Battle of the Bands #2: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I'm back for a second helping of Battle of the Bands which hopefully will become a regular feature of this blog.

Anyway here is how it works:

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:

  Faraway Series
         Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends
         Your Daily Dose         
         DiscConnected   
           Tossing It Out
           STMcC Presents "Battle of the Bands"
           A Writer's Life In Progress

If you have one and I missed it let me know in the comments. If you just started your battle let me know in the comments.

I'm not going to post the original song. I learned from my first one since the original was the most popular one.

Today's battle features the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I am going to pit two of the best guitarists of all time against each other.

First up is Eric Clapton. Below is Slowhand's version...

Next up is Jeff Beck's take on this piece...

A classic song, two legendary guitarists of the same generation, friends, peers, pitted against each other in this Battle of the Band. Vote away and I will be back with the winners on the 7th, a new battle on the 15th and a new post sometime soon! Enjoy!
           

Eric Clapton's Birthday

Today was Eric Clapton's birthday, March 30. Like I needed an excuse to blog about a legendary guitarist.

Thought I would start the post off with a more current video. Don't worry it is all good an less likely to be a repeat video from one of my earlier blogs.

Here is an article I wrote nearly 4 years ago called "Ten of My Favorite Eric Clapton Songs" I am sure I could have wrote that article ten years ago or tomorrow and probably come up with a different top ten.

His catalog of songs offers so many choices, there is always one "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."

No doubt he has seen his share of tears. Perhaps it is the cost of riding with the king..

Perhaps it is part of his Rock and Roll Heart..

Well I hope he enjoyed his birthday and /i wish him many more!

Tommy Emmanuel

Okay I knew Tommy Emmanuel was a great guitarist. It is the reason i signed up to review his show. I knew the venue, The Birchmere was a super place to see and hear musicians play. The show exceded my expectations. One the opening act was Anthony Snape, who I wasn't familier with before the show. He turned out to be a talented songwriter, a solid guitarist, and a gifted singer. He was aslso very energized and excited to be opening the show. I met him after the show and he appeared to be very humble as well.

Here is Anthony Snape in action...

Okay he looks a lot different now than in that video.Here is one a bit more recent...

Then there was Tommy Emmanuel who lived up to his hype and then some. He was a great showman. His show was part clinic, part awe inspiring, and 100% entertaining. You can read my review here. If you have never seen him in concert put it on your bucket list.

Here he is in action at the same club but a year or o before the show I covered..

More Tommy...he played this one and I thought it was really neat!

I'll be back with a new post soon!