Battle of the Bands (BOTB): “Best of My Love”

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It’s time for another Battle of the Bands. Today I’m featuring an Eagles original, “Best of My Love” :

The song was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and J.D. Souther. It was originally recorded by the Eagles (with Henley singing lead vocals), and included on their 1974 album On the Border. The band’s first Billboard Hot 100 number 1 single in March 1975, the song also topped the easy listening (adult contemporary) chart for one week a month earlier. Billboard ranked it as the number 12 song for 1975.

Here is the Eagles version so you can hear the original. This is NOT a contender for the contest though.

 

The BOTB contest today is between Aswad, a British reggae band, and Yvonne Elliman, American singer.

Aswad – (meaning “Black” in Arabic): The members of Aswad are UK descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean. Together they form a long-lasting British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums.

Here is their version of Best of My Love:

 

Yvonne Elliman – is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with “If I Can’t Have You”. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she dedicated herself to her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

Here is her version of Best of My Love:

 

Time to Vote! Tell us which version you liked better and why.

 

And when you’re done voting, please visit these other BOTB participants and check out their cool battles:

32 thoughts on “Battle of the Bands (BOTB): “Best of My Love””

  1. This should be an interesting battle. Such different styles. 🙂 I remember Yvonne Elliman from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Her voice is pleasant enough, but the whole thing seems a bit boring. My vote goes to Aswad. The vocals are good and I love the beat! Have a nice weekend.

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    • Thanks Debbie! You too, have a nice weekend. I just got done watering my poor withering trees. It’s sooooo outrageously hot here. My grass is all but dead and my trees leaves are shriveling up. This triple digit heat is doing a number on them. I have 10 greyhounds all stretched out in the living room, enjoying the cool AC. Hope you have a fun weekend.

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      • I hope you get a break from your heat wave soon! We’re just starting another one but we don’t get too many. That’s a lot of greyhounds! 😀 You must have a large space.
        We went to see “Ricki and the Flash” at the movies this weekend. Meryl Streep as an old “rockchick”. I bet you would like it. Stay cool!

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  2. Interesting battle:) Turns out I’m not overly fond of the reggae version of Best of My Love (though I always appreciate a group willing to take a song and put a different spin on it!). However, I prefer Yvonne Elliman’s softer touch on Best of My Love.

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  3. A battle not so much between bands but between genres — love it 🙂 I do like reggae though I’m no connoisseur (and I’d never heard of Aswad, but my b/f — who *loves* reggae* — went wild, haha), but it’s not normally my genre of choice. Yvonne’s voice is lovely, and her arrangement has quality, but… it sounds too much like the Eagles original. I’ll give my vote to Aswad on originality and variation grounds 🙂

    Excellent battle!
    Guilie @ Quiet Laughter

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    • Guilie, so glad that your boyfriend enjoyed the Aswad version! “…went wild” — Love to hear that! 🙂
      Thanks for your vote, I’ll put you down for Aswad. Have a great weekend.

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  4. The first recording by Aswad was a bit too slick and “Pop-ish” for my tastes. YVONNE’S version was nice. Nuttin’ earth-shattering or incredibly unique in any way, but it was very pleasant, easy listening and I particularly enjoyed the piano touches in it. So, she gets a vote from me.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    ‘Loyal American Underground’

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  5. Michele, I tried earlier to vote but had some problems. So, let’s try it again! 😉 Yvonne has a nice voice, but Aswad does, too. The difference that did it for me is Aswad’s style. I just liked it better. So, give my vote to Aswad! Oh yeah, thanks for stopping by & voting. 😀

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  6. I am not into Reggae at all but Aswad had a different way of doing this song which I actually prefer over Yvonne. She has a lovely voice but it was just a nice rehash of the same song and she didn’t do much for me. Glad she is back recording though. Anyhoo my vote goes to Aswad

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  7. I’m not a fan of regae music so Aswad didn’t really mesh with me. I mean, it was alright but I’d probably never listen to it, or any of their other stuff, if I can help it. So my vote goes to Yvonne Elliman… mostly because I love the original and it sounds a lot like it. So there haha

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  8. Needless to say I love the Eagles version!! It is the best!! I also loved the Aswad version. But I loved the Yvonne Eilliman version too! I think I just love the song. With all that said I am going to vote for Aswad this time around. I loved the beat of the reggae music.

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  11. I didn’t have to listen to much of either version before coming to a conclusion. The Aswad version sounds too canned–it’s like a karaoke version. Not a big turn on for me.

    Elliman’s version has a retro feel to it and appeals to me more.

    I vote for Yvonne Elliman.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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      • Yes, back home and trying to catch up a bit on everything, but today especially sleep. The travels were everything I’d hoped for and more.

        Lee

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  14. I like The Eagles and I like their version of this song best. I also like reggae quite a bit but not this time. Although Yvonne didn’t really WOW me, give her my vote for coming closest to the original.

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  15. This is not my favorite song, at least when the Eagles do it. Yvonne has that gorgeous voice and all that, but I have to say, Aswad’s version was fantastic! If they had done the original, I’d have liked the song better. Cast my voe for Aswad!

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