taylor is terrified
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Post by taylor is terrified on Dec 10, 2019 20:57:43 GMT -5
I'm only trying once more for now so here's to page 14! ETA: bboat11 hi, you're welcome! (I know you wanted us to get to a new page so) |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 10, 2019 21:00:06 GMT -5
Lol thank you  I'm still going to do a few more Toby reveals first though ;) |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 17:58:51 GMT -5
To kick things off, we have a TIE for last place!!!!!! The losing song lost because its highest rank was a #4. The other song has a #3...  |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:05:04 GMT -5
Away in a manger, No crib for His bed. The little Lord Jesus Lay down His sweet head. The stars in the sky Looked down where He lay. The little Lord Jesus Asleep on the hay.
12. "Away In A Manger"
Track #7 Runtime: 3:14 |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:09:35 GMT -5
"Away In A Manger" was not really a last-place contender for this rankdown, but it managed to end up there right at the end. It almost escaped with the final #4 rank from castleoblivion26, but unfortunately that was just enough to tie it with the #11 song, and the highest rank was not high enough to put it ahead. "Away In A Manger" is not a particularly thrilling song, so I am never terribly disappointed to see it do badly in rankdowns. It is rare that you find an arrangement of it that isn't super sleepy and lethargic. To me, Martina managed to do so (I actually LOVE her version!), but Faith's just kinda plods along. One benefit of Faith's is the epic key change! I love that part!!! The entire arrangement is gorgeous, but it is still overall such a sluggish song that Faith failed to breathe life into. |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:15:02 GMT -5
Later on, we'll conspire As we dream by the fire. To face unafraid The plans that we've made, Walking in a winter wonderland.
11. "Winter Wonderland"
Track #9 Runtime: 2:38 |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:21:12 GMT -5
"Winter Wonderland" was the most consistent last place contender of this rankdown. It got 3 last ranks from myself, .indulgecountry and taylor is terrified, and was at #12 for the majority of the second half of the submission process. It was the only song to spend more than a list or two in last place. However, the #3 rank from BackwoodsBarbie was enough to save this one in the tiebreaker right at the end! First of all, I feel like "Winter Wonderland" is over-covered by country artists. Pretty much EVERY country artist who has Christmas music has covered this song. I am getting a little tired of it. But also, Faith's rendition adds absolutely nothing to the song, and indeed feels a little lifeless. It is lacking the energy to make it stand out. It's almost like her voice is a little too heavy to navigate the whimsical nature of a song like this. Somebody like Sara Evans is able to give this song a little lighter touch, which is just more fun to listen to. |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:29:19 GMT -5
What child is this who lays to rest? On Mary's lap is sleeping. Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping.
10. "What Child Is This?"
Track #2 Runtime: 3:36 |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:46:59 GMT -5
"What Child Is This?" is one of my favorite Christmas songs. This song has such a dark vibe to it, and has such a memorable melody that gets stuck in your head.
Faith's arrangement makes great use of the orchestra, but to me hers falls short in a few key areas. Most notably, the key that she chooses to sing it in does not really allow either her voice or the song to reach their full potential. There is no real climax to this song. To compare it to Martina's version (lol that might end up being a trend from me in this rankdown, sorry...), Martina's is higher, and the arrangement grows gradually more complex as the song goes on, so the entire thing feels WAY more epic. By the time you get to that 3rd chorus, there is a palatable energy, and you just KNOW you've reached some kind of special climax. Faith's arrangement is complex from the very beginning, preventing you from really latching onto any individual defining feature, and then does not build or change in energy level at all. Plus Martina's seems to be a little faster, helping give the 3/4 time signature of the song a lot more energy.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:53:37 GMT -5
Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright, 'Round yon' Virgin Mother and Child. Holy Infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.
9. "Silent Night, Holy Night!"
Track #10 Runtime: 3:10 Songwriters: Franz Gruber
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 18:58:27 GMT -5
Faith's rendition of "Silent Night" is pretty good! The song itself is pretty boring, and not one I usually seek out when I am listening to Christmas music, but Faith's version manages to be a lot less boring than most. Probably because it is a little faster! She still doesn't come close to touching either Martina's version or the EPIC trifecta of Kelly/Trisha/Reba, but I enjoy hers well enough!
But why did she need to expand the title??? Literally NOBODY calls it "Silent Night, Holy Night"... And then to put an exclamation mark at the end like some kind of Shania Twain teas... Gurl, putting an exclamation at the end of this song is just plain false advertising!
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Post by tim on Dec 11, 2019 19:19:37 GMT -5
Oh, I didn't know this was starting already!
I hadn't really thought much about it but I don't think I actually seek out "Away In a Manger" much in general during the holiday season and if I had to pick a favorite version I'd probably go with Alan Jackson's (maybe we'll finally be able to do a Christmas rankdown for him next year!). There's nothing in Faith's version that really captures my attention long enough to want to play it in its entirety so I'm ok with it leaving first.
