Thursday, June 15, 2017

Battle of the Bands: Brothers, Outlaws and Riders



On my last Battle of the Bands I paid tribute to Chris Cornell. This time I am paying tribute to Gregg Allman. The song I selected has been used to pay tribute to Gregg from a ton of artists. Jimmy Buffett played a bit of the song as a tribute when I saw him earlier this month. It isn't the song I wanted to use, but I do like the match up I came up with.

Oh the song is:  "Midnight Rider"



How it works: I post two versions of the songs. You listen to the songs and let me know which one you thought was the best in the comments. I count up the votes and announce a winner at a later date.

If you enjoyed this battles check out my friends who are participating. The best list is at this blog.

Contestant One: Willie Nelson



Contestant Two: Waylon Jennings


Waylon or Willie? Which cover do you like best? A tribute Battle featuring Brothers, Outlaws and Riders. I hope you enjoy and I will see you soon!


8 comments:

Arlee Bird said...

Great song with a tough match up. Willie really rocks it. Waylon makes it more of a ballad which is very nice.

At this moment I've got to go with Willie Nelson. The instrumental break is great although I do like that almost psychedelic break in Waylon's version.

But the vote goes to Willie.


Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Mary B said...

Tough one! But I'm giving my vote to Willie Nelson. It was just more appealing to me.

~Mary

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

Damn, MIKE, this was a very novel idea, pitting the two W's against each other. But it's almost not nice. Brothers ought never to Battle each other, and Willie & Waylon were like brothers.

Man, I think this is my favorite BOTB installment you've ever put together. I love both Willie & Waylon and I think BOTH of their versions are truly great and both are better'n the original hit.

Mike, this was tough on me. As much as I love Willie (his 'Stardust' album is one of my all-time favorites), I am a huge Waylon fan. HU-UUU-GE!! I saw Waylon perform live 4 times, and although I've been to literally countless concerts in my life, I still say that first time I saw Waylon was the best concert I ever attended.

I don't think I'd ever heard either of these covers before. I love the harmonica, and listening to Willie's rockin' recording, I was just bopping along to it and thinking to myself: Damn-it! I think I'm gonna have to vote against Waylon. Brother, that would have hurt like hell for me to vote against Waylon!

But then Waylon's version starts playing, and there's that exceedingly manly baritone voice and that chunky rhythm guitar played in the lower register just steamrolling everything in its way, and then that guttural "Yeah!" from some deep place in Waylon's soul, and I thought: I'm voting for Waylon, and all is right with the world again.

Terrific Battle, Mike. Not nice! ...But terrific!

~ D-FensDogG
[Link:) Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...

Barbara In Caneyhead said...

As a loyal classic country listener, I'm very familiar with Willie's version. I had all but forgotten about Waylon's rendition! I'm giving it to Waylon! I never cared much for Willie's whiney, high pitched tone, and loves Waylon's lower register. Either way, then trophy is going back to Luckenbach, TX. 😊
Visit me @ Life & Faith in Caneyhead. 😉

Birgit said...

Give me Waylon Jennings! I prefer his strong voice to the nasal Willie. Great tribute to another gone too soon

Michele at Angels Bark said...

This is a stellar battle between two greats! I liked Willie's version for sure and the harmonica was pushing me over the edge but then I heard Waylon's version and his voice just grabs me so I'm giving my vote to Waylon.

They're both deeply tied to Austin Texas, which is where I live, so I'm constantly immersed in Willie and Waylon music around here...

Fun battle for sure.

Michele at Angels Bark

Cathy Kennedy said...

Mike,

I usually do not like Willie's nasally vocals but I didn't notice it so much in his cover and the harmonica was a mighty nice touch to this song. I think Nelson's version is more interesting and put the move in my groove this morning. Give my vote to Willie Nelson. Good battle!

Robin said...

This is an excellent battle! Sometimes Willie's nasal sound lends itself to what he's singing. Other times, not so much. But, I loved his instrumentation. Particularly the harmonica. However, vocals almost always carry the day for me. I much prefer Waylon's voice on this song. So, he gets my vote. Waylon Jennings!