Republican Vs. Democrat, Male Vs. Female, War Vs. Peace, Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Man Vs. Machine, Love Vs. Hate, Dog Vs. Cat, Sun Vs. Moon, Brain Vs. Brawn, Oscar Vs. Grammy, Angel Vs. Demon, Laurel Vs. Hardy, Beer Vs. Wine, TV Vs. Radio, Pitcher Vs. Batter, Paper Vs. Plastic, Reality Vs. Fantasy, Yeshua Vs. Beelzebub, Conservative Vs. Liberal, You Vs. Me, House Vs. Senate, Offense Vs. Defense, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Spy Vs. Spy, Fischer Vs. Spassky, W.C. Fields Vs. Sobriety, Harold Gimpy, Jr. Vs. Sheldon J. Pismire, Rock Vs. Paper Vs. Scissors, Islam Vs. Everything, Singer Vs. Singer, Band Vs. Band...
.
THE BATTLE OF THE
BANDS!
.
.
Shoop-Shooby
–
Shooby-duh-Dooby-Doop-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Wah
–
Buh-Doo-Wah!
Yes, it’s
time once again for ‘Battle Of The Bands’ ('BOTB').
.
 |
| EUGENE MARTONE VS. JACK BUTLER |
.
I was
lucky to have been introduced to so many good ol’ “Standards” when I was just a
little kid, thanks to having parents who both loved music but had somewhat
different tastes. I learned about Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Louis Prima,
and Roger Miller from my Pa; I heard Cannonball Adderley, B.B. King, Creedence
Clearwater Revival, and The Temptations [“Psychedelic
Shack, that’s where it’s at!”] from my Ma’s records. I was fortunate.
I’m still fortunate - I know and own good music!
.
In this
installment of ‘BOTB’, I have decided to again lean toward a famous Standard.
Also, I have decided to give Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong a second chance to win a
“Battle”, seeing as how he (shockingly)
lost in ‘BOTB #7’ to both Bocephus and Fats Waller. Let’s see how
he does against Bobby Darin with a song that is arranged so drastically
different and played at such different tempos that you might actually find it
difficult to believe Satchmo and Darin are really singing the same
song!
.
‘(Up
A) LAZY RIVER’, composed by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney
Arodin and published in 1930, is today considered a Jazz and Pop standard that
has been recorded by too many singers and musicians to name.
.
I was
familiar with the song at a very young age because it was one of those that my
Pa frequently sang to himself around the house. Recalling that my Pa was a fan
of The Mills Brothers and Phil Harris, knowing that both recorded the song, and
thinking back on the tempo and style that my Pa would sing ‘LAZY RIVER’
in, I’m going to guess that he was attempting to imitate Phil’s or The Bros’
version.
.
But here,
we are going to compare Satchmo’s 1931 recording with a Jazz combo to Bobby
Darin’s 1960 ‘Big Band’ version. Then you can tell me in the comment section
which version you prefer and WHY.
.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the Satchmo recording:
Armstrong's
radical re-working of Sidney Arodin and [Hoagy] Carmichael's "LAZY RIVER"
(recorded in 1931) encapsulated many features of his groundbreaking approach to
melody and phrasing. The song begins with a brief trumpet solo, then the main
melody is stated by sobbing horns, memorably punctuated by Armstrong's growling
interjections at the end of each bar: "Yeah!
... "Uh-huh" ... "Sure" ... "Way
down, way down". In the first verse, he ignores the notated melody
entirely and sings as if playing a trumpet solo, pitching most of the first
line on a single note and using strongly syncopated phrasing. In the second
stanza he breaks into an almost fully improvised melody, which then evolves
into a classic passage of Armstrong "scat singing".
As with
his trumpet playing, Armstrong's vocal innovations served as a foundation stone
for the art of jazz vocal interpretation. The uniquely gritty coloration of his
voice became a musical archetype that was much imitated and endlessly impersonated.