I love the song "Silent Night" as it is but I have to say I really enjoyed Faith's rendition. I also love that they kept the production of it rather simple with only the added touch of the organ, some strings, and a small choir.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 11, 2019 19:29:16 GMT -5
Oh, I didn't know this was starting already!
I hadn't really thought much about it but I don't think I actually seek out "Away In a Manger" much in general during the holiday season and if I had to pick a favorite version I'd probably go with Alan Jackson's (maybe we'll finally be able to do a Christmas rankdown for him next year!). There's nothing in Faith's version that really captures my attention long enough to want to play it in its entirety so I'm ok with it leaving first. I love the song "Silent Night" as it is but I have to say I really enjoyed Faith's rendition. I also love that they kept the production of it rather simple with only the added touch of the organ, some strings, and a small choir. Gurl, I tagged you in the pre-reveal questions!! |
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Post by tim on Dec 11, 2019 19:35:33 GMT -5
Oh, I didn't know this was starting already!
I hadn't really thought much about it but I don't think I actually seek out "Away In a Manger" much in general during the holiday season and if I had to pick a favorite version I'd probably go with Alan Jackson's (maybe we'll finally be able to do a Christmas rankdown for him next year!). There's nothing in Faith's version that really captures my attention long enough to want to play it in its entirety so I'm ok with it leaving first. I love the song "Silent Night" as it is but I have to say I really enjoyed Faith's rendition. I also love that they kept the production of it rather simple with only the added touch of the organ, some strings, and a small choir. Gurl, I tagged you in the pre-reveal questions!! Totally missed it...I see you put it up on the 8th but I was finishing up with Christmas decorations and such, plus it's been an exhausting week already and obviously my brain wasn't functioning last night lol |
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taylor is terrified
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Post by taylor is terrified on Dec 16, 2019 23:06:54 GMT -5
I had forgotten to mention this to you bboat11 and probably for good reason... On my way back home from college for winter break "Away In A Manger" came on the radio, and I got all excited because it was Faith's rendition! Or so I thought...As it turned out, I was so completely wrong. Once the song ended, the radio DJ came on and said "And that was Martina McBride with Away In A Manger"Only then did it dawn on me how high the voice had been in comparison with Faith...in conclusion, you can take my Martina McBride stan card to the shredder if you want  |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 16, 2019 23:24:06 GMT -5
I had forgotten to mention this to you bboat11 and probably for good reason... On my way back home from college for winter break "Away In A Manger" came on the radio, and I got all excited because it was Faith's rendition! Or so I thought...As it turned out, I was so completely wrong. Once the song ended, the radio DJ came on and said "And that was Martina McBride with Away In A Manger"Only then did it dawn on me how high the voice had been in comparison with Faith...in conclusion, you can take my Martina McBride stan card to the shredder if you want Lmao you done messed up! Their voices aren't even similar! Also, believe it or not, their ranges are very similar, but Faith can go higher than Martina... However, Martina usually seems more comfortable using her high range than Faith does, plus Martina has a sweeter tone compared to Faith's more robust and soulful tone. So I could see Martina's voice seeming to be higher than Faith's :) Lol. But I'm pretty sure their versions of "Away In A Manger" are in a pretty similar key! |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 16, 2019 23:35:36 GMT -5
taylor is terrified I just figured out the vocal range of Martina vs. Faith's "Away In A Manger". Like I thought, very similar! Martina's starts out 1 step higher than Faith's ("Away" for Martina is a Bb4, whereas for Faith it's an A4). They both have a key change heading into the end, and after the key change both versions are in the same key! ("Away" is now a C5). In other words, Martina's key change goes up 2 steps, whereas Faith's goes up 3 steps :)
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Post by taylor is terrified on Dec 16, 2019 23:43:10 GMT -5
taylor is terrified I just figured out the vocal range of Martina vs. Faith's "Away In A Manger". Like I thought, very similar! Martina's starts out 1 step higher than Faith's ("Away" for Martina is a Bb4, whereas for Faith it's an A4). They both have a key change heading into the end, and after the key change both versions are in the same key! ("Away" is now a C5). In other words, Martina's key change goes up 2 steps, whereas Faith's goes up 3 steps  Whew! POWER vocalists, both of them Hoo doggies, what I wouldn't sell to them in exchange for a studio-recorded duet! (A quick YouTube search of "faith hill martina mcbride" didn't turn ANYTHING up except for a performance with Tim of "Angry All The Time.") |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 16, 2019 23:48:45 GMT -5
