Battle of the Bands

Boston cover song Peace of Mind #BOTB showdown

July 31, 2016 /

Good-day, kittens and dawgs! July 2016 is history…well almost history. The dog days of summer continue with a new month and we’re not out of the woods yet . Nothing diverts your attention like music and we need our mind off the heart. It’s not only the start of a new month, but it’s time for another edition of Battle of the Bands.

I’m using another song penned by American song writer in his basement and Boston band founder, Tom Scholz. Wikipedia says Peace of Mind is about the people Scholz worked with at Polaroid Corporation. The song peaked 38 on the Billboard Top 100 charts in 1977.

A Canadian band, Moxy Fruvous covered Boston’s classic hit, but changed the lyrics, which I didn’t care much for and then Stryper recorded it in 2009 with Tom Schloz playing guitar that I liked quite a bit; but that being said I felt this band might be an instant winner.

In this competition (Scholz didn’t care about competition), but it’s BoTB baby and I’m sharing two unknowns (to me) covering this song. First up is the three-piece band out of south eastern Pennsylvania who are known for their classic to modern rock, metal, punk, country, pop, and even some original stuff. I present to you, Half Past Seven!

Next is a four member metal/rock group from Portland, Oregon called, Stonecreep.

Do you know which band you like the best? Are you going with Half Past Seven or Stonecreep? Please cast your vote in comments and if you want, tell me why you picked your artist.

I’ll share my pick next week along with the results, so be sure to come back to see who wins this round of BoTB. Meanwhile, the fun continues with more epic battles underway below.

I invite you to visit, Stephen (at the top of the list), if you’d like to know how this works and/or ask how to join all this madness fun.

mewsic moves me Monday music

XmasDolly asked me to co-host this week to cover for Naila Moon whose still enjoying vacation time. So, you’re invited to link and join the 4M crew on the dance floor!




While looking for cover artists performing Boston’s classic hit I found a few songs bearing the same title by mostly new-to-me artists that I liked and wanted to share it with you.

Thanks for joining in on the fun, you leave me with peace of mind. This is Curious as a Cathy signing off with have a bandtastic day and please boogie back over for Not-so-Wordless Wednesday!

25 Comments

  • Debbie D.

    August 5, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Finally made it over here! Sorry for the delay; I was out of town. While I do enjoy a lot of heavy metal music, in my opinion, this song does not translate well into that genre. Half Past Seven’s version sounds just like the original, so I’ll vote for them.

  • D-FensDogG

    August 4, 2016 at 1:08 am

    CATHY, I really “WANTED” to vote for Stonecreep because HALF PAST PLAGIARISM sounded so identical to Boston that I thought: What was the point in you recording this? Where can I find you in this recording?

    Unfortunately, Stonecreep was just that typical “Heavy Metal” sound and once you’ve heard one, you’ve heard ’em all. And I don’t like any of ’em.

    So, I’m casting a reluctant vote for HALF PAST PLAGIARISM. But honestly, I feel this might as well have been Boston versus Stonecreep.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    ‘Loyal American Underground’

    • Cathy Kennedy

      August 4, 2016 at 3:58 pm

      Stephen, I’d like to find artists who make a cover song their own,too. Lately I haven’t done such a grand job finding just that. The closest I came is with Stonecreep. Granted this isn’t the type of group I normally listen to. Heavy metal has never been my forte. Okay, I put your reluctant vote down for Half Past Plagiarism…Seven. 🙂 Thanks for being such a good sport, my friend!

      • D-FensDogG

        August 4, 2016 at 5:03 pm

        CATHY ~
        If you’re not already aware of it, you might find the following website helpful in looking for covers:

        SecondHandSongs.com
        https://secondhandsongs.com/

        It’s not entirely comprehensive (I’ve found situations where they didn’t list a cover version that I knew existed), but it’s a great source nonetheless.

        ~ D-FensDogG

        • Cathy Kennedy

          August 4, 2016 at 5:29 pm

          Stephen, thanks for link. It so happens I do use this site frequently for BOTB. It helps to point me in the right direction. Lately, I’m having trouble with finding truly stand artists for the covers. Maybe I’m picking the wrong songs to feature. Thanks for the music resource site!

  • Guilie Castillo

    August 3, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    Yep, I’m with Mary… Half Past Seven really does sound like the original, and as much as I like it—and, yes, I really do like it—my vote is going to Stonecreep for originality… Plus, their hard-rock sound brings an aura of rebelliousness to the lyrics that wasn’t there before… Like, the original sounds more like a plea, you know? But the Stonecreep version takes it up a couple of notches and turns it into a rebel yell… Okay, my take 🙂

    Awesome battle!
    Guilie @ Quiet Laughter

  • Mary B

    August 2, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    Hi Cathy… I really should be true to my Portland boys, and I think they did a really good job of putting their own spin on the song. I am also torn because Half Past Seven sounded so much like Boston, that I forgot that I was listening to another band.