His scat singing style was enriched by his matchless experience as a trumpet
soloist. His resonant, velvety lower-register tone and bubbling cadences on
sides such as "Lazy River" exerted a huge influence on
younger white singers such as Bing Crosby.
“Take it, Satch...”
.
 |
| GODZILLA VS. KING KONG |
.
On August
18, 1960,
popular singer Bobby Darin recorded a “Big Band” version of ‘LAZY RIVER’. Yes, THAT Bobby Darin! The same guy
who sang ‘Splish Splash’, ‘Queen Of The Hop’, and ‘You Must Have Been A
Beautiful Baby’.
You can
think and say what you want about Bobby Darin, but you MUST admit that the man
certainly did NOT lack courage and confidence. To record and release a
“Big Band” record so long after the heyday of Big Band music took confidence...
and maybe a touch of craziness as well. Imagine someone releasing a Bee
Gees-ish song like ‘Stayin’ Alive’ today!
Well,
guess what. Apparently our crazy boy Bobby knew what he was doin’ after all,
because his Big Band version of ‘LAZY RIVER’ climbed all the way up to #14 on
the Billboard music charts. That’s right – it was a hit. Here’s to the
crazy dreamers!
See how
this take on the song tastes to yer ears:
.
 |
| RIDDLER VS. BATMAN |
.
Alright now, you know the gig... I welcome EVERYONE to
vote for their favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel
free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other. (NOTE: Comment Moderation is activated. All submitted comments that do not
transgress "Ye Olde Comment Policy" will be posted as soon as
possible. Thanks for taking the time to comment.)
.
After
voting here, I suggest - actually I insist - you
pop over to FAE’s ‘Far Away Series’
and Arlee Bird’s ‘Tossing It Out’
blogs to see which songs they have chosen and vote there also. (If their
BOTB blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two shots of ‘Grand Marnier’
over ice – do it twice – and then return to ‘Far Away Series’ and ‘Tossing
It Out’ to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your
vote.)
Voice Your Vote @ ‘FAR
AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
Voice Your Vote @ ‘TOSSING
IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
Find The True
Purpose For Voting On ‘Battle Of The
Bands’ Installments: Win Compact Discs!-Compact
Discs!-Compact Discs! Spectacular, Super-Colossal
Blogosphere ‘Battle Of The Bands’ Voting
Contest!
Here’s
The Deal: By
voting on the ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bits here and at the ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’
and ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ blogs, you can win the compact disc of your choice. Every
4 months, FarAwayEyes, Arlee Bird and I will add up how many times you voted on
our blogs, and the person who has participated most often (i.e., submitted the
most eligible votes) will get to select one compact disc that contains any one
of the songs that were included in any of our ‘Battle Of The Bands’
installments (“Super-Colossal” expensive boxed-sets, imports, and
‘out-of-print’ compact discs not included). In the event of a tie, the names
will be put in a Stetson and the name drawn from the cowboy hat will win the
CD.
Rules
For Voting: FAE,
Arlee Bird and I post new ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bits on the 1st and 15th
of each month. We also post our own personal votes for the respective blog bits
on the 7th and 21st of each month (i.e., six days later). For your vote to be
counted, it must be submitted in our comment sections BEFORE we post our
own votes (BEFORE we make our own votes known on the 7th and the 21st).
Every 4
months there will be a new compact disc winner. In other words, ‘Battle Of The
Bands’ #1 was posted on August 1, 2013, so at the end of November, one of you
lucky voters is going to win a CD that includes one of the songs we’ve featured
in our ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installments (you get to choose, and it doesn’t
matter if the song won or lost its battle – if you like it, it’s YOURS!)
Alright,
now... VOTE ON and ROCK ON! (while we
‘Count On...’)
And be
sure to return here in December when my ‘BOTB’ installments will feature CHRISTMAS SONGS!
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
POSTSCRIPT: If you are a blogger participating in the BOTB posts but are not
involved in the vote-counting for the compact disc prize, please be sure to
mention your BOTB blog bit in my Comment Section, so that others (including
li’l ol’ me) will know to visit your blog and cast a vote.
