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My song selection "Gonna Get Close to You" was not overwhelmingly appreciated by most of the voters on that post. In fact some of you disliked the song so much you didn't bother to vote. I still think it's a pretty fine song and both versions were quite good to me.
Votes for Queensryche outnumbered those for Dalbello two to one with the former receiving ten and the Lady Dalbello receiving five including my own. My thought is that the votes that came in were primarily due to the familiarity with the group, but also perhaps only a cursory listening to Dalbello's take with a negative opinion formulated early on.
Personally I think Queensryche does a fine heavy metal take on the song and they deliver what their fans were expecting. They recognized a good song that they could adapt to their style, but it's merely another heavy metal song styling by an exceptional group in the genre.
On the other hand, the composer Lisa Dalbello turns the song into a mini-drama delivered with so much feeling that the essence of the song is much stronger than the cover version. Lisa's take has nuance and variety that I think makes her version far more interesting. From the initial sound of the ticking clock and the ominous cascading synthesizer to the screaming guitars and threatening drums, the overall production quality of her version is far superior to the Queensryche cover.
I think Donna Hole listened closely to the Dalbello version and she expressed my feelings about the song when she commented:
I think my vote will go to Lisa for this particular song, and the accompanying video, I'll vote for Lisa. She sings this with more passion, and the video has more of the obsessive vibe that the lyrics intendIf you think we're wrong then go back and listen again very closely and I think you might hear what we observed. Then again I don't think most of you care for the genre and will probably not want to subject your ears and head to the experience.
In my opinion Lisa Dalbello is a fantastic songwriter and performer. The cassette tapes that I owned of her music were played repeatedly when I was on the road and I hold a fondness for her music. She was a favorite artist of mine in the 80's.
Queensryche 10 votes to Lisa Dalbello's 5.
Next Battle of the Bands is Saturday February 15th.
A Guitar Virtuoso
Someone sent me an email with this clip and I thought I'd share with the guitar fans out there. Maybe you've heard the guy. If not check him out and see what you think.
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If you listened to the guitarist, what did you think? Do you like music that is highly dramatized? If you voted for Queensryche do you think you were prejudiced by being more familiar with their music or style of presentation?
