Howdy, Kittens & Dawgs! It’s not only Monday (time to hit the dance floor with the 4M crew) but it’s a brand new month (you guessed it, BoTB time).
This week’s Monday’s Mewsic Moves Me theme is “freebie” pick which works beautifully for my first BoTB showdown of May. I feel like the wind got kicked out of my sail after last month’s A to Z challenge and next Monday please join me for reflection post. Speaking of the A to Z challenge this inspired today’s battle song Take It Easy by The Eagles for this showdown.
In this round, I’m featuring three new-to-me mewsicians. The first two didn’t have too many YouTube views but 3rd had considerable more views. Anywho, I wanted to skip the big names who’s covered this song and go with some unknowns (to me anyhow) like Jackson Browne (one of the songwriters), Travis Tritt, Buck Owens, or Joe Welsh & Glenn Frey (Eagles band member & the other songwriter).
Contender #1, begins song at the 0:19 mark, Mama Dear.
Mama Dear uptempo version is different and suits the song better than I thought. The band has great harmonies and the gal does a nice job with her unpretentious vocals but sometimes she doesn’t say the ending to her words. That’s a bit of a distraction, does it bother you?
Contender #2 Firecracker Vida
Firecracker Vida is a close match up with The Eagles’ original. The band is very talented. I’m not sure if the lead vocalist is enough to sway my vote yet, how about you?
Contender # 3, interesting lead-in to cover which starts at 0:41 seconds, Faithless Street.
Faithless Street possibly is my least favorite of the three but it was interesting enough to include it in the battle. What do you think?
Ok, here’s the drill. Voting is open to everyone visiting. There is NO wrong vote, except if you DON’T vote. You can start by telling me in comments which artist you like best and why (optional).
Which artist gets your vote – Mama Dear, Firecracker Vida, or Faithless Street?
The fun continues with more epic battles underway and I invite you to visit the official manager of BoTB, Stephen for the update list of players and be sure to check back next week to learn the outcome of this battle. You’re welcome to step out on the dance floor with XmasDolly, Stacy, Colette, and me.
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What mewsic moves you today? ?
I hope to see back tomorrow for a bit of randomness in my newest edition of Cathy Chats with 5 Ways to Take it Easy plus more mewsic with Tuesday Tunesation!
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Mama Dear gets my vote
Mike,
Gotcha recorded. Thank you for popping by!
Mamadear – 4
Firecracker Villa – 7
Faithless Street -1
Oh how fun, Cathy! My vote goes to Firecracker Vida!
Thanks for the dance! 
Happy People in Paris That’s What I Like – hope they’re not Rich and Miserable!
Stacy,
I’m glad you got to dance with me and to vote. Hopefully, you’re getting back into the normal routine of blogging now that the A2Z challenge is over. I’m struggling just a bit but I’ll find my way. Have a good weekend!
Mamadear – 3
Firecracker Villa – 7
Faithless Street -1
Wow! A 3 way…insert the evil grin here:) I vote for Mama Dear because her voice was clean, strong even if she did fade a bit in certain parts with the ending of the words and she gave her own take. Now, the 2nd one was ok and I love that bald guy’s guitar playing but when the lead had to just do those “ooh-ooh” notes he seems to fall flat and was a weak link. The last one was ok but nothing special and people who probably sing at the local coffee houses on a Friday night. Mama Dear is my pick
Birgit,
Not that kind of 3-way, you bad girl!
This is totally a PG-13 site for the most part. lol Thanks for casting your vote. I was beginning to wonder if anyone else would show or not.
Mamadear – 3
Firecracker Villa – 6
Faithless Street -1
Great song choice, CATHY! Probably my second favorite Eagles song after ‘Desperado’. It has such an addictive rhythmic groove that it’s almost impossible to refrain from singing along to it!
The Mamadear version was pretty good, but hard for me to make the adjustment to a gal singing about men. Also, just a shade too slick.
Having actually stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, I can tell you that the place was hot, dusty, and run-down. (I still remember a handmade sign in a store window that said, “Pray for Winslow.”)
The grittier version by FIRECRACKER VIDA sounds more like the Winslow I saw.
~ D-FensDogG
[Link:) Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews…
Stephen,
The Eagles is a classic rock band with lots of great hits. It’s hard to not sing-along no matter what’s playing. Oh that’s so cool that you actually stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona! FV’s gritty cover is hard to top and they are running away with the show! Thanks for visiting, my friend. I’ll see you shortly!
Mamadear – 2
Firecracker Villa – 6
Faithless Street -1
Interesting covers. Since i am almost always partial to the original artist in every song, the one closest to the original, Firecracker Vida, would get my vote.
Messymimi,
The original artist is always hard to go against. That’s why I limit my battles to two or in this case three cover artists. Generally, I like finding bands who add their own flare to the song but that’s not always easy. I appreciate you playing along and noted your vote. It’s looking like your pick may win this showdown.