Links To Previous 'BOTB'
Installments:
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
YE OLDE
COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem
attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted").
After all, this isn’t Amazon.com,
so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
.
I made it, but it's way past my bedtime. Great BOTB post, I even learned something. Imagine that, another Hoagey original. We're not starting another whole series of 'connections' again are we? OR are we? Humm.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna save my vote for tomorrow when I'll be more awake and a teensy bit more coherent (I hope). But, for right now, it's my humble opinion that you hit another one out a da park!.
PS - I'm not gonna make it for another hour, so you'll have to wait until the AM to see my selections. Ha, ha, ha!
ReplyDeleteThanks, FAE! Pleased as spiked punch that you dug it.
DeleteI know I will never top 'BOTB #7', in my own opinion, but so far I would put THIS one second. You know how I dig it when I can come up with XTREMELY different arrangements of a song but both (or, all) of them are really good? And that's XACTLY how I feel about these versions - there's no such thing as a "bad" vote in this battle. BOTH versions are great in their own way, and it's just a matter of personal preference.
>>… We're not starting another whole series of 'connections' again are we? OR are we?
I was all prepared to say, “No, of course not.” But then I noticed that due to an editing error in my original draft, I inadvertently signed this blog bit TWICE. What? Am I now the “second witness” to myself?! Sheesh! Sheesh!
Anyway, I’m just going to leave both of them in this installment, rather than remove one of the two signatures. It’s something we can always look back on and laugh(?) about.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
I just came from Faraway's place and when I saw your headline I figured now it's happened--same picks on same day. You two must have been collaborating this week.
ReplyDeleteLet me start out by saying that this is another one of those songs that I don't particularly like, probably because it's been done so many times in pretty much the same way. I find the song boring.
Darin does a fine job in his style, but I'm not a big fan of that boppy rocky jazzy style that was so popular back in that day. Big band goes rock around the clock does not really get it for me.
No contest in this match-up. I'm a sucker for the music of the 30's and Satch's style pulls my heartstrings in this version. Reminds me of music in old movies and Little Rascals episodes. Amazing how Armstrong can take a song that I don't particularly like and make it sound darn good. He made my boat float down that lazy river.
Armstrong is the clear winner in this match by far.
Lee
Tossing It Out
My vote is for Louis Armstrong of course!
ReplyDeleteI do like Bobby's version but it's too slick, too Vegas, def a night club crooner version. Louis gets into his singing much more and he's one of my favorites no matter what he sings..
I gotta go with Satch...I love the quality in his voice, and his arrangement captures the mood of the song for me-it sounds like he is lazing away in the shade of a tree.
ReplyDeleteDarin's version is not bad, but just sounds like a swing tune to me-not really bringing out any emotion.
Satchmo has me putting my feet up and leaning back in my chair....and I am getting odd looks from my co-workers.
I may have to hunt down the original, since Wiki refers to the Satchmo version as a reworking...
LC
Before I begin my BOTB commentary, I wanted to share this link with you: http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-about-ending-social-security-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+google%2FRzFQ+%28oftwominds%29 I thought of you because one of the things proposed is getting rid of The Fed. I think you'll find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteNow, BOTB. When I was in high school I was in Swing Choir my senior year (basically, that is just a choir that you have to audition to be in (16 people, 4 on each part). Anyway, we did a medley of Hoagy Carmichael songs. For the record... the way these are arranged I would NEVER have guessed that this was a Hoagy Carmichael song. Everything he did was so smooth.
I hate to vote against Louis Armstrong again... but I am going to do it. It wasn't that I didn't like his interpretation, but I really like Big Band music. I immediately started toe tapping right out of the gate. By the second time we hit the verse I also had some shoulder action going. I laughed out loud when he mentioned "the halfway mark." I felt so good by the time that the song was done all I wanted to do was play it again.
