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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:17:21 GMT -5
29. "All Messed Up" - Dave Stewart ft. Martina
Album: The Blackbird Diaries (Dave Stewart) Year: 2011 |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:37:34 GMT -5
28. "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" - The Chieftains ft. Martina
Album: Down The Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions (The Chieftains) Year: 2002 |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:39:57 GMT -5
"I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" is a pretty good listen. Martina's voice is especially powerful when she sings the title way up high. However, the melody is extremely repetitive, and grows old pretty quickly. It doesn't really lend itself to repeat listens. This is a great time for it to leave!
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:44:42 GMT -5
27. "When I Stop Dreaming (Live)"
Album: The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris: An All-Star Concert Celebration (Various Artists) Year: 2016 |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:48:35 GMT -5
26. "At Last"
Album: My Heart (Martina McBride Hallmark release) Year: 2005 |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:56:26 GMT -5
I have never really been a fan of "At Last" as a song, tbh. Martina's version was my first exposure to it as a child, and after listening I was like "Omg I ran to a Hallmark store specifically to buy this shit?"  However, after a bit more life experience, I have realized what a truly incredible vocal performance she turns in on this song. As a song it still doesn't do much for me, but hers is probably the best version I have heard! I'm still glad to see it in the bottom half, and leaving before the vastly superior "Together Again"  |
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jul 10, 2019 23:55:14 GMT -5
"At Last" is such a dreary song and I really don't have much of any interest in anyone covering it tbh.
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Post by ClevelandRox on Jul 11, 2019 0:34:21 GMT -5
Martina's version was my first exposure to it as a child, and after listening I was like "Omg I ran to a Hallmark store specifically to buy this s**t?"   |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 11, 2019 23:51:06 GMT -5
Alright, let's get to the top half! Coming up next, the first top 5 loss of the rankdown  |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 11, 2019 23:55:01 GMT -5
25. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Live)"
Album: Live In Concert (Martina McBride) Year: 2008 Length: 4:04
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:05:36 GMT -5
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" is on Martina's live album from 2008, and imo it perfectly captures the energy and excitement of one of her live shows. People who didn't get to see her in her prime really missed out, because she put on a hell of a show! The energy level and excitement of the crowd, the pristine vocals, the killer band, the perfect amount of crowd participation; she was basically the full package as a performer. I mean, she's still great, but the shows just aren't as BIG anymore, if that makes any sense. Anyway, while she sounds alright on more poppy material, I have always felt that Martina had a bit more of a rock edge to her voice than most female country artists, and this song is a perfect example of why. She sounds so natural and happy singing songs from the likes of Pat Benatar. Her episode of CMT Crossroads with Pat Benatar remains one of the best of all time. She also performed "Don't Stop Believin'" right before this song on the DVD, but it didn't make the cd (and therefore didn't make this rankdown), so if anyone ever checks that out it is pretty awesome too! That one followed by this one really shows off how incredible her band is |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:10:22 GMT -5
24. "Together Again"
Album: My Heart (Martina McBride Hallmark album) Year: 2005 Length: 3:58
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:14:08 GMT -5
It managed to beat "At Last", but only barely! Of the two new songs on the My Heart album, I have always greatly preferred this one to "At Last". That being said, this is a perfect time for it to leave. This vocal performance is spectacular, but imo as a song this is way less exciting than original material. I'm pretty sure "Together Again" and "At Last" were probably just leftovers from the Timeless recording process, because this album came out basically at the same time as Timeless.
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:18:43 GMT -5
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:21:36 GMT -5
"Uncloudy Day" is another duet that was probably pretty exciting for Martina to do, as Brenda Lee is undoubtedly one of her idols. And imo, they actually sound pretty great! There are times in this song where Brenda and Martina have very similar timbres to their voices despite the age difference and how different their voices normally are. This song is fun, and catchy, but imo probably overstayed a little bit. It was a consistent bottom 10 contender until it managed to get a flurry of top 10 votes right at the end of the submission process. With this elimination, Troublemaker becomes the last person to lose their last place! |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:25:42 GMT -5
22. "We've Got Tonight (Live)"
Album: Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends (Various Artists) Year: 2011 Length: 3:40
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:30:58 GMT -5
Contrary to the last song, this song got done DIRTY!!!! :'( "We've Got Tonight" was in the top 20 for the majority of the submission process, and only managed to fall out with the last couple reveals. This one is my first major loss, as it was my #4. I think that this cover is absolutely incredible, and blows Bob Seger's original out of the water. The way that Martina slowed it down and smoothed out the verses totally makes this song her own, and is a perfect example of her artistry at work. But one of my favorite things about this song is how much the vocals slay! You literally would not know this was a live performance except for the brief second or two of applause at the end as the song fades out. This is one I revisit frequently, and never get tired of It definitely deserved the top half! |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:32:10 GMT -5
With that last reveal, George Strait now has the final live song remaining!
