Welcome Kittens & Dawgs! In February I shared some photo-art created of images taken near Big South Fork and the below picture was taken the around the same time the others were snapped with my first point n’ shoot digital camera, Canon SD880.
This is an ordinary photo but I see it as an open canvas to add layers and embellishments to create something new. I will share my SWF contribution a day early in tomorrow’s post and I hope you’ll come by to see how I recycled this plain picture into my newest photo artworks!
Snag the linky list code HERE to add to your post!
Don’t forget to tweet the mews! 😉
Okay, you not-so WW crowd, you’re here and there’s no need to rush off just yet. I invite you to stick around for the second half and help pick the next winner in March 1st of Battle of the Bands.
March has been a rainy month and the above photo depicts how our skies have looked most of the time. Although we did not see any sunshowers, the first song to pop in my head inspiring this battle’s song choice is, Have You Ever Seen The Rain written by John Fogerty and performed by the roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival. CCR hit #1 on the Canadian national singles chart RPM 100 in 1971 with this song and in the same year, it peaked number 8 on the USA Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Contender #1 80s classic rock style of Belinda Carlisle
Contender #2 smoky jazz sound of Karen Souza!
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, Carlisle or Souza?
I invite you to visit the admin of the BoTB list, Stephen to see all the other showdowns taking place right now and don’t forget to come back, next week same place and time to see if your pick wins! ?
That’s a wrap for now and I’m gonna leave you with one more cover, (this is for your entertainment only, not included in the showdown) that I liked but fell a little short of the two featured artists.
Susan Wong
BTW, I’m not participating in Thursday Movie Picks until June while I prepare for the April A-Z Challenge but I’ll be here to give you your weekly dose of laughs with my newest edition of Friday Sillies!
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Belinda Carlisle gets my vote.
Mike, I’m happy you made it by to cast your vote which now reminds I meant to get back to your site to see your BoTB because when I was there you hadn’t posted it yet. Gee, I’m sorry about that friend! Belinda gets another vote as if she needs it. I believe she has this one in the kitty bag! lol Oh well, I’m heading that way now!
Belinda Carlisle – 9
Karen Souza – 3
When these BOTB land on a Tuesday or Wednesday, I end up listening now:) both versions are actually good and when I first saw Belinda Carlisle I was leery. This ends up being my favourite because she has strong vocals and commands the song. The other gal is good but it dragged for me near the end so Belinda gets my vote!
Birgit, I’m glad you’re able to play along. I know it’s hard to do all the blog hops. Belinda is dominating this showdown!
Belinda Carlisle – 8
Karen Souza – 3
I was pleasantly surprised by the Belinda Carlisle version (although I grew up with the Go-Go’s and liked them), but still… I was afraid this would be bubblegum pop. Happily no. In fact, I really liked that she changed it to make it her own. Karen Souza really changed it by turning it into a jazz number. She changed it so much that I don’t like it as well. And that means, shockingly, that my vote goes to Belinda.
Robin,
I’m glad you enjoyed Carlisle cover. It seems most are right there with you, too. 🙂 Thanks for voting!
Belinda Carlisle – 7
Karen Souza – 3
we could use a few more rainy skies. 🙂
The rain is good but I’m ready for sunny skies! We are supposed to get plenty of it today, too. Thank you for visiting and have a good day, my friend!
Attempt #3:
Really good Battle, CATHY! I had to listen to both versions twice just to make sure I got my vote right.
Coming into it, I thought for almost certain that, even though I’d never heard of her before, Karen Souza was going to get my vote. Your description of “smoky Jazz” combined with the fact that I’ve always thought of Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Gos as superficial, artificial, Plastic Pop, led me to believe this would be a no-brainer vote for me. “WRONG!” (to quote Waylon Jennings).
Truth is, although I dug the piano and the Bluesy guitar work in Souza’s rendition, I did not care for her vocals. It sounded too much like an “act”, too affected. I didn’t really believe she was feeling the sentiment of the lyrics.
Belinda Carlisle, on the other hand, proved to me for the first time that she really CAN sing, and I felt she imbued the number with a depth of feeling proving she really understood the message of the lyrics. Yep, she “got it”. Strange to say, but I think I may even like her cover better than the CCR original. By slowing it down a bit, that underlying melancholia of the words comes through better.
But whoever created that video for Carlisle’s version really did NOT “get it”. Ha!-Ha! It even made me think of THIS group:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/dd/fe/59ddfed41341f9141e5f5ba51e3ab44c.jpg
~ D-FensDogG
Check out my new blog @
(Link:] Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews…
Stephen,
For some reason, WP is throwing your comments in my spam folder and I’m sorry for the crazy mix-up, my friend. I wonderful if it has something to do with having two links in comments? I may need to fix my settings to allow more than one link or something. Oh well, I check that out in a moment. You’re the second person to say you like Belinda’s cover better than CCR. John liked both versions but went with her opponent but she now has twice the number of votes as Karen so I’m thinking my gut feeling was right all along that Belinda might steal this battle from Karen. Thanks for stopping by and for your persistence with submitting your comment. If you have this problem again, feel free to shoot me an email, my friend!