---- ROBIN ---- Thanks for the URL. I read the article and I think he makes some interesting points, even if I don't agree with him on all of them. For one thing, anytime someone says that the Federal Reserve has a right to do anything, they have diverged from my view, seeing as how the Federal Reserve - being Constitutionally illegal - doesn't even have a right to EXIST.
DeleteSecondly, over the years I have read several different proposed solutions to our economic problem(s). The trouble with all of them is that A) many Americans don't even know there IS a problem, and B) many of those Americans who DO know there is a problem cannot identify the problem, and C) most importantly, The Powers That Be (or, The Wizards Behind The Curtain) have NO DESIRE to fix the problem; they created the problem and it is working perfectly well to suit them.
Therefore, since the problem is working according to design, The Wizards do not WANT to "fix" it... so, it's not going to get "fixed". And therefore, to contemplate and propose possible solutions is basically just a fruitless expenditure of a person's time. Now if we could only get the American people to understand that there is a problem and what it is, it would be a different story. But, hell, you can't even get 'em to turn off their TV sets long enough to read The Constitution, let alone actually THINK about it.
Ha!-Ha! "Shoulder action" almost always leads to a vote. By the way, I LOVE Big Band music also - one of my favorite forms of Jazz.
Thanks for the great comment, Robin.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
I've always loved Bobby Darin. Brings back fond memories of my dad playing his records (as in real records, not cassettes or CDs) during my childhood.
ReplyDeleteI love both of these, truly. As you said, you can't go wrong no matter how you vote. But ultimately, I just love Bobby's better.
Now then, let's just remember Bobby fondly this way, and not as the oddball folk-singing hippie he became later in life...
Also, for Christmas songs, may I make a suggestion? You should try to make your readers decide which version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" is the least rapey.
~4B
>>... make your readers decide which version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" is the least rapey.
DeleteHa! [:-)}
Only you, 4-B. Only YOU!
By the way, I happen to like Darin's song 'If I Were A Carpenter', so... stick that in your "oddball folk-singing hippie" and toke it. (Just don't let the cops catch ya!)
And incidentally, that dude I hired to drive the contraband over to Stuart's house estimated that he would have it there on Monday. So check with Stuart on Monday and see if he'll let ya have some of it.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
'If I Were A Carpenter' the song: great.
Delete'If I Were A Carpenter' the album: who farted?
Try listening to that thing front to back. It even has a John Denver cover, for crying out loud.
I'll let you know soon as I hear from ol' Stuey.
...stick that in your "oddball folk-singing hippie" and toke it. (Just don't let the cops catch ya!)
Hey, that stuff's legal here now, don'tcha know? I could sit on my balcony and smoke myself into a coma if I wanted to. Well, if I was actually in to that kind of thing.
OLD SOUL ~
DeleteCongratulations, Beer Brother! You are the first person in two decades to best me in an argument (at least in regards to something important).
I must admit that I only know the SONG, and have never heard the ALBUM. So, if you have indeed heard the album and you say it smells like John Belushi's gASS, then I am in no position to dispute it. (And since I will probably never hear the entire album, you win forever.)
Yeah, that's right, The Toke is now legal in Colorado, ain't it? But ain't ya supposed to (be pretending to) have "eye trouble" or "unmanageable pain" before it's technically legal?
I mean, is it legal to smoke in Colorado just because "Life is hard"?
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Brother, you can smoke that stuff here even when life isn't hard. Last year before it was totally legal, it was medically legal. AKA you had to have a medical excuse for using it (boo boos, tummy aches, the grumps, etc). I even have a funny story about that if you care to hear it. But now it's totally legal, which means you smoke as much as you want whenever you want.
DeleteCongratulations, Beer Brother! You are the first person in two decades to best me in an argument
Nay, I merely saved you the hassle of listening to the full album. My ears have already spilled blood. No need for the merciless auditory bloodshed of others.
So your tracking number lied to you, and this is why it's taken me so long to respond to you. I was eagerly planning to respond last night, but that didn't happen. In the style of our friend Demetri, let me tell you a children's story I call "The Laziest Mailman."
