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Post by bboat11 on Jul 8, 2019 19:36:24 GMT -5
"Grandview" is a pretty interesting song that tells a unique story, but tbh Martina's part is so negligible she might as well have not even been featured... Honestly I would have cut this song, but as her most recent feature I felt like it would be missed by people who knew about it. I am not at all shocked to see it in the bottom 5.
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 8, 2019 19:45:24 GMT -5
Martina has had one of the most fruitful careers of any female artist in modern times, and that fact is made clear with just how many random songs she has. She is a very common collaborator among the Nashville community, owns one of the most widely-acclaimed recording studios in the country, and has a huge appreciation for music regardless of genre, which has led to collaborations with a wide range of artists. Honestly, getting to 40 songs for this rankdown was incredibly easy...
What was not so easy was deciding which songs to cut in order to keep the list at a semi-reasonable size! I ended up axing several songs, for various reasons. I am going to highlight and acknowledge those songs on the side, however, just for the sake of completion :)
Coming up next, I am going to highlight a couple songs that I cut simply because I knew they would do horribly here. Lol
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 8, 2019 19:59:31 GMT -5
Bonus: "What The World Needs Now" - Steve Tyrell ft. Burt Bacharach, Martina McBride, Rod Stewart, James Taylor & Dionne Warwick
Album: Back To Bacharach (Steve Tyrell) Year: 2008 Length: 4:51This song is not really my cup of tea... Lol if I had to pick a least-favorite song from Martina, this song is always the first one I think of. Normally her collaborations rock, but this one just...sucks. She sounds incredible, of course, but her inclusion on this track just feels so out of place. She is the youngest artist on this track by at least 20 years, and tbh she sounds like it. It's like a bunch of old people, and then all of a sudden this crystal clear young voice  The song is repetitive and boring, which is just the icing on the cake, and just goes on for WAY. TOO. LONG. |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 8, 2019 20:06:34 GMT -5
Bonus: "Always On My Mind (Live)" - Chris Mann ft. Martina
Album: Chris Mann In Concert: A Mann for All Seasons (Chris Mann) Year: 2013 Length: 4:05
This Willie Nelson cover is nice enough. Actually, I think that Chris and Martina do a fantastic job with it! It's a little boring though, so I rarely go out of my way to listen to it. But after seeing how much people reviled Chris Mann in Martina's Christmas rankdown on his "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" duet with her, I knew that this song was also bound to be hated. This probably would have been a better fit for this rankdown than something like "Grandview", but I chose to get rid of it simply because I needed to get to a multiple of 5, and I figured it would finish bottom 5 anyway. |
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codyj100
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Post by codyj100 on Jul 8, 2019 21:42:24 GMT -5
I would’ve preferred to rank “Always On My Mind” in place of “Grandview,” but in comparison to the rest, it would’ve been somewhere toward the bottom half for me anyway.
“Grandview” was always such an odd song to me. Two of my favorite artists, a great story but everything else falls flat for me. I remember watching their Tonight Show performance a few years ago and being unimpressed then too. I hoped this rankdown would’ve changed that. I’d like to hear the two of them on something where they are both equally apparent.
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 18:16:13 GMT -5
Y'all, I was SHOCKED to see so much hate come in for #35!!! This song is perfectly fine to me...   |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 18:21:28 GMT -5
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 18:26:45 GMT -5
Just like that, we say goodbye to the oldest song in this list! "When Love Is Gone" is a ballad that was made famous by the Muppet's Christmas Carol movie right at the start of Martina's career. This pretty much become one of those songs where people who have seen the movie always say, "I love this song, but I have no idea who sings it!" Lol
Martina's voice is very young here, but despite the youthfulness she still sounds incredible. I think she nails this song! It may be a ballad, but I think it builds enough throughout the song to dispel any risk of boringness. Nevertheless, the 4 top 20 rankers were barely able to slightly reduce the impact of the 5 bottom 5 rankers...
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 18:31:53 GMT -5
34. "Care" - Kid Rock ft. Martina & T.I. |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 18:36:01 GMT -5
After coming in last place in Martina's singles rankdown a couple years ago, "Care" seemed to be a bit better received here! In fact, it was on pace to escape the bottom 10 for way longer than I expected. Ultimately it received juuuuust enough hate to sneak back into the lower regions of the list, but still escaped the bottom 5.
Personally, I love this song. Martina sings the hell out of the background vocals to this song, which consistently pushes her towards the top of her vocal range. The rap parts from T.I. are also well done here. I even think Kid Rock sounds alright. Honestly, I am always impressed by how well this song works despite all 3 vocalists being so different... Lol. I can see why this is a bit of a tough sell for people, but I was happy to see this at least escape bottom 5.