Belinda Carlisle – 6
Karen Souza – 3
CATHY ~
Now I’m having the same dang problem posting a comment on John Holton’s WordPress blog! (As much as I complain about Blogger, I think WordPress is much worse.)
If you can, would you do me a big favor? Could you please go to John’s blog when time permits and let him know that 2 copies of my comment are in this Spam folder? I don’t want him to think I neglected to vote on his BOTB post.
I thank you so much, my friend!
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen,
Yes, I’ll be happy to let him know. I’m heading that way now.
oH Yes, it did scare the bejesus out of me when it did it’s crashing entrance! It was just a big “BAM” down went everything from his printer, screen, keyboard, mouse just everything! CRASH!!! If I didn’t know better I’d say I have poltergeist in the house… hmmmmmm but do I LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marie, Oh, I can image the gosh awful loud sound when everything just collapsed! Who knows you might have some spooks in your house? If the lights go all blinky and you TV static in the middle of the night, then you’ll know. lol
Okay then I do like them both, but the Carisle one I dunno… nope… I like them both… sorry!!! Sorry for stopping by so late… we were out shopping for a new desk & chair… hahahahaha…. HUGS
Marie, I’m glad you enjoyed both artists. It is a hard decision but you can’t pick ’em both. I’m sorry, no, you can’t vote for both. lol Did you get Dave a desk?
I like the mood of that photo. It makes me think of another rain song, “I love the Rainy Nights.” 🙂
There is so much you can do with it too – can’t wait to see what you come up with.
I think I have to go with Belinda, I like the upbeat tempo a little better and I have always loved her voice.
Les, Moody pictures are nice, especially when you can have some fun photo-editing in my mind! 🙂 Thanks for voting in this round of BoTBs!
Belinda Carlisle – 5
Karen Souza – 3
I like the first by CCR. It has that soulful character that just makes it great. Of the three options, Belinda Carlisle’s is my pick.
Rhonda, Everyone knows and loves CCR for this song. I’m glad you decided to play along. Your vote puts Belinda in the lead now!
Belinda Carlisle – 4
Karen Souza – 3
I like these two versions of “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” better than the original, myself. Hard to believe, I know. As to which of these I like better, it’s a hard one, because they’re both good. I think I’ll go with Karen Souza, because I like how they played with the song and turned it into a jazz number. But it’s just by a hair.
John,
WOW, you like both covers BETTER than the original! That’s saying a lot, my friend!! I don’t know if I can say that about both covers but I do like the female versions, more so than I thought I would, too. I was really happy to find Souza’s jazz version. In fact, I was hoping to discover something like this when I happened on her. Thanks for voting. This looks like it’s gonna be a tight race!
Belinda Carlisle – 3
Karen Souza – 3
Really good Battle, CATHY! I had to listen to both versions twice just to make sure I got my vote right.
Coming into it, I thought for almost certain that, even though I’d never heard of her before, Karen Souza was going to get my vote. Your description of “smoky Jazz” combined with the fact that I’ve always thought of Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Gos as superficial, artificial, Plastic Pop, led me to believe this would be a no-brainer vote for me. “WRONG!” (to quote Waylon Jennings).
Truth is, although I dug the piano and the Bluesy guitar work in Souza’s rendition, I did not care for her vocals. It sounded too much like an “act”, too affected. I didn’t really believe she was feeling the sentiment of the lyrics.
Belinda Carlisle, on the other hand, proved to me for the first time that she really CAN sing, and I felt she imbued the number with a depth of feeling proving she really understood the message of the lyrics. Yep, she “got it”. Strange to say, but I think I may even like her cover better than the CCR original. By slowing it down a bit, that underlying melancholia of the words comes through better.
But whoever created that video for Carlisle’s version really did NOT “get it”. Ha!-Ha! It even made me think of THIS group:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/dd/fe/59ddfed41341f9141e5f5ba51e3ab44c.jpg
~ D-FensDogG
Check out my new blog @
(Link:] Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews…
Nice photo, I like those big windmills. Nothing can beat the Credence version, but I choose Belinda Carlisle. Karen Souza has a beautiful voice, but I didn’t like her jazz version of this particular song, My hubby loves Credence, we have seen John Fogerty in concert 3 times.
Ellen,
CCR is a good old classic band and we’re fans of their mewsic, too. I believe this showdown can go either way. It’s challenging for some because they like both covers. I appreciate you weighing in. We’ll see how things play out. Have a good day!
Belinda Carlisle – 3
Karen Souza – 2
Nice songs but I really loved that photo you posted. Very nice.
Patrick, I’m glad you like my moody, rainy day skies photo! 🙂
Looking forward to seeing what your doing with that picture.