The Laziest Mailman
DeleteOnce upon a time there was a mailman. A very lazy mailman. He delivered mail to a huge housing community in Colorado, and he had the easiest job in the world because he didn't have to drive to the houses. He just had to drive to the community mailbox half a mile away, put on the radio, and spend his day pretending to sort all of their mail.
There was also a boy, who lived in this community. He could go by the community mailbox at any time of day and there would always be The Laziest Mailman, jamming to his radio for hours at a time and pretending to sort the mail.
One time a great wizard sent the boy a package containing some magic potions. These potions required a delivery signature which meant The Laziest Mailman couldn't just leave the package in the community mailbox. No, he would actually have to drive half a mile away to the boy's house to deliver it. But the Laziest Mailman didn't want that, because he was indeed the laziest mailman in all of the land, so he merely wrote up a note that said, "Sorry we missed you!" and requested that it be picked up at the post office on the next day. He then updated the tracking information to confirm it was 'delivered.'
The boy knows this because he works from home all day and the doorbell never rang once. Also, this is not the first time this has happened with packages requiring a signature.
So the boy drove 3 miles to the nearest post office this morning and waited in line for 20 minutes simply because The Laziest Mailman was, as mentioned, the laziest mailman in all of the land. The boy was finally able to pick up the potions, which he thanks the wizard for gratefully. And maybe after ingesting a few of these magic potions, he'll wander down to see the Laziest Mailman, who will most certainly be jamming to his radio and pretending to sort mail, and tell him what he really thinks about him.
And even if he doesn't, well, at least he's got some awesome potions to keep him company.
THE END
I pretty much detest the expression "look for the silver lining in the dark, stormy clouds". That's something that losers say to try to make themselves feel a little bit better about being a loser.
DeleteBut in this case, I myself am going to "look for the silver lining".
And I think I've just found it:
I'm just happy that The Laziest Mailman in the world isn't also The Nosiest Mailman in the world.
* * * * * * *
I fear that some of those Magic Potions might be "Steve J. Hoppier" than you generally like, but we shall see.
Consider them a late Birthday / early Christmas gift. (I just killed two birds with six stones.)
* * * * * * *
And now, having just slept for 4 hours after my latest "graveyard shift", I am going to get dressed and drive 20 minutes back to work to return the "Traffic Control Gates" key I inadvertently took home with me this morning. (The "silver lining"? At least they weren't going to notice it was missing until 9 PM tonight. Yeah... I'm a loser.)
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
>> BOIDMAN --- Very strange coincidence that FAE and I used the same performers. Thank goodness it wasn't actually the same song too. That would have been a disaster!
ReplyDeleteGlad I found one you liked. Up until now we haven't had a lotta luck in using songs that the other participants have also enjoyed. Our comments often seem to start out something like this... "Well, I don't really care for the song itself but..."
And, yeah, I definitely get that 'Little Rascals' thing you're referring to, Brother.
>> D.G. HUDSON --- Thanks for your vote! And I too loves me some Satchmo. He could sing the Yellow Pages and I'd probably still find it entertaining.
>> DR. DISCDUDE --- Don't let Satchmo get you fired from the job, Brother! The original recording is by one of the song's writers, Hoagy Carmichael, and you can definitely find it at YouTube. But, to be honest, I like BOTH of the versions here better than the original.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
OK -- so let me ask you: If it's a "lazy" river, why is Bobby and the band flouncing and bouncing around so much? Personally, I hate song interpretations that do this -- ignore the whole meaning of the song as they try to turn it into a big Vegas production.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but between here and FAE -- Bobby is 0-fer-two and Mr. Armstrong has two votes from me.
I was prepared to not like the Bobby Darin version at all, but he surprised me. It wasn't quite as white-bread-and-mayonnaise as most of the songs I've heard him sing, but still... gotta go with Satchmo. Love his voice, his style, and his trumpet. Hard to beat him.
