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Post by Kapitan on Aug 1, 2021 12:20:07 GMT
Today is the final day to vote on this single. We'd love to hear your thoughts, if you haven't yet chimed in (or have, but have more to say), too.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 1, 2021 15:44:07 GMT
A nice video of Bruce, live at the piano in 1969:
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 11:11:53 GMT
Nine voters rated "Cottonfields" b/w "The Nearest Faraway Place" an average of 7.2. I will update the ratings thread and begin our next single thread shortly.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 16:39:34 GMT
I didn't expect "Cottonfields" to be among our favorite singles, but I was a little surprised when adding it to the overall ratings post to see that it is one of the very least favorite (so far)!
Check out our bottom five to date: - The Man With All the Toys/Blue Christmas 7.4 - Cottonfields/Nearest Faraway Place 7.2 - Bluebirds Over the Mountain/Never Learn Not to Love 6.3 - Surfin/Luau 5.8 - Ten Little Indians/County Fair 3.9
Though to be fair, it is worth noting that we have half a dozen singles in the 7s before a single in the 6s and 5s before our low point of 3.9. So it's fourth-lowest rated, but nearly double the score of the lowest.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2021 21:19:08 GMT
I didn't expect "Cottonfields" to be among our favorite singles, but I was a little surprised when adding it to the overall ratings post to see that it is one of the very least favorite (so far)!
Check out our bottom five to date: - The Man With All the Toys/Blue Christmas 7.4 - Cottonfields/Nearest Faraway Place 7.2 - Bluebirds Over the Mountain/Never Learn Not to Love 6.3 - Surfin/Luau 5.8 - Ten Little Indians/County Fair 3.9
Though to be fair, it is worth noting that we have half a dozen singles in the 7s before a single in the 6s and 5s before our low point of 3.9. So it's fourth-lowest rated, but nearly double the score of the lowest.
It's a bit sobering to see "The Man With All the Toys" listed above "Cottonfields". Damn, this is a tough crowd!
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 21:58:12 GMT
I didn't expect "Cottonfields" to be among our favorite singles, but I was a little surprised when adding it to the overall ratings post to see that it is one of the very least favorite (so far)!
Check out our bottom five to date: - The Man With All the Toys/Blue Christmas 7.4 - Cottonfields/Nearest Faraway Place 7.2 - Bluebirds Over the Mountain/Never Learn Not to Love 6.3 - Surfin/Luau 5.8 - Ten Little Indians/County Fair 3.9
Though to be fair, it is worth noting that we have half a dozen singles in the 7s before a single in the 6s and 5s before our low point of 3.9. So it's fourth-lowest rated, but nearly double the score of the lowest.
It's a bit sobering to see "The Man With All the Toys" listed above "Cottonfields". Damn, this is a tough crowd! Yes, I would not agree with that assessment, myself...
Though I think we're usually a NOT tough crowd: these ratings are mostly (insanely, in my opinion) high! But then again, I think of 5-6 as being pretty decent songs, and so decent scores. On occasion I'll read pretty damning reviews followed by 7s and 8s.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 2, 2021 23:27:32 GMT
I didn't expect "Cottonfields" to be among our favorite singles, but I was a little surprised when adding it to the overall ratings post to see that it is one of the very least favorite (so far)!
Check out our bottom five to date: - The Man With All the Toys/Blue Christmas 7.4 - Cottonfields/Nearest Faraway Place 7.2 - Bluebirds Over the Mountain/Never Learn Not to Love 6.3 - Surfin/Luau 5.8 - Ten Little Indians/County Fair 3.9 It's a bit sobering to see "The Man With All the Toys" listed above "Cottonfields". Damn, this is a tough crowd! I got no problem there. “Blue Christmas” obliterates “The Nearest Faraway Place”, IMO.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 23:33:42 GMT
I was going to say the B-sides do play into it, of course. On that specific one, I could not agree more.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 2, 2021 23:36:08 GMT
Yeah, but "Cottonfields" does have a "meh" quality to it, IMO. Other than a few notes (which I mentioned above), there's not a lot special about it. It's one of the few BB singles, so far, that could've been recorded just as good by a lot of groups.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2021 23:55:19 GMT
Yeah, but "Cottonfields" does have a "meh" quality to it, IMO. Other than a few notes (which I mentioned above), there's not a lot special about it. It's one of the few BB singles, so far, that could've been recorded just as good by a lot of groups. We disagree to some extent here, even though I think we agree broadly. But the notes you mentioned above--the backgrounds of Mike and Brian, as discussed--I truly think, along with the cool horns and pedal steel as external touches and the band's really strong performance, are enough to make it stand out. You say it could've been recorded just as good by a lot of groups, but this thread's sentiment seemed to be that CCR's version wasn't anything to write home about. Besides, you don't get the "Cottonfields" you want, but the "Cottonfields" you have!