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 18:52:19 GMT -5
33. "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" - Take 6 ft. Martina
Album: Remembering Patsy Cline (Various Artists) Year: 2003 |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:01:14 GMT -5
Martina's voice is so freaking gorgeous on this song!!!! Unfortunately, her voice is not the only factor at play here...  The inclusion of Take 6 absolutely destroys this song. Like it's awesome that they wanted to be a part of honoring Patsy Cline, but tbh this entire song is useless because of them. I normally love a cappella and appreciate the talent that goes into it (I was in an a cappella group myself in college!), but this arrangement is just not well done. It's alright when it is sustained harmonies, but whoever thought the doo doo doo doo doo doo rhythms were a good idea to give the song a bit more tempo needs to be shot. With every single vocalist doing them, it is way too abrasive for a song that is meant to be soft and introspective. I am shocked that this song was able to do this well here. If you want a treat, you can fire up the performance video I posted for this song! Martina performing this at the Opry, with a fantastic traditional country arrangement  She literally is the best person to sing this since Patsy Cline, when you remove the terrible a cappella arrangement! |
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Jul 9, 2019 19:08:07 GMT -5
I always wanted to like this song more but I just could never get into it. I do think it might be the background vocals that ruin it for me. Later I will have to listen to the performance from the Opry as I'm sure it is a huge improvement
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:15:23 GMT -5
32. "Every Single Night" - Dave Stewart ft. Martina
Album: Lucky Numbers (Dave Stewart) Year: 2013 |
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Jul 9, 2019 19:21:58 GMT -5
I enjoy this song with Dave Stewart but enjoy the other one a LOT more so I'm glad this one is out first.
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Post by ClevelandRox on Jul 9, 2019 19:22:02 GMT -5
All these male duets going out has me worried my #1 won't make the top twenty top thirty. 😓
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:23:36 GMT -5
"Every Single Night" is a HUGE departure for Martina, and tbh I can see why it might not be very well received among her typical fan base. I found the song off-putting at first for sure. But over time, I have come to love it so much! Martina's parts might feel repetitive and unnecessary at first, but over time I have decided that they make the entire song. The way her voice is produced it sounds like she is shouting from a distance in an echoey tunnel or something, which is a pretty cool sound once you get used to it. I have also come to notice that there is a little pattern in her vocal arrangement that is really cool. The chorus has 4 lines essentially, each followed by "every single night, every single night". I have noticed that on the 1st and 3rd lines, Martina is just singing the "every single night"s in one layer, but on the 2nd and 4th times there are multiple layers of her voice harmonizing with itself! It sounds really freaking cool, and is one of those little tidbits that has helped make this song awesome for me Not to mention there is the whole backstory of Dave Stewart's historically tumultuous relationship with Annie Lennox, which it is rumored this song might be about... There is so much analysis that could be done on this song from that perspective! Lol but again, I can understand why it might not be everyone's cup of tea. |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:32:31 GMT -5
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:46:02 GMT -5
Being a native of Kansas, Martina has always had a special place in her heart for "Over The Rainbow". It has become a bit of a live staple for her. She has had multiple arrangements of this song over the years. Her early-career arrangement was featured as a live recording tacked onto the track list of her self-titled album in 2003, filled with huge glory notes and piano and steel guitar and lots and lots of awesomeness. Shortly after that, however, she started performing this softer, more mature version of the song. It has never been on an album or anything, but after years and years of fan requests, she finally went into her studio one day, recorded it, and randomly threw it on iTunes as a bit of a surprise for her fans to tie them over until Reckless was released. "Over The Rainbow" is for sure a bit of an overrated song, and there are people who understandably tend to roll their eyes when artists cover it. But for me, it has never bothered me coming from Martina. The song means a lot to both her and her fans, mostly because she always manages to turn it into an EPIC moment of vocal slayage! One thing I love about this performance is that it is just a tad rough. It sounds like she just sang it in one take and gave us what came out, and I just love that, because that is how it would be in a live setting. There are imperfections in her voice, but honestly they just serve as a reminder of what an incredible vocalist she is. Her arrangement of this is incredibly difficult to sing, and she is like 15 years older now than she was when she started singing it, and it still sound THIS good! I will admit that this arrangement doesn't work especially well alongside other songs, dooming it in a rankdown like this, but in a live setting it is absolutely transcendent. Her Live in Concert DVD from 2008 features this song as part of the encore, and you can see how utterly captivated the crowd was. It takes a lot of guts to end you entire concert with a song like this, and it takes a very special artist to pull a move like that off! Alright, I'll stop gushing now. I just have so much to say about this song... |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:56:51 GMT -5
Here is a recap, now that we are at the 1/4 point:
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"
The Top 30:
All Messed Up
At Last
Being Myself
Blessed
Chances Are
Concrete Angel
Danny’s Song
Feels Like Home
Harper Valley PTA
Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Live)
How Great Thou Art
I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight
Jackson (Live)
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
Together Again
Trip Around The Sun
Uncloudy Day
We’ve Got Tonight
When God-Fearin’ Women Get The Blues
When I Stop Dreaming (Live)
Where Would You Be
You’ll Get Through This
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 19:58:41 GMT -5
How about a couple more bonus songs before I call it a day!