ReplyDeleteI listened to both versions about two minutes after you posted this early this morning, and then again when I first woke up, and finally for the third time just now. I have to admit that Bobby is starting to grow on me. BUT, up against Satchmo in this particular tune with all the scatting around and that trumpet solo - SORRY, no contest. My vote goes to Satchmo for sure.
ReplyDeleteCourse you know me and Hoagy go way back, so I did also go to YouTube early this morning just to listen to the man himself. Got to admit I like his the best, but again Satchmo does Hoagy proud on this one.
Much like my choice on FAE's BOTB, I'll have to go with the ol' Darin swagger.
ReplyDelete---- CHRIS ---- Thanks for your comment and vote. I hear what you're sayin', and on the 21st when I cast my own vote in this 'BOTB', I will attempt to defend the seemingly indefensible. However, Satchmo's ballad-pace is indeed more consistent with the word "lazy".
ReplyDelete---- SUSAN ---- You surprise me a tad. Don't know why, but I would have guessed you to be something of a Bobby Darin fan. At least his version made it interesting for ya so it wasn't a total Satchmo blow-out.
---- FAE ---- Yeah, Satchmo's scatting and that trumpet... Wow! That's a hard combination to beat.
---- BROTHER MARTIN ---- Thanks for your input. This has been interesting. I haven't counted the votes so far (and won't count until the 21st) but it seems as if this is a really close contest that could go either way in the end.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Armstrong, hands down. Not a Darin fan at all, but AM a Satchmo fan.
ReplyDeleteI love at 1:25 when Louis starts scat singing. When listening to Armstrong, you KNOW you are hearing a greatness.
When listening to Bobby-boy, you know you are listening to, well... "meh." Never struck me as a manly sort of guy, either. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
SHEBOYGANBRO SIX ~
DeleteSo... I guess you're going to force me to vote for Darin, eh?
I agree that Armstrong's greatness is always readily apparent. He was quite literally a musical genius and so far ahead of his contemporaries that it's hard to fathom how that happened.
Thanks for your vote and comment, my friend!
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Apples and bananas. Oh, grandmaster of the BOTBs, you have forced me into zugzwang. This is more difficult than having to choose between the Riddler and Godzilliga, or Buckwheat and Porky. I will simply have to pick Armstrong's version and accept my fate. Ditto Arlee Bird's comments on Satch's style.
ReplyDeleteSig2ClosetoCall
SIG2CLOSE2CALL ~
Delete"Zugzwang" -- good word! (All words with a Z in them, those are winnerz. But get 2 Zs in a word and it'z good for godzillian pointz!)
Well, if you found this like comparing Apples to Bananas, I'll tell ya what I'll do. I'll let you keep your Apple vote (A is for ArmstrongToo), and I'll let the Monkey vote for the Banana (B is for BobbyToo), and we'll call it a draw.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Yes. Everyone else can use me as a "reverse barometer" to determine how you are going to vote. I'm sure we will be able to use that universal law again in December with the Christmas music version too. Ho-ho-ho.
ReplyDeleteLet me guess: Johnny Mathis vs. The Carpenters on "Sleigh Ride." THAT would be just like you.
Ha! Oh, that is diabolical!
DeleteI love Mathis AND The Carpenters, but I wouldn't do that to ya. Mainly because you probably would refuse to cast a vote (as you did with 'Easy To Be Hard' from HAIR), and if you don't vote, I won't know how I am supposed to vote.
I'm joking, of course. My own vote is ALWAYS established in my mind BEFORE I even begin to compose the text for a 'BOTB' blog bit. So your votes don't influence mine in the least... it only appears that way. [:-)}
The only time where I was uncertain of how I was going to vote, and didn't make up my mind until a day or two before I started writing the 'BOTB' text was with 'ROUTE 66'. I knew I would go with Nat King Cole or Van Morrison and 'Them', but I wasn't sure which until 24 to 48 hours before I posted the blog bit.