So while I think we agree on the best bits of the song, we just differ on where it lands with those in mind. It's not "Wouldn't It Be Nice," and frankly (and more appropriately) it's not even "Sloop John B." But it's miles above "Bluebirds Over the Mountain."
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Post by lonelysummer on Aug 3, 2021 1:38:13 GMT
The Man With All the Toys came out when the group was firing on all cylanders. Cottonfields came at a time when they were very hit and miss with singles.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 3, 2021 11:17:59 GMT
The Man With All the Toys came out when the group was firing on all cylanders. Cottonfields came at a time when they were very hit and miss with singles. Be that as it may, I think Cottonfields is far, far better both as a song and (in the single version) as a performance and production.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2021 22:34:17 GMT
Yeah, but "Cottonfields" does have a "meh" quality to it, IMO. Other than a few notes (which I mentioned above), there's not a lot special about it. It's one of the few BB singles, so far, that could've been recorded just as good by a lot of groups. We disagree to some extent here, even though I think we agree broadly. But the notes you mentioned above--the backgrounds of Mike and Brian, as discussed--I truly think, along with the cool horns and pedal steel as external touches and the band's really strong performance, are enough to make it stand out. You say it could've been recorded just as good by a lot of groups, but this thread's sentiment seemed to be that CCR's version wasn't anything to write home about. Besides, you don't get the "Cottonfields" you want, but the "Cottonfields" you have!
So while I think we agree on the best bits of the song, we just differ on where it lands with those in mind. It's not "Wouldn't It Be Nice," and frankly (and more appropriately) it's not even "Sloop John B." But it's miles above "Bluebirds Over the Mountain."
I agree with much of what you've stated here, Kapitan. I want to really love CCR's version, and the Brian-produced Lp version, but it's almost like they play it safe. Those versions seem so bland to me compared to the single version. And maybe that's the problem. Al's somewhat over-the-top production ruined any earlier version....at least for me. I could go through the single version phrase by phrase and describe what I think is so great about it. There's a lot of energy there. In some alternative universe, I wonder if CCR's version could have benefitted at all with Al's (it was Al, right?) additional verse about the "nail in the tire" and "the man with a....he had a hat on". I love that part!
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 3, 2021 22:38:50 GMT
That line, "nice old man with a--he had a hat on" is in both Beach Boys versions. And I also LOVE that! I don't know why, there's just something really funny about what sounds like a guy just making a little verbal slip (but considering it's the same in both versions, obviously it was rehearsed).
I don't think Al's production was over the top at all, I think it was really good for the tune! Jaw harp, pedal steel, bigger and better backup vocals, yessir!
But you nailed it: Al's version is just more energetic.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2021 22:45:46 GMT
That line, "nice old man with a--he had a hat on" is in both Beach Boys versions. And I also LOVE that! I don't know why, there's just something really funny about what sounds like a guy just making a little verbal slip (but considering it's the same in both versions, obviously it was rehearsed).
I don't think Al's production was over the top at all, I think it was really good for the tune! Jaw harp, pedal steel, bigger and better backup vocals, yessir!
But you nailed it: Al's version is just more energetic.
I didn't mean "over the top" in a negative way. I meant it as what you stated in that last sentence. I was just exaggerating a bit because you don't usually hear that much energy in an old standard, and yes it's just right for the tune. I think the single should have been more popular than it was.
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