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:36:58 GMT -5
21. "Jackson (Live)" - George Strait ft. Martina
Album: The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium (George Strait) Year: 2014 |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:45:59 GMT -5
And there it goes! Lol "Jackson" hung on to be the highest live recording by just a few points. I will preface my ranking of this song by saying that out of all the people that could be chosen, it is absolutely INCREDIBLE that George Strait chose Martina to be his partner for the entire first leg of his retirement tour! That is like one of the highest honors she has ever received, imo. Now onto "Jackson" itself, and the fact that I am the second lowest ranker despite this being a collaboration between two of my favorite musicians of all time... This recording absolutely blows! In fact, this entire live album is basically unlistenable. AT&T Stadium is apparently not a very good venue for making live recordings, but they tried it anyway... What resulted was a massive mess of autotune and unnatural sounds. This concert had a ton of guest artists, and every single one of them sounds borderline unrecognizable when they start singing, because their voices have been mutated and butchered so much. Martina's duet is one of the better recordings on the album, and it is still pretty horrible. I think this song got insanely lucky to be this well-received in this rankdown...  |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 12, 2019 0:50:28 GMT -5
Halfway point recap!!!!
40. "God Bless America"
39. "Can You Fool (Live)" -ft. Pat Monahan
38. "An Affair To Remember" - ft. Ray Price
37. "All My Friends (Live)"
36. "Grandview" - ft. John Mellencamp
35. "When Love Is Gone"
34. "Care" - ft. Kid Rock & T.I.
33. "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" - ft. Take 6
32. "Every Single Night" - ft. Dave Stewart
31. "Over The Rainbow"
30. "How Great Thou Art"
29. "All Messed Up" - ft. Dave Stewart
28. "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" - ft. The Chieftains
27. "When I Stop Dreaming (Live)"
26. "At Last"
25. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Live)"
24. "Together Again"
23. "Uncloudy Day" - ft. Brenda Lee
22. "We've Got Tonight (Live)"
21. "Jackson (Live)" - ft. George Strait
The top 20!
Being Myself
Blessed
Chances Are
Concrete Angel
Danny’s Song
Feels Like Home
Harper Valley PTA
Little Bits Of Lightning
Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
Nashville Girls
Never Loved Before
On My Own
Straight To The Bone
Surrender
That Old Flame
Through Your Eyes
Trip Around The Sun
When God-Fearin’ Women Get The Blues
Where Would You Be
You’ll Get Through This
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jul 12, 2019 8:13:37 GMT -5
I correctly predicted this would be the final live song standing, too. Look at me go! |
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Jul 12, 2019 10:03:20 GMT -5
my only Top 20 losses so far are "All Messed Up" and "We've Got Tonight". I figured both would miss but I do love both. The music of "All Messed Up" is incredible and so haunting. Not the biggest fan of Dave Stewart's voice but the music and Martina's vocals just elevate that song so much for me. As for "We've Got Tonight", I do love that song a lot, big fan of Bob Seger's original, but Martina does an incredible job and I love listening to it.
Only songs not in my Top 20 are my #21 and #24 so I think I'm doing alright so far. That'll probably change going forward lol. Some of these remaining songs are just incredible!
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Post by tim on Jul 12, 2019 12:06:21 GMT -5
I really like the energy Martina brings to “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and because of that I thought it was going to be the highest ranking live song. I think this recording is another great example of how well rounded she is as performer.
I’ve had the chance to see Martina open for George a handful of times and always enjoyed getting to see them sing “Jackson” together. It then came as no surprise to me that was the song that they would sing together on at George’s farewell concert in Dallas. Although I would’ve like to have been there for that concert I’m not a fan of stadium shows and kind of had a gut feeling that the sound quality at the AT&T Stadium wasn’t going to be up to snuff and unfortunately it led to a not so great live album.