Amy, Yes do stop back by for a peek! I always have such fun using Pixelmator to add interesting layers to my images. 🙂
I would like to see what this simple photo going to change to?
Hi, Cathy!
Considering today’s date, I can’t help wondering if any BOTB contests are featuring the band the Ides of March. 🙂
As I always say, it starts with a great song, and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” is just that. In fact, it is my favorite CCR recording. It always surprised me that “Rain” only reached #8 on the U.S. Hot 100 when it was deserving of a top 3 finish. In your BOTB you offered not one, not two, but three good-to-great covers of the song. I think it would have been interesting to see how a 3-way battle turned out because I actually enjoyed Susan Wong’s version a little more than Belinda’s. Susan’s cover offered a refreshingly different arrangement and I like her sweet voice. Belinda’s recording is rendered in a style we came to expect during her post-Go-Go’s solo career and isn’t a whole lot different from “Heaven Is a Place On Earth.” The recording that really grabbed me is the second version, the slow, jazzy arrangement by Karen Souza, because it is a total departure from the original and it worked. Karen’s smoky voice combined with the meandering guitar and piano produced a version of “Rain” that is a classic in its own right. I vote for Karen Souza!
I look forward to seeing what you do with your cloudy day picture. You guys are lucky to be receiving ample moisture so far this month. It has been bone dry here except for the one storm we had this week that spawned a tornado. We could use some gentle daily showers but our rainy season doesn’t start until June.
Thanks, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
I thought I had used Ides of March in a battle but after searching my blog I couldn’t find. I reckon I thought about it but never got around to it. lol Maybe next year I can feature it in a battle.
I almost went with a three-way battle but decided against it since I know how difficult it is to listen to more than two covers in a showdown. I guess I could’ve offered the option to include Susan for those such as yourself gravitating that direction. You nailed it purrfectly in your description of Wong’s vocal style and that simplistic innocent quality is what led me to share her cover. I just felt it needed play time. I appreciate your vote. Karen is definitely awesome and this is going to be a close call for me in deciding which gal to give my vote.
Belinda Carlisle – 2
Karen Souza – 2
That sky is just like London is most days haha!
Have a cloudytastic week Cathy 🙂
Steve, Is London as notorious as I’ve heard for it being so rainy or is it an exaggeration? 🙂 We’ve had quite a bit of cloudy, rainy skies this month. Today is supposed to be sunny but cool. I can’t wait until things warm up a bit. I’m tired of the cold! Thanks for popping by, my friend!
I too am busy getting ready for A to Z. Since I do not blog everyday, it is a big commitment at this point in my life. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Denise, I understand. I’m busy with the A-Z Challenge, too. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and perhaps we’ll cross paths next month!
I’ll be interested to see what you do with your rainy day picture!
https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/03/balloon-release.html
Deb, thanks for joining today. I hope you’ll check back tomorrow to see what I did with this image! 😉
It has been rainy here also.
And it’s hard to choose the band…I like both. Perhaps I’ll go with fast as the original…but then again, sometimes rain is just slow or makes things seems slower….and it fits nicely with Souza…
Soooo hard.
Okay I think I’ll go with Souza. Slow and flowing.
Colette,
It rained Monday evening and then yesterday I saw snow falling. It felt like the precipitation had an icy mix. It’s just so chilly this week but come Friday temps are forecast to be spring-like again. So, HOORAY!
That’s wonderful news you like both artists enough to where you felt pulled but in the end you gave yours to the mellow jazzy version of Souza your vote. Great choice! I think I”m gonna have a difficult time with this one, too. 😉
Belinda Carlisle – 2
Karen Souza – 1
One of my favorite songs! I was a little concerned that Belinda Carlisle was so similar to the original, but after listening to Karen Souza, I can confidently say that I prefer Belinda Carlisle of the two contestants. I love that you were able to find such diversity in the contestants, it makes for a good battle!
~Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
Mary,
Often I find it hard to find two covers that are unique from the original but I feel both of these ladies did an excellent job. Although Carlisle sounded closer to CCR’s version than Souza’s, Belinda somehow owned her cover with an interesting vocal arrangement. Thanks for swinging by to vote in my mid-month battle. Have an excellent day, my friend. I’m heading your way!
Belinda Carlisle – 2
Karen Souza – 0
A song that really takes me back. Great memories.
I like both of these versions–this is really a tough choice since they’re so different and so good. Right now the one that’s grabbing me the most is the Belinda Carlisle version. She takes the CCR version to another level and I like her vocals.
Wow–tough choice.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Lee,
I love hearing when I’ve made the battle a bit difficult for you (or anyone) to decide which artist gets your vote. I feel like I’ve done my job. 🙂 lol Like you, I like both covers. They are different enough from the original making their covers a bit special. Belinda is a closer match to CCR but I like her spin on it and I certainly understand why she gets your vote. Have a good day, my friend. I’ll be by to vote in your round in a sec!
Belinda Carlisle – 1
Karen Souza – 0