands number 12! This month marks a new year! Last month my selections went with the Holiday theme. This month I will go with a Winter theme to kick off 2015.

Listen to the song clips in the blog post. In the comment section vote for the one you like the best. Feel free to explain why you voted the way you did. The battles take place on the first and 15th and winners will be announced on the 7th and 21st. I will normally post the winner in the comments. Of course have fun and enjoy!

If you are still looking for more musical fun after you vote, you can check out these sites for more battles:








The Creative Outlet of StratPlayer


Alex J. Cavanaugh


Original Song: The Mama and Papas California Dreaming


Challenger One: The Beach Boys

One of the best summer bands of all time present their presentation of the song..



Challenger Two: Bobby Womack

Adding contrast with my second version.



Enjoy! Vote in the comments and I will see you soon!

7 comments:

John Holton said...

These are both good, for different reasons. Boby Womack is just a great singer, and I like the soul touches and the horns behind him. But the minute I heard that Rickenbacker 360/12 on the Beach Boys' version, I said yeah, got to be that one. Whoever's playing the Ricky sounds like Roger McGuinn. And the harmony is, as always, tight. It's a different sound from them, darker and not as much "good time rock 'n' roll," but I liked it when it came out and really like it now after not hearing it for years.

Obviously, the definitive version is the Mamas and the Papas', but after that, I like the Beach Boys.

Dixie@dcrelief said...

I really enjoyed the Beach Boys. Always love the harmony... the guitar and sax at the end cinched for me. They get my vote!

Also, I'm in BOTB... but not on your list. First month for me - maybe you'll stop by. Thank you.

dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands on StMcC site.

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

This one's not even close for me: The Beach Boys by 26 miles of sparkling sand and perfect 7 foot waves!

As a matter of fact, I even like the BB version better than the Mamas And Papas original, and I LOVE the original.

I agree with Dixie - the sax just nails it. I also like the stormy sound effects, and nobody but nobody harmonizes better than the Beach Boys!

~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground

Arlee Bird said...

Great winter song no doubt and you've chose two excellent versions.

Womack's version is very good and in many ways his style works better for the thematic content of the song.

But for me it's the Beach Boys. I like their style better--they come closer to the great original version. With the Byrds-like sound, the sax solos, and the more uptempo drive, I'm kind of with McCarthy in that I think this version is better than the Mamas and Papas though I won't commit myself to that opinion.

Another vote for the Beach Boys.

Lee
Tossing It Out

farawayeyes said...

Yep, I gotta go with the others on this one; the Beach Boys are it. I DO like them better than the M & P's, but I also enjoyed Bobby Womack's bluesy version.

Nice Battle Mike, two very different versions for sure.

StratPlayerCJF said...

I hate to be a me-too-er, but me too:

The Byrdsy sound of the Beach Boys version is great, and while the Womack cover is cool, I'm going with the Beach Boys for this one.

Sharon Himsl said...

I like the Beach Boys' version. The song really fits their style.