    I think I’m going to go with Stonecreep for my vote. I kind of liked what they did with the song by making it theirs.

    Mary
    Jingle Jangle Jungle

  • greyzoned/angelsbark

    August 2, 2016 at 11:08 am

    It’s Half Past Seven for me for sure. I liked their version a lot better. I just couldn’t get into Stonecreep’s. I love this song too. Great way to start my day!

    Michele at Angels Bark

  • Cherdo

    August 1, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    Hey, girl! Great battle – why don’t I use more Boston? As a matter of fact, this song hold a special memory for me of a “girls weekend” with my pals where we went to Pittsburgh once upon a time. I know…Pittsburgh. But as we were driving there, my buddy Theresa put on “Peace of Mind” and “It Isn’t Easy” we all sang at the top of our lungs, laughing and planning the weekend. It’s burned in my brain.

    Half Past Seven gets my vote (not fond of the percussion on Vamps). Thanks, Cathy!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      August 2, 2016 at 10:40 am

      Cherdo, Oh I remember sleep overs with my girlfriends and how we’d howl at the top of our lungs to our favorite records. What a blast! Gotcha down for Half Past Seven, Dear. Have a good day!

  • Birgit

    August 1, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    I prefer Half Past Seven for sure. The other one just sounds way too, well, evil. Sorry I’m not a religious type but I always expect zombies or some apocalypse and it’s too depressing. Half past Seven gets my vote

  • XmasDolly

    August 1, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Well, my friend I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for covering for one of our conductors Naila-Moon on our Love train of music… I thank you for all the wonderful tunes and dances. You certainly ROCK! Your tunes here really interesting the same song by so many different groups. I have to say there is only one I didn’t care for, but that’s only because I don’t do metal bands!!! HUGS and rock on my sista!!!

  • John Holton

    August 1, 2016 at 5:36 pm

    I’ll go with Half Past Seven here. Theirs was close to the original, which usually dooms it from the beginning, but Stonecreep’s was just a little too harsh.

  • Janie Junebug

    August 1, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    I vote for Half Past Seven. I prefer their lighter sound, and I appreciate a singer who enunciates so I don’t think the lyrics are “there’s a bad moon on the right” by John Ford Coley. Stonecreep is too heavy metal for me during this extremely hot weather. It conjures up images of metal heads slamming themselves into each other while the sweat flies.

    Love,
    Janie

  • Arlee Bird

    August 1, 2016 at 9:15 am

    My foot was tapping as I got into the groove of Half Past Seven and I figured I’d vote for them. Then Stonecreep started up and showed some promise, but then kind of lost me along the way. It’s a good rendition for the style, but I’ll take the more traditional sound of Half Past Seven.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

    • Cathy Kennedy

      August 1, 2016 at 10:26 am

      Lee, Half Past Seven holds true to Boston’s original and I figure they might take the deciding votes in this battle, but things may turn around to surprise me in the end. We’ll just wait to see how this plays out. I have your vote recorded and thank you for taking time from your trip to play along.

  • Thomas Anderson

    July 31, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    Hi, Cathy!

    Happy August (almost)! 🙂

    “Peace of Mind” is a more common song title than I thought. The best known and most loved “Peace of Mind” song for Shady Dell rats like me is the signature song of “our blue-eyed soul brothers – The Magnificent Men,” a band of white guys from Central PA who sounded authentically black.

    My favorite of your bonus “Peace of Mind” recordings was “Song For Sarah” by Axium Matter of Time.

    If this battle of yours had been held a year ago, I would probably have voted for contestant #2 – Stonecreep – because, at the time, my ears were still tuned to heavy metal. This year I have moved in a different direction and prefer more melodic sounds. The Boston sound is probably my very favorite classic rock sound and contestant #1 – the Philadelphia area band Half Past Seven – captures that sound very well. I really enjoyed listening to it. Please give my vote to Half Past Seven, Cathy, and thank you!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      August 1, 2016 at 9:01 am

      Tom, it’s now August. Where does the time go? I was surprised how common “Peace of Mind” came up as song titles. I’m not familiar with The Magnificent Men’s song. I will check it out, if I can find it on YouTube. Did you know Axium’s lead singer is David Cook? He got his start on American Idol. I didn’t know this tidbit until I stumbled upon the song. Thanks for weighing in on this round of BoTB. I have your vote recorded for Half Past Seven, my friend. I’ll be by to see you soon! 🙂

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