The CricketsWe're down to the Elite Eight in the Battle of the Bands playing out on my radio show, Dr. John's Record Shelf. Our goal is to determine the finest American rock and roll band of the era from 1954 to 1974, and Round Four will determine the top band in each of our four regional brackets. Here are the matchups that will play out over the next couple of weeks on the program (original seedings appear in parentheses):
Northeast:
"Rock and Roll" Velvet Underground (1) vs.
"Do You Believe in Magic" The Lovin' Spoonful (2)
Midwest:
"Rave On" The Crickets (5) vs.
"Oh Baby Babe" The Rock'n'Roll Trio (11)
Southwest:
"So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star" The Byrds (1) vs.
"Hello I Love You" The Doors (3)
Northwest:
"Lookin' Out My Back Door" Creedence Clearwater Revival (1) vs.
"Volunteers" Jefferson Airplane (3)
Late Note: I'm happy to accept votes on these matchups from anyone who wants to contribute via comments (a short statement of your reasons would be nice too). Just remember to vote for the specific songs listed, not the bands' full oeuvre. So please do your part to help us make our decisions!
4 comments:
Dr John,
Looks like it could be a good round. Lil' Sis
PS you may want to erase the comment on your "Classic Who" post. If you click on the icons it take you to a not good place.
Lil Sis,
I have a feeling those Chinese messages that pop up periodically are automatically generated by references to prominent classic rock groups-- that's been the pattern behind their appearances here anyway.
By the way if you or Richard or Marenka or Gerik want to post opinions on those Battle of the Band matchups, I'll use them as votes in the competition (unfortunately I don't have the time to send out cds, but that invitation is open to anyone reading this).
Dr. John
VU (Rock'n'Roll) seems a no-brainer.
Likewise, who would vote against "Rave On" as quintessential (purely American) R'n'R?
out west, it's gets trickier ... based on the songs alone (essentially impossible). SYWBARnRS by the Byrds might get my nod (though, I've been listening to The Doors some recently, and they have withstood the test of time well)
Finally, we come to CCR. I claim that when someone labels something as "Americana" they are saying "CCR-ish" ... that is, a little country, a little blues, a little gospel and a lot of R'n'R (assuming that blues and gospel include a little jazz) ... perhaps CCR just picked up where The Crickets left off ...
Looking forward to VU vs. CCR in the finals.
I"m also looking forward to 74 - 94? REM, Cracker, Talking Heads, MJ, Replacements, etc.
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Actually I think next year we'll stick with the 1954 to 74 time frame, but focus on non-American acts (primarily British, no doubt). This is mainly because the local folks who serve as judges are more comfortable with that era. But at some point I plan to do an alternative oriented bracket, and I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your picks.
Dr. John
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