It’s time for another Battle of the Bands and today I’m featuring covers of Argent‘s classic anthem Hold Your Head Up. Give a listen to the two contenders and vote which one you like best. I’ll post the results in 6 days!
“Hold Your Head Up” is a song by British progressive rock band Argent, released as a single in 1972. The song was a Top 5 hit in both the US and UK, peaking at #5 in both countries. Billboard ranked it as the No. 50 song for 1972. The song was written by Rod Argent and Chris White.
Here’s Argent’s performing Hold Your Head Up. Argent is not in the cover battle; they are the originators of this song. For more info on Argent, check out my A-Z Musical Tour of My Life post featuring Argent.
Rod Argent rocks the organ in this song!
This song was covered by several artists, including Uriah Heep and Steppenwolf. But they’re not in the battle either. Instead, I’m pitting Fish against Lana Lane. See whose version you like best:
Fish: Derek William Dick, better known as Fish (born April 25, 1958, Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland), is a Scottish singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He achieved prominence as the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. Critics have acknowledged Fish for his voice, which has been described as both “distinct” and a “conflation of Roger Daltrey and Peter Gabriel”,[1][2] while his lyrics have been praised as “poetic prose”. Fish was voted the 37th greatest voice in rock by Planet Rock listeners in 2009. (Source: Wikipedia)
Fish covered Hold Your Head Up on his third solo album Songs From the Mirror in 1993:
Lana Lane: The song was also covered by Lana Lane on her 2003 album Lana Lane Covers Collection. Lana Lane is a North American rock singer. She sings lead in her eponymous band, and has sung backing vocals for the band Rocket Scientists and guest sung on Ayreon and Erik Norlander albums. She is married to music producer Erik Norlander, who co-produces her albums with her at their own studio, Think Tank Media in Woodland Hills, California. (Source: Wikipedia)
TIME TO VOTE! Which version do you like better and why?
And when you’re done voting, please visit these other BOTB participants and check out their cool battles:
- Far Away Series
- Stephen T. McCarthy’s Battle of the Bands Blog
- Tossing it Out
- Mike’s Ramblings
- Curious as a Cathy
- Book Lover
- The Sound of One Hand Typing
- dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands
- Shady Dell Music & Memories
- Cherdo on the Flipside
- THE DOGLADY’S DEN
- Jingle Jangle Jungle
- WOMEN: We Shall Overcome
- A. Scott
- Novel Brews
- Holli’s Hoots and Hollers
- Quiet Laughter
- Your Daily Dose
I vote for Fish because he had me tapping my toes first thing in the morning. Lana’s version is a bit too slow.
Love,
Janie
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Thanks Janie. I’ll put you down for Fish…
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Hi, dear Michele! I’m back from my four day blogging break and delighted to be feasting my ears on your latest band battle. Once again you have picked two worthy opponents. Rod Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up” was one of the greatest, most memorable rock recordings of my youth. On cover version #1 by Fish, It took me a few seconds to adjust to Derek Dick’s strong Scottish accent. Having done that, I thoroughly enjoyed his robust performance. On version #2 by Lana Lane, I appreciated the bold arrangement and authentic Argentic keyboard workout in the middle. However, Lana’s vocals were not quite powerful enough to convince me. In the end I decided to cast my vote for Fish because I prefer to hear the anthem sung by a masculine voice.
Great show, dear friend Michele. Thank you!
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Hey Shady. Good to see you back in action! Hope you enjoyed your break and the time you spent with your friends.
Glad to hear that you liked my battle. I love the original version by Argent. And I especially liked that video.
I’ll see you soon over at your blog…
Thanks for stopping by to vote.
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This one was *hard*. I listened to both three times, haha… Just couldn’t make up my mind. (Actually I did, the first time around, but I couldn’t figure out why I liked that version better.) I loved Fish’s sorta Genesis feel, and the arrangement is good, good music. Lana’s felt more hard-rock, which I love… But then the vocals didn’t seem to jibe, somehow. So I’m going with Fish. Yep. First thought, best thought 😉
Happy Sunday, Michele!
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
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Hey Guilie! Good to see you here. Thanks for stopping by. So far Fish has received all the votes. Still a long way to go but everyone seems to like the Fish version.
Happy Sunday to you too!
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Howdy, MICHELE ~
I’ve always liked this song. It’s a bit repetitive but I still like it. And for some reason (probably the letter “A”) I’ve always confused Argent with Ambrosia (who had a big hit at around the same time: I super-love ‘HOLDIN’ ON TO YESTERDAY’).