But, hey, 'LAZY RIVER' by Satchmo and Darin. I love them BOTH and I own BOTH versions on compact discs. So this time I may actually surprise you with my vote! (...or not). Come back here on the 21st to find out.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Lazy River is Louis song, always will be. He wins in my mind hands down.
ReplyDeleteLUMA13 ~
DeleteDamn! I was hoping you would be an
i·con·o·clas·tic rev·o·lu·tion·ar·y.
I guess it's up to me to set most of these people straight on November 21st.
Well... I've said too much.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Part 1:
ReplyDelete‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS #8’
(Or, ‘SATCHMO’S REVENGE’)
STMcC’S VOTE AND THE FINAL TALLY:
Frequently, these ‘BOTB’ contests don’t go the way I expect they will. This one I thought would be too close to call right up until the end but I was... WRONG!
For awhile it “felt” close, but my perception was askew because, looking back at the voting now, I’m able to discern that Satchmo ran away with this one right from the get-go. He won by exactly a 2 to 1 margin, after adding in my vote for Bobby Darin:
LOUIS “SATCHMO” ARMSTRONG = 8 Votes
BOBBY DARIN = 4 Votes
I own BOTH of these recordings on compact disc, and as I wrote earlier, I love them BOTH. Satchmo’s version is just a total delight, with that laugh of his and all the great scatting – he truly was a musical genius.
However... I like Bobby Darin’s version more. Why? Well, for one thing, the un-freakin’-believable ENERGY of the vocals. When I think of my favorite song vocals, Darin’s version of ‘Lazy River’ comes immediately to mind; I’d say it’s #2 or #3 on my ‘Favorites’ list. Ironically, I normally like Bobby Darin best on the ballad ‘Standards’ he sang, where some impossible-to-explain-or-describe quality in his voice digs deep down into my soul and affects me in some bittersweet, melancholy way.
I’m yakkin’ about songs like ‘Was There A Call For Me?’, ‘What A Difference A Day Made’, ‘Skylark’, ‘Days Of Wine And Roses’, ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, ‘A Taste Of Honey’, and ‘Softly, As I Leave You’. Those songs KILL ME. (And so does the little-known ‘Christmas Auld Lang Syne’, which is always the last Christmas song I play for the year, just before going to bed every Christmas night.) Those are the songs where Bobby Darin most shines... as well as on ‘Lazy River’, which is a godzillian times more upbeat than any of the songs listed above.
Continued Below...
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteAlso somewhat ironically, I don’t like Bobby on some of the songs he’s most famous for, such as ‘Splish Splash’, ‘Queen Of The Hop’, and ‘You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby’.
Another reason I love Darin’s ‘Lazy River’ is because of THAT BAND!... Oh, man, THAT BAND! I don’t know who they were (and that’s a damned shame), probably just professional studio musicians, but THAT BAND was HOT! At two points in the song [the first time occurring at about 1:33 in this video] the horn section just BLARES out 4 notes, and those notes – and that sound – just absolutely GO THROUGH ME! (Funny, my Ma had the exact same reaction to those notes played by that horn section; we used to try to explain it to each other but there are no words for really Spiritual things. However, without question, I know that my Ma and I were both experiencing the same thrill when those horns just explode like that – especially the first time.)
And then lastly, I LOVE that INDEPENDENT STANCE that Darin takes in the song! If you follow this blog, you know that I am not the least bit timid when it comes to going against the mainstream grain and taking a very unpopular, politically incorrect, individualistic position on some things. Therefore, I dig it when Darin does the same by “singshouting” [yeah, I just now made up that word because it was needed]...
“I AIN'T GOING YOUR WAY --
GET OUTTA MY WAY!”
~ Bobby Darin
‘Lazy River’
In fact, I dig that line so much that I even quoted it on my defunct ‘STUFFS’ blog on September 20, 2009, in the installment titled...
#1 RULE OF SELFHOOD
Alright, so those are the reasons I HAD to vote for Bobby Darin, regardless of how wonderful Satchmo’s version of ‘Lazy River’ is.
