Sunday, May 1, 2016

Battle of the Bands: Nothing Compares 2 U!

 Well the madness of the A to Z Challenge is over and it is back to the normal madness of another month and another Battle of the Bands.

Here are the rules: You pick the one you like best by casting your vote in the comments. I tally them up and I will announce the winner on the 7th.


Last month Prince past away, so I thought I would pick a song written by the artist. My choice for the battle is "Nothing Compares 2 U!." One is a tribute and one is a cover. The song was originally a hit for Sinead O'Conner. Her version is here for reference not in the contest.



Here is the Battle!


Contestant One: Chris Cornell...





Contestant Two: All Angels



Please vote in the comments and we will see who wins!  Late edit. I apologize this link didn't make it into the post. Please visit to check out who else has a great Battle going on.


















15 comments:

Cherdo said...

Of all the music by Sinead O'Connor, thsi was my favorite - hands down. While all the contenders sound great ('cause it's a great song), I still like Sinead best. And the video is sooo good; it's haunting, you almost ache for the singer.

LOVE THIS ONE. Good job, Mike...and Prince...and Sinead...

Arlee Bird said...

I'm od'ing on this song since it's been used in another battle and I don't like the song that much to begin with. The angels sang sweetly, so sweetly and slow that I almost fell asleep. Not that they don't have talent, but, well, it's not them as much as it is the song.

Chris Cornell actually made the song kind of listenable. He put power into the vocal, sped it up, while keeping the sense of lamentation to it all. Definitely a big time vote for Cornell. It's pretty darn good when an artist can take a song I don't like and make it sound good to my ears. I think the guitar work also made this version a winner.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out

Michele at Angels Bark said...

I love Sinead's version so much that I wasn't expecting to like either of the versions but wow, I was blown away with Chris Cornell's version. Loved his strong vocals and the haunting cello just adds to the sadness of the song. Chris Cornell all the way!

Great battle Mike.

Michele at Angels Bark

Jeffrey Scott said...

This is an interesting challenge. Usually I prefer a female vocalist over a guy, but for this song I really like Chris Cornell's version.
No, there was nothing wrong with the Angels, in fact I like their singing. But for this particular song, I think it's is done best by Chris.

Mary B said...

I could listen to this song all day long, and not be bored with it. I have always been in love with Sinead O'Conner's version.

In this battle, the angels sang sweetly, but I really felt the words with Chris Cornell's version - and to me that is the key to this song.

Please give my vote to Chris Cornell.

Mary
Battle of the Bands: Plant vs Plant

Robin said...

Make no mistake. Sinead O'Conner owns this song. Owns it.

BUT, I'm going to end what looks like it might be a shutout by voting for Two Angels. I didn't care for the Chris Cornell version at all (despite all the opinions to the contrary stated above!). His choices in phrasing seemed off to me and I wasn't overly fond of his voice. But what do I know???? I think Two Angels could've really blown this away by harmonizing throughout the song. They all have similar enough voices that it could've been really fantastic. As it is... it's good.

To recap: I'm voting for Two Angels.

Stephanie Faris said...

I like #2 best (Angels). So pretty and peaceful. Prince was ahead of his time--he was doing text message shorthand before text messaging even existed! (2 U)

Shady Del Knight said...

Hi, Mike!

Can I vote for both artists? Please? Just this once? I promise I'll never ask again. (By the way, I just noticed that my English friend, Sarah Collins, uploaded her cover of the song this week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEomflxwPbI

I am split right down the middle on this one, good buddy. Chris Cornell renders the sad song very convincingly. I can feel the pain in his voice, and what a great voice it is. I was all set to vote for him, but figured it's only fair to give All Angels a listen. When I heard that angelic "classical crossover" choir from London perform the song, I was blown away. Never before have I had such a tough decision in a band battle. In the end, I needed to ask myself, which version could I listen to over and over again w/o getting tired of it? Since I am into female artists big time, my answer and my vote is All Angels!

Thanks, Mike!

ReInVintagedGoods said...

I prefer Chris Cornell, hands-down. The ladies of All Angels have beautiful voices indeed, but Chris's version takes the song to a whole other and unexpectedly different level (in my opinion). Give my vote to Chris! (who also has an amazingly different cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean")

Kim (ReInVintaged)

Dixie@dcrelief said...

Mike, congratulations on surviving the A-Z!!

Tough choice for me. Chris reminds of a bluesy Ray Charles. Definitely better than Prince.
The Angels are very nice but a little too melancholy; sounds like the person may have died instead of a breakup. Final analysis, I'm voting Chris Cornell. That blues sound gets me, along with the cello!

Happy Battle!

farawayeyes said...

I vote Chris Cornell. Like his voice and I'm a sucker for a cello.

Janie Junebug said...

What a brilliant choice of song. All Angels, you girls need to enunciate. I vote for Chris Cornell. Love his voice, and he's hotternhell.

Love,
Janie

John Holton said...

Chris Cornell sounded like Tom Waits in his version. Sorry. I'm voting for All Angels.

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

I'm voting for ALL ANGELS, too.

Chris was just so overwrought that he was getting on my nerves pretty quickly.

~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'

Cathy Kennedy said...

Mike, How cool is this that you and Janie Junebug picked the same song to battle! lol I'm lovin' both artists here, but contender #2's angelic quality won me over. Give my vote to All Angels. Good battle, my friend!