In this Battle, DiscConnected would sure vote for Fish as he’s a huge fan of Marillion. I think I’m gonna vote for FISH also. I really liked the middle keyboard part in Lana’s version, but her vocals were a little shrill for me. I wish I could combine Fish’s vocals with Lana’s instrumentation. THAT I would probably like even better’n the Argent original.
Fish has a big early lead, but I really had to give this one some thought, so… it was good Battle!
~ D-FensDogG
‘Loyal American Underground’
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Thanks Stephen. Wow, that would be good, putting Fish’s vocals with Lana’s instrumentation. But I’m not sure that I would go as far as to say I’d like that better than Argent’s version. Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Sunday!
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I vote for Fish because this deserves a masculine voice to me plus his voice seemed stronger whereas Lana’s rendition seemed just a bit slow
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Another vote for Fish! He’s taking it away so far…
Thanks for stopping by Birgit!
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Michele –
Great covers but I liked Fish better. Fish had a faster pace and I loved it. MY vote goes to them.
IMO Lana bordered the sound of “Heart” with the Wilson sisters. I questioned why she changed the lyrics, “Hold your head up, WOMAN.”
Best of luck & have fun with your battle. ~ Dixie
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Thanks Dixie! Lana does indeed sound a bit like Heart. I hadn’t thought of that but you’re right. I love the Wilson sisters!
Thanks for stopping by and voting. I’ve got ya down for Fish. He’s running away with this one…
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Good thing Argent wasn’t in the running. Couldn’t listen to it here, went to uTube, after listening to Fish, cuz I have heard and like this song and Fish seems like the version I know and love. I did not like Argent, so I also checked out Steppenwolf, figured that must have been the one I like, haven’t heard of Fish before. But yeah, seems like it has been Fish all along, unless there is another one out there like his.
While I liked the musical arrangement (that heavy thump) of Lana’s, I did not like her voice. But I liked every part of Fish. Guess he gets another vote from me, though I despise following the crowd, lol.
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Lol. I hadn’t heard of Fish before investigating the covers of this Argent song so this was my first experience with Fish. Everybody sure seems to like him! Sorry you had to follow the crowd on this one. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and voting…
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Fish did an okay cover version, but not much added. I think I prefer the group Phish though I don’t know if they ever covered this song.
Lana Lane put a bit of a signature sound to her version. My vote goes to Lana Lane.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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Finally, a vote for Lana! I was afraid of a shutout so thank you for voting Lana 🙂
I like her version too. And I like the instrumentation in her version as well… It may be just you and me voting for her!
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The original by Argent was hard to beat – I always loved the keyboards on that song. It screams of my childhood, ha ha.
Lane was pretty good but I have to go with Fish this time. That said, you really paired this battle well. Good job!
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Argent’s version kicks ass, I think. I love that performance video…
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I vote for Fish he rocked the song a bit more. Lana LAne did put a different spin to it and the female voice made it different as well, but not enough to sway my vote.
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Okay Mike, I gotcha down for Fish. Thanks for stopping by and voting…
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Fish gets my vote in this one. I didn’t care for Lana Lane’s sound. Too much bass? Her vocals? Too slow? I don’t even know which of these bugged me. Maybe all of them? In contrast, I liked everything about the Fish cover. 🙂
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Okay Robin, gotcha down for Fish. Thanks for stopping by to vote!
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As much as I dig Fish, I’m giving my vote to Lana. I was jamming to it more… but I guess it may also be because I have a pounding headache and it being slower/softer it appealed more? Never know. But even still, a vote for Lana.
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Hey Madilyn. Yay, we have another vote for Lana!
Hope your headache is gone by now….
Thanks for stopping by to vote!
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Unfortunately, I was unable to listen to the original song. That’s the bad news. The good news is I was able to listen to both contenders of the battle. Both were good renditions but I think I like the performance by Fish the best. I think the song better suited his musical talents.
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Michele, WOW, I haven’t heard this song in forever! Both artists do a fabulous job with this oldie, but goodie. But, the Lane Lane just didn’t do it for me. I prefer male vocals on this song. So, my vote goes to Fish, my friend. Thanks for sharing a fine piece of 70s rock n’ roll. Have a tunetastic week!
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Thanks for stopping by to vote Cathy! I’ve got you down for Fish. Fish is running away with this one!
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Lana Lane’s version held a little closer to the original, especially the organ part, but I didn’t like her vocal. Fish’s vocal was better, though I missed the organ in his. He gets my vote here.
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Thanks for your vote John. Another one for Fish…
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IMO, neither was as good as the original, but Fish seemed a little blah. I’ll go with Lana on this one, at least her’s was a tad bit more interesting musically. her vocals. not so much, but still not blah!
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Yay, another one for Lana! Thanks for your vote Fae!
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