Continued Below...
Part 3:
ReplyDeleteNow I want to briefly address a complaint lodged above by Chris Fries. He wrote:
>>... If it's a "lazy" river, why is Bobby and the band flouncing and bouncing around so much? Personally, I hate song interpretations that do this -- ignore the whole meaning of the song...
Now, ordinarily, I agree with Chris; that too is something that can irritate me. One of the best examples, speaking personally, is the song ‘HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS’. I love that song, but so many singers ruin it by making it some “bouncy, flouncy, fun-fun-fun” song, when in fact there is a potent undercurrent of sadness and longing to it. Go watch and listen to Judy Garland sing it in the movie ‘Meet Me In St. Louis’ (where the song was first introduced to the world) and you will understand the true sentiment of the song.
However, having said that, I don’t feel the same way about ‘LAZY RIVER’. I surely get what Chris is saying but... Bobby Darin sings the entire Introduction in a slow, lazy manner that seems organic to the word “lazy”. So when he suddenly launches into that "blitzkrieg" of upbeat energy, it comes as something of a surprise and plays well against the deceptive opening of the song.
Furthermore, in the arts (particularly in film and theatre, although it can be applied across the board), there is an expression known as “playing against type”. This is the OPPOSITE of what is called “typecasting” – where a person who is already known for a certain style of acting, or for playing a certain type of character, gets cast again and again in the same sorts of roles.
When “playing against type”, it is hoped that the element of surprise will heighten the effectiveness of a performance by adding something akin to a “shock value” to what is being portrayed. It doesn’t always work (and when it doesn’t, it’s usually a disaster), but when it does get pulled off well, it can indeed be VERY effective.
A couple of notably successful instances of “playing against type” in Hollywood are Anthony Perkins playing a psychotic murderer in Hitchcock’s ‘PSYCHO’; and the refined British actor Anthony Hopkins (known for appearing in movies like ‘Hamlet’ and ‘The Lion In Winter’) playing a murderous cannibal in ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ - a movie that I HATE, by the way. (Hmmm... maybe “playing against type” is an “Anthony” thing.)
Anyway, the bottom line is that I consider Bobby Darin’s version of ‘Lazy River’ to be a stellar example of a song very successfully “sung against type”. It might not have worked so well had Darin not begun the song as the “lazy” ballad one would expect. But beginning the song in a “typical, conformist” way, and THEN launching it into overdrive with all those great Big Band horns and off-the-charts energy, turned Darin’s ‘Lazy River’ into one of my 100 favorite songs.
Unfortunately, most of y’all voted AGAINST my impression of the song. But the “silver lining” is that The Great Satchmo won, and that’s NEVER a bad thing.
My thanks again to everyone who participated by voting and commenting. See ya again on December 1st for Christmas stuffs.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
Not terribly surprised at your vote. Of course you let a couple of clues slip during your comments. Knowing a little bit about your musical tastes, I can see that this was a hard choice for you. It was a good match up, in that I think a number of people felt the same.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for the suggestion to go with a Bobby vs. Satchmo contest. I did gain a whole new appreciation for Bobby Darin and his music beyond the hits like 'Splish, Splash' and 'Mack'.
While I won't say that this was my second favorite BATTLE (I haven't even published my favorite yet) it was a fun one, for sure.
FAE ~
DeleteI was darn near certain that LuckyMama13's vote was the last one I'd get on this Battle, and since the outcome was obvious at that point, I did decide to "out my vote" with that little remark.
"Well... I've said too much" is something I say here around the house; it's a kind of inside joke between my Brother and me, so I wrote that primarily to amuse him, and knowing that this win was "in the satchel" for Satchmo.
Pleased you were not unhappy about "conspiring" with me on this one. It was rather surprising to me to see Satch beat Bobby on 'Mack The Knife', but I think maybe Bobby's version has been overplayed and people were just ready for a change.
Yak Later...
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'