Mamadear – 2
Firecracker Villa – 5
Faithless Street -0
I agree, the last one was my least favorite as well.
Firecracker Vida’s video was fun to watch, just four guys in the studio. They did a lot of jamming, adding to the Seventies vibe of the song, and I especially like the lead guitarist’s realizing that he has all the stomp boxes (effect pedals) hooked up and hasn’t used them, so he used more than a couple at the end. I know how he feels…
Mamadear, well… the singer was cute and they were pretty tight, and I like the lap steel, and if they hadn’t been up against Firecracker Vida they’d probably win. Firecracker Vida for the win.
John,
Thanks for lending a careful ear to my three contenders. Knowing most BoTBers I figured Mamadear and Faithless Street may not have a chance against Firecracker Vida but I thought why not go for it? I might be surprised. Oh well, no big shockers yet.
I’m glad you stopping by to weigh in this round!
Mamadear – 2
Firecracker Villa – 4
Faithless Street -0
Definitely Firecracker Vida. I like his voice and I just can’t accept a woman’s voice on a song that was by men and vice versa too.
Ellen, Having a female lead for this song is odd but I kinda like MamaDear’s rendition but I haven’t figured out if I like it enough to cast my vote that way yet. Thanks for popping by to vote!
Mamadear – 2
Firecracker Villa – 3
Faithless Street -0
An appropriately named tune for post Challenge. We all need a bit of a slow down now.
All three were pretty faithful to the spirit of the original by the Eagles. I preferred Mama Dear to the others though. I liked the acoustic sound and thought the vocals were smoother sounding.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Lee,
I’m more than ready to “Take It Easy”, aren’t you? I’m considering taking next week off from blogging but I haven’t decided for sure yet. We’ll see how this week progresses. Thanks for stopping by to vote. Now, I need to catch up with you!
Mamadear – 2
Firecracker Villa – 2
Faithless Street -0
This was definitely a very close one! I have to give my vote to Contender #2 Firecracker Vida! WHAT A VOICE! Love it!! So talented
http://tropicalcolours.blogspot.com.au/
Karine,
I’m so glad you joined me today. It’s always a nice surprise when someone new shows up to play along. I have your vote recorded. Next stop your place!
Mamadear – 1
Firecracker Villa – 2
Faithless Street -0
Hi, Cathy!
We’re springing into May with a new round of band battles and I very much enjoyed yours. It starts with a great song, I always say, and “Take It Easy” is a great song. What we have here are three enjoyable covers of the Eagles biggie. When I dissected each one to determine my vote, my ears told me that two of the covers are good and one of them is great. I agree that the lead vocalist of Mamadear didn’t finish off her syllables very well at times, but that might be intentional, a device used to “countrify” the song. That didn’t bother me, but overall the performance lacked pizzazz. The third act delivered another good rendition but also lacked pizzazz. I found the pizzazz my ears were craving in band #2 – Firecracker Vida. The gravel voiced lead singer sounds half rock/half country and the band was tight and gave us two excellent jams to lengthen the song. Firecracker Vida wins my vote with a cover that indeed comes very close to the classic original
Happy Monday, happy May and happy BOTB day to you, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
I was pretty sure you’d pick Firecracker Vida and you’re right it definitely comes the closest to the original. Thanks for stopping by to vote, now let’s see how this round plays out!
Mamadear – 1
Firecracker Villa – 1
Faithless Street -0
I’m going to have to give my vote to Mama Dear. She just seemed to deliver the vocals a bit smoother than the others.
~Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
Mary,
You’re the first to vote!
Mama Dear has smooth vocals and I love the harmony of the group. Have a good day, my friend!
Mama Dear – 1
Firecracker Villa – 0
Faithless Street – 0
Hey Girlfriend, didn’t you get the linky I sent you? If not, go to my blog and you can get it there. So very sorry for all the confusion. Love your tunes baby girl… YOU ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! WOO HOO!!!
Marie,
I got tangled up in other things last night and forgot to check my email to see if you wanted me to use inLinkz. I apologize for that but I’m glad you got LinkyTools to working for you. Have a rocktastic week, my friend!
Not a problem my friend. As it were it all turned out just fine. WHEW!!! That was nerve racking for sure! But now for my vote… I kinda thought Faithless Street was right on the money. When I was in Dave’s band “Perfect Chaos” I sang back up harmony on that song just like this gal did. Ahhhhh Those were the days my friend……… la la la la la ~snicker~
Marie,
Anytime you run into technical problems then it’s nerve racking! At least you got it working for you in the knick of time. That’s interesting to know your style of singing when you were back up for Dave’s band, Purrrfect Chaos. I’m glad you gave your vote to Faithless Street because I was feeling a tad bad for them.
Mamadear – 2
Firecracker Villa – 5
Faithless Street -1