The Winner Takes It All #BoTB showdown

Hello Kittens & Dawgs! WOW, it’s now March! I can’t believe spring’s return is just weeks away. I’m looking forward to a steady supply of nice weather.

 

I’m not sure how came upon today’s battle song but I suspect it happened while browsing YouTube. In 1980, Abba released The Winner Takes It All (reference only).  I’m confident that most of y’all are familiar with the Swedish pop band hit. It listed as the 23rd most popular song on the US Billboard chart by the end of the following year. What surprised me is these three unlikely bands covering this 80s pop tune. Listen, tell me what you think, and lastly vote for your favorite.

 

Contender #1 The Black Sweden (Originally, I said this was Black Sabbath. After being called out on my goof I double checked the video credit to discovered the REAL identity of the band. Thanks y’all!)

 

 

Contender #2 At Vance

 

 

 

Contender #3 Swedish Hitz Goes Metal

 

 

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).

 

Who gets your vote, The Black Sweden, At Vance, or Swedish Hitz?

 

 

You’ll find more awesome battles underway at some of the blogs listed below (not everyone is doing the bi-monthly showdowns) and if you’d like to be included in the fun, then contact Stephen requesting to be added to the list.

Angels Bark (Michele),  Cherdo on the Flipside, Book Lover (Donna),  The Doglady’s Den (Debbie),  Your Daily Dose (Robin),  Jingle Jangle Jungle (Mary), Mike’s Ramblings,  Righting & Editing (Janie),  STMcC Presents BoTB (Stephen, BoTB Manager),   The Sound of One Hand Typing (John), &  Tossing It Out (Lee).

 

Next week, I’ll announce the winner in this battle showdown along with who got my vote. Mark your calendar for my next BOTB showdown for the ?? but I hope return tomorrow for some laughs with Friday Fun Stuff!

 

 

 

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30 comments

  1. Hi Cathy, really interesting versions of this song and my vote goes to Swedish Hits Goes Metal as I like the slightly more up tempo beat.

    1. Pamela,

      I’m delighted you decided to have a say-so in this round of BoTB. Gotcha down for Swedish Hitz Goes Metal. 😉

      Black Sweden – 6
      At Vance – 2
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 4

    1. Cathy,

      Well…I can’t find any proof that Black Sabbath did the song. Not being familiar with Black Sabbath I admit I’m not sure how they would do with this classic pop. It would’ve been interesting to hear, though.

    1. Veronica,

      Metal mewsic isn’t my favorite but I thought it would be an interesting twist on an ABBA song. Thanks for playing alone! 😉

      Black Sweden – 6
      At Vance – 2
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 3

  4. Definitely the first one by Black Sweden , I didn’t really like the other 2. Meryl Streep did a great job with this song in the film, Mama Mia.

    1. Ellen,

      Celebrities surprise me sometimes when I hear them sing for the first time like with Meryl Streep & Pierce Bronsan singing ABBA “SOS. I thought I’d add it here for others to discover. Thanks for voting in BoTB!

      Black Sweden – 5
      At Vance – 2
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 3

  5. Now that we’ve established that the first one was done by Black Sweden rather than Black Sabbath, I’m going to vote for them. The other two were a little too close, both to each other and to the original.

    1. John,

      Yeah, I totally goofed on that. *blush* I’m glad Lee, Mary, & Stephen let me know so I could fix. Your vote puts Black Sweden in the lead!

      Black Sweden – 4
      At Vance – 2
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 3

  6. I love ABBA and have all their records including the Spanish made one. If I was forced to listen to any of these on a regular basis, I would go with the first one because it sounded the least annoying. Can you tell i am not a heavy metal gal:)

    1. Birgit,

      I’m not metal band group, either. Just tyring to spice things up. 🙂

      Black Sweden – 3
      At Vance – 2
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 3

    1. Sandee,

      Gotcha down for At Vance. Thanks for voting, my friend!

      Black Sweden – 2
      At Vance – 2
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 3

  8. Hi there! My vote is SWEDISH HITZ GOES MENTAL….I mean METAL! I was hoping to get your opinion tomorrow! What kind of prizes do you give out? I think cash is always good! 🙂

    1. Karla,

      Prize?! Sorry, none to hand out but you do get the reward of having your say so and isn’t that worth more than cash? 😀 You want my opinion tomorrow. I’m happy to give it since you asked. 🙂 Thanks for voting!