taylor is terrified I just figured out the vocal range of Martina vs. Faith's "Away In A Manger". Like I thought, very similar! Martina's starts out 1 step higher than Faith's ("Away" for Martina is a Bb4, whereas for Faith it's an A4). They both have a key change heading into the end, and after the key change both versions are in the same key! ("Away" is now a C5). In other words, Martina's key change goes up 2 steps, whereas Faith's goes up 3 steps Whew! POWER vocalists, both of them Hoo doggies, what I wouldn't sell to them in exchange for a studio-recorded duet! (A quick YouTube search of "faith hill martina mcbride" didn't turn ANYTHING up except for a performance with Tim of "Angry All The Time.") Apparently Faith and Martina threw some kind of benefit to help Baptist Hospital earlier this decade! They performed together and everything. Here's the video. In fact, you can hear Martina singing a snippet of "A Baby Changes Everything" at around the 1:00 mark!!!!!! |
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taylor is terrified
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Post by taylor is terrified on Dec 16, 2019 23:58:36 GMT -5
Whew! POWER vocalists, both of them Hoo doggies, what I wouldn't sell to them in exchange for a studio-recorded duet! (A quick YouTube search of "faith hill martina mcbride" didn't turn ANYTHING up except for a performance with Tim of "Angry All The Time.") Apparently Faith and Martina threw some kind of benefit to help Baptist Hospital earlier this decade! They performed together and everything. Here's the video. In fact, you can hear Martina singing a snippet of "A Baby Changes Everything" at around the 1:00 mark!!!!!! girl I need more than four words! In fact, they showed a snippet of Martina and then of Faith (neither sang at the same time in this video which I had hoped for). My point stands: they oughta throw something powerful together! (It'd get Faith back in the studio anyway  ) As for the cause: Baptist Hospital seems like a special, blessed place. I thought it was powerful that Faith basically explained that her daughter was born 2 months too early and might have died if it wasn't for this hospital. Her daughter was really in a house of the Lord, and He was watching over her. I couldn't imagine the heartbreak Faith had the unwanted chance of experiencing. |
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 17, 2019 20:21:00 GMT -5
bboat11 are we going to get more reveals for this eventually or are we just gonna talk about her vs. Martina?
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 17, 2019 21:28:42 GMT -5
bboat11 are we going to get more reveals for this eventually or are we just gonna talk about her vs. Martina?  Nah, I'm just going to hold off and finish it next December. I want to give Jordy a chance to catch up! |
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 17, 2019 21:45:38 GMT -5
bboat11 are we going to get more reveals for this eventually or are we just gonna talk about her vs. Martina? Nah, I'm just going to hold off and finish it next December. I want to give Jordy a chance to catch up!  |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 19:38:46 GMT -5
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns. Let all their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy.
8. "Joy To The World!"
Track #1 Runtime: 2:13 |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 19:41:11 GMT -5
It's about time we resume this... Bowing out at #8, we say adios to the title track! "Joy To The World" is such an effervescent song in general, and I feel that Faith's version really captures the spirit of the song. That orchestral arrangement is beautiful, and imo complements Faith's voice very well. I'm surprised this one didn't do a little better, honestly. |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 19:46:15 GMT -5
Have a holly jolly Christmas. It's the best time of the year. I don't know if there'll be snow, But have a cup of cheer!
7. "Holly Jolly Christmas"
Track #6 Runtime: 2:18 |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 19:50:18 GMT -5
Faith's rendition of "Holly Jolly Christmas" is fine, but tbh kinda manages to lose energy by the end of the song. The arrangement is not a standout on this album. I think she could have jazzed it up more or something, and maybe bumped the key up a couple steps. I don't find anything outright bad about it, but it kinda gets lost in the shuffle for me.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 19:51:34 GMT -5
Coming up at #6, somebody finally loses their last place!! Somebody also has the first #1 loss of the rankdown  The 3rd-most polarizing song, coming right up! |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 19:56:54 GMT -5
Baby Jesus, pa, rum, pum, pum, pum, I am a poor boy too, pa, rum, pum, pum, pum. I have no gift to bring, pa, rum, pum, pum, pum That's fit to give our King, pa, rum, pum, pum, pum. Rum, pum, pum, pum, rum, pum, pum, pum Shall I play for You, pa, rum, pum, pum, pum On my drum?
6. "Little Drummer Boy"
Track #4 Runtime: 3:06 |
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 19, 2019 20:02:21 GMT -5
"Little Drummer Boy" finished way better here than it was ever supposed to! It was looking ready to finish in the bottom 4 for the majority of submissions, before some of the high ranks from people like myself, and BackwoodsBarbie helped it to rebound In fact, BackwoodsBarbie is the first one to lose her #1 with this reveal. In my opinion, "Little Drummer Boy" is a pretty underrated Christmas song. It is not covered by a lot of people, so it doesn't have a lot of competition. However, in my opinion, Faith's version manages to stand out among what little competition it has! The a cappella arrangement and the perfectly timed key change at the end manage to make this a highlight on this album for me. Faith does all the right things to truly make herself shine on this song. I may be in the minority, but I was thrilled to see this make a mini-resurgence right at the end. |
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