Welcome back to my Battle of the Bands. Unfortunately musicians have been passing away quit frequently this month. My inspiration for this Battle comes from one of those recent deaths. I already wrote the tribute this is just a little more.
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The Song: A Song For You
Contestant One: Herbie Hancock and Christina Aguilera
Contestant Two: Ray Charles
The great Leon Russell passed away over the weekend. "A Song for You" had been covered by a lot of artists so it was a great fit for this Battle of the Bands. Vote in the comments. I'll announce the winner soon. Like this Battle and want more? Check out the list of other Battles at this blog. I will be back with a new post soon!
11 comments:
Mike, what a good song to battle! I haven't heard this one in forever. This was an easy pick for me. Christina has strong vocals and I love when she sings period pieces. She did a good job with the song but I just felt her rendition didn't have the emotional connection to the song that I wanted to hear. However, Ray's unique unpolished style pulled the words straight from his soul almost which I by far preferred. Give my vote to Ray Charles this round! Have a good day, my friend!
I'm going with Ray Charles on this. Christina Aguilera spends too much time showing off her voice.
I've always enjoyed this song. So many passings this year. Leon Russell was a huge talent, and will be missed by many. For this battle, I felt that Christina stretched the song out just a bit too long and while she does have great range with her voice, it grew tiresome to listen to. Have always loved Ray Charles version. Please give my vote to him.
~Mary
Usually I'm a Ray Charles fan, but I LOVE what Christina has done with the song. Nice vocal talents, and I don't mind if she's showing off.
MIKE, for me, it's Brother Ray all the way. I thought Christina's shrieking got real old real fast.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Christina started out strong. I confess I'm not a big fan of the ooh la la or warbling or whatever vocal styling that is. IMO, she should have just let Herbie Hancock have his solo. Honestly, she didn't make it better. He had it. But because she lent her efforts it dragged the song on. Or it felt like it. I really liked the first two thirds, but hated the last third. I don't know how to reconcile that.
My feelings about the Ray Charles version weren't nearly so strong. He was consistent all the way through. Not as good as Christina at her best, but much better than her at her worst. So, he takes the win for nailing the best overall rendition of the song.
At first I thought I was going to vote for Herbie Hancock and Christina Aguilera but then her voice started to get on my nerves. And then I heard Ray's version and my choice was cemented at that moment. Ray Charles all the way for me on this one.
Michele at Angels Bark
This is a tough one for me because each have their merits. I could listen equally to both. Hmmmmm. I'll give it to Christina because I do believe she has quite the set of pipes and I like that rendition.
It's been a rough week for the music world. R.I.P. Leon ♥ Both versions of this song were great and it was hard to choose. In the end, I'll have to give it to Christina, one of my favourite singers.
Christina did it just fine and I did like the group's back-up a lot, but my preference is for Ray Charles as he captures the emotion of the song and the back-up was sweeping and beautiful.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Hi, Mike!
I hope the polls are still open and that my vote will be counted. (I've been standing in line for hours and I need to pee!:)
I never had such a difficult time deciding on a band battle. I never thought I'd ever vote against The Genius, brother Ray Charles but, in this one, I'm going with Christina. Ray did his usual sensational job on this song, but the versatile Christina proved herself yet again by nailing the number. I was also swept away by the jazzy piano arrangement on her recording.
Give my vote to Christina and Herbie!
Thanks, Mike!
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