      Black Sweden – 2
      At Vance – 1
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 3

  9. This one is difficult since I’m not that familiar with these groups but I love ABBA’s music. I am going with Black Sweden.

    1. Eugenia,

      So, glad you decided to play along! These are all new-to-me bands, too. I’m not even a heavy rocker but I thought it would be fun to do something different. 🙂

      Black Sweden – 2
      At Vance – 1
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 2

  10. Hi, Cathy!

    These metal covers of a pop hit by the Swedish super group ABBA bring back memories of the time squeaky clean crooner Pat Boone found himself “In a Metal Mood.” 🙂 I own a CD compilation called Covers Of Darkness which contains metal bands covering the well known songs of other metal bands, but it becomes a little jarring to hear ABBA songs given the metal treatment. That is especially the case with contestant #1 The Black Sweden, a band that recorded several mashups featuring a hard rock or metal anthem butt spliced to an ABBA favorite. These misguided medleys include “Enter Sandman / Take A Chance On Me,” “Smoke On The Water / Mamma Mia” and “God Of Thunder/S.O.S.” I just don’t think they work very well. On their 2001 album Dragonchaser, the German neoclassical/power metal band At Vance does a better job with “The Winner Takes it All,” and yet they sound like many other metal bands of the 2000s and don’t bring anything new to the table – pretty standard stuff. I am voting for act #3 – Swedish guitarist and vocalist Tommy ReinXeed and his band Swedish Hitz Goes Metal because they bring more fire and passion to the song and make the metal treatment work.

    Thank you, dear friend Cathy!

    1. Tom,
      I can always count on you to give a great analysis artists’ covers I used in my BoTB editions. Not being a metal head, I can’t appreciate the nuances that you mentioned but I loved getting your feedback because I learn about things I do not anything about. Metal mewsic is a genre I listen to in passing when others share it. I do recall when Pat Boone tried making a cross over to heavy rock which was totally weird. These two went together about well as oil and water. 🙂 Thanks for casting your vote for Swedish Hitz Goes Metal!

      Black Sweden – 1
      At Vance – 1
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 2

  11. HiYa, CATHY!
    This song just barely sounded vaguely familiar to me. Guess I was even drunker’n I thought I was in 1980.

    Yip, #1 didn’t really sound like Black Sabbath to me (not that there’s anything wrong with that). And #2 and #3 were very similar, with AT VANCE being ever so slightly more subdued, so I’ll vote for him… them… that.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents ‘Battle Of The Bands’

    1. Stephen,

      You can rest easier, you weren’t that drunk in 1980 after all. It was me. No, I wasn’t drunk when I put this post together. It just showed how little knowledge I have on Black Sabbath. When I was putting this together, I kept thinking is this Black Sabbath? Perhaps, something didn’t set right with my ears despite having little exposure to the bands mewsic. Anywho, I appreciate how kind you, Mary, and Lee were to point out my flub. Next time, I will be more careful. Thanks for voting. All three are in the running. YAY!

      Black Sweden – 1
      At Vance – 1
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 1

    1. Mary,

      No this ISN’T Black Sabbath. *sigh* I made the correction just seconds ago. Contender #1 is The Black Sweden. I guess who ever put the video up had Black Sabbath on his/her brain. lol Thanks for causing me to question myself, too. I have you vote recorded!

      Black Sweden – 1
      At Vance – 0
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 1

  13. I’ll have to admit to liking the music of Abba. My wife likes them too–she used to listen to the recordings they put out in Spanish.

    The last two recordings sounded essentially the same but with a different mix. I liked them, but I liked the vocals in the “Black Sabbath” version. Is this really Black Sabbath? Certainly not Ozzy singing. Anyway, I like that first recording the best.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    1. Lee,

      Well…I goofed. I’m not familiar with Black Sabbath so I didn’t question the vid when I saw BLACK SABBATH splashed on the screen. It turns out I was wrong. I corrected my goof. According to the credit, the artist you liked the best of the three is THE BLACK SWEDEN with the first voting going their way.

      Black Sweden – 1
      At Vance – 0
      Swedish Hits Goes Metal – 0

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