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 20:07:43 GMT -5
Bonus: "'Til I Can Make It On My Own"
Album: Tribute To Tradition (Various Artists) Year: 1998 Length: 3:10
"'Til I Can Make It On My Own" is a Tammy Wynette classic that is well-loved by Martina fans! In fact, her rendition went on to win the Timeless album rankdown recently. But what most people may not know is that she had actually recorded this song well before Timeless! The first time she recorded it was in 1998 as part of a tribute album! The arrangement is very similar to her later Timeless rendition, but her voice is a little younger. I ultimately decided it wasn't different enough to include in this rankdown. Still a fantastic song though! |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 9, 2019 20:16:32 GMT -5
Bonus: "Practice Life" - Andy Griggs ft. Martina
Album: Freedom (Andy Griggs)
Year: 2002
Length: 4:14
I wrestled quite a bit with whether to include "Practice Life" or not. This song is fairly well-known by Pulse (it was even in the 2002 Country Rankdown a few months ago, with Martina credited). But ultimately I decided her role is just that of a background vocalist, even if she sounds very prominent. I probably should have included it instead of "Grandview". Her part here is every bit as prominent as "Every Single Night", and that one is technically just background vocals too... I bet this one would have done better than both of them too! Anyway, this is a very good song, and I feel like the inclusion of Martina is very tastefully done here. Shame it couldn't be a bigger hit! |
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Post by tim on Jul 10, 2019 7:55:32 GMT -5
I’m not a fan of Kid Rock’s voice or his music for that matter so this was an easy last place for me. And then add T.I. into the mix and just nope.
“Every Single Night” is definitely a grower and it’s the one song in the rankdown that I literally couldn’t get out of my head for days. I kept coming back around to listen to it even after I submitted my list and I could almost see myself sneaking this into my top 20 had I waited. Still not surprised to see it out this early, though.
There’s only one version of “Over the Rainbow” that I want to listen to and that’s the original as sung by Judy Garland. I can appreciate Martian and other artists wanting to cover it but no other voice will do the song justice. That said, I do adore Israel Kamakawiwoʻole ukulele medley of “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” but still isn’t an exact remake of the original.
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jul 10, 2019 16:46:19 GMT -5
I can appreciate Martian and other artists wanting to cover it but no other voice will do the song justice. The shade. I screamed. |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 20:21:29 GMT -5
I can appreciate Martian and other artists wanting to cover it but no other voice will do the song justice. The shade. I screamed. And yet he can apparently spell Kamakawiwoʻole correctly... |
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:01:23 GMT -5
30. "How Great Thou Art"
Album: Amazing Grace, Vol. 1: A Country Salute To Gospel (Various) Year: 1995 |
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jul 10, 2019 21:03:46 GMT -5
How many perfect rankings have I gotten so far? I feel like I've had more than usual on this rankdown, lol.
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:06:33 GMT -5
"How Great Thou Art" is one of those songs that is basically always boring, at its very best... Lol. It is usually unlistenable for me, from most artists. Except for that insanely high-powered version that Carrie performed once. However, imo Martina's is the gold standard if you are looking for a more traditional version of the song! There are plenty of vocal moments in this arrangement that help it to be interesting to me, like when she cracks her voice in the middle of the first chorus, or when she suddenly jumps up high in the middle of the second chorus. However, this feels like a good time for it to leave!
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Post by bboat11 on Jul 10, 2019 21:08:20 GMT -5
How many perfect rankings have I gotten so far? I feel like I've had more than usual on this rankdown, lol. You're up to 3! Lol not bad for being barely 10 reveals in :) |
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The inclusion of Take 6 absolutely destroys this song. Like it's awesome that they wanted to be a part of honoring Patsy Cline, but tbh this entire song is useless because of them. I normally love a cappella and appreciate the talent that goes into it (I was in an a cappella group myself in college!), but this arrangement is just not well done. It's alright when it is sustained harmonies, but whoever thought the doo doo doo doo doo doo rhythms were a good idea to give the song a bit more tempo needs to be shot. With every single vocalist doing them, it is way too abrasive for a song that is meant to be soft and introspective. I am shocked that this song was able to do this well here.