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 13, 2019 16:18:28 GMT -5
Time for a few more bonus songs!
Bonus: "All My Ex's Live In Texas (Live)" - George Strait ft. Jason Aldean, Ray Benson, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert & Martina McBride
Album: The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium (George Strait)
Year: 2014
Length: 3:28
In the wake of losing "Jackson", I thought it was a perfect time to highlight "All My Ex's Live In Texas", from the same farewell concert. This collaboration is such an incredible conglomerate of powerful superstars! George basically asked everybody to come back onstage at the end of the night for this mega-collaboration on one of his signature hits! In theory it is an awesome idea... But in reality this song suffers from all of the same production problems that plagued the rest of the album. Several of the guest artists sound practically unrecognizable. On top of that fact, there are just so many artists involved that I felt Martina's parts were too negligible to justify including the song in this rankdown.
Coming up, a couple more songs that were just too big of collaborations to include them here!
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 13, 2019 16:35:03 GMT -5
Bonus: "Give 'Em Hope" - Danielle Bradbery, Vince Gill, Lauren Jenkins, Toby Keith, Martina McBride, Cassadee Pope, Reba, The Band Perry, The Cadillac Three, Thomas Rhett, and Chris Young
Album: None Year: 2014 Length: 3:54"Give 'Em Hope" is a collaboration put out by a conglomerate of artists called "Nashville For Outnumber Hunger" in 2014. This song is epic! Imo huge random collaborations rarely work out satisfactorily, but this is easily one of the best I have ever heard. Despite how many artists there are, every artist has a chance to be properly represented, and they all sound fantastic together :) I especially love how there is a pretty fair representation of both older and younger artists, and every artist is used to their strengths. I also love how Martina is used as a bit of a transition artist throughout the song Like, "Who do we put here? Oh, let's give Martina another line!" "Should we give The Band Perry all three lines at the end of the song? Nah, let's give them just the first one, and then let Martina do the last two." Lmao Also, major props to Chris Young, who absolutely slays after the key change! Did I mention they use all the artists to their strengths? Just an all-around amazing collaboration! |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 13, 2019 16:48:03 GMT -5
Bonus: "Forever Country" - Artists of Then, Now & Forever (Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Randy Travis, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Kacey Musgraves, Eric Church, Ronnie Milsap, Charley Pride, Dierks Bentley, Trisha Yearwood, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Martina McBride, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Willie Nelson, Brooks & Dunn, Alabama, Brett Eldredge, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, and Dolly Parton)
Album: None Year: 2016 Length: 4:00
Of course, I have to acknowledge this epic collaboration from just a couple years ago! Shane McAnally really outdid himself and pulled off the impossible when he managed to get so many busy and powerful superstars together on one track in honor of the CMA Awards' 50th Anniversary. Not only does the song feature 30 different artists with success spanning the entire duration of the CMA Awards' history, but it also somehow manages to mashup "Take Me Home Country Roads", "On The Road Again", and "I Will Always Love You"; three very different songs! Lol. Hearing this song described, you should understandably be skeptical. However, the entire thing worked out flawlessly. I love this so much, I wanted to include it here, but there are just too many artists to justify including it in a Martina-specific rankdown. |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 13, 2019 17:00:13 GMT -5
"Back In The Saddle" - Matraca Berg ft. Martina McBride, Suzy Bogguss, Faith Hill, Patty Loveless and Trisha Yearwood
Album: Sunday Morning to Saturday Night (Matraca Berg) Year: 1998 Length: 3:19
This is a song from singer/songwriter Matraca Berg, and it is an absolute riot! Martina is credited, alongside several of her female peers from the late '90s. Tbh, the music video is the best part of the song, and it looks like the ladies all had the time of their lives making this. I didn't include in this rankdown, however, because Martina doesn't have any individual lines. It is basically Matraca singing lead the whole time, with the other ladies only singing the melody in unison as a group in the background through the chorus. |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 13, 2019 17:15:43 GMT -5
Is anybody around to kick off the top 20??!
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 13, 2019 17:33:08 GMT -5
Well, results are coming anyway, so you're gonna have to get over it!
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However, after a bit more life experience, I have realized what a truly incredible vocal performance she turns in on this song. As a song it still doesn't do much for me, but hers is probably the best version I have heard! I'm still glad to see it in the bottom half, and leaving before the vastly superior "Together Again" 
