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1996 Eclectic Poll Results

Poll by Michael Bickley
With a virtual skirl of pipes and ruffle of drums ("militaristic" of course!), the Poll results are once again unveiled. A vote of thanks to all who participated, as well as apologies in advance for any oversights, typos, mangled quotes, sloppy arithmetic, or flawed methodology. However, since the raw data has long since been recycled, a post-poll audit is not an option! :) The number of respondents was 25 (or 14% of the current list membership), with the lassies comprising 32% (a significant increase over last year's WTLF poll). So much for the housekeeping! Now, without further ado, in the words cherished by BC fans the world over, 'ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go.......

1 Rank The Album In Descending Order Of Personal Preference
Points were assigned to votes on a spread of 1 to 13 in descending order. Thus, the fewer points a song accumulated the higher its ranking, with the best possible score being 25 and the worst 325. The chart below shows the highest and lowest rankings for each song (with the accompanying vote percentages) and the overall point totals.

POSITION TITLE HIGHEST LOWEST POINTS
1 Buffalo Skinners 1.....36% 13.....4% 93
2 Where the Rose is Sown 1.....12% 13.....4% 104
3 Winter Sky 1.....24% 11.....4% 107
4 River of Hope 2.....16% 10.....8% 139
5 Come Back to Me 1.....8% 11......4% 141
6 Big Yellow Taxi 1......4% 12.....8% 165
7 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down 2.....8% 12......8% 168
8 Eleanor Rigby 1......8% 12.....4% 180
9 Ruby Tuesday 2.....8% 13......4% 205
10 Summertime 3......12% 13.....16% 226
11 I'm On Fire 4......16% 13......4% 229
12 King of Emotion 3......8% 13......12% 232
13 Sling It 6.......4% 13......56% 286

And here's what you had to say about that:

#1 THE BUFFALO SKINNERS

  • "I spend my Sundays listening to this song."
  • "A very beautiful song. The original version is better IMO, but I like this version a lot too. Cool slides. It is obvious that the violin player hasn't been playing a lot with the band, because I feel he is about 1/10 of a second offbeat here and there. Still it doesn't matter. Great choice!"
  • "Also better than the original."
  • "First time I heard any version of this song; a thing of beauty is a joy forever."
  • "Have never heard this song before but loved it first listen."
  • "One of Big Country's top ten songs."
  • "...keeps growing on me, I need to track down the electric version."

#2 WHERE THE ROSE IS SOWN

  • "Like that celt-folk intro."
  • "Awesome percussion, one of their best."
  • "OH! That opening guitar riff!"
  • "...this arrangement is highly successful. About time they included this song on one of their live albums, and this version makes me happy they waited until now."
  • "Completely different feel than original."
  • "Love that percussion solo."

#3 WINTER SKY

  • "So much better live, one of the five best BC songs, IMHO."
  • "I love the melody of this song, although I miss the electric guitars. (ditto for BS, although I heard the Eclectic version first)"
  • "Magic!"
  • "I disagree strongly on this choice. We have WS live on the 'Alone' CD, and that live version is about identical to this one. They probably picked it because they didn't need to rehearse it a lot."
  • "See what I mean? We all have this live song from the 'Ships' CD singles."
  • "I'm not sure why I don't like this, too country I guess."
  • "No doubt the best on the CD."

#4 RIVER OF HOPE

  • "Never been that fond of this song."
  • "Better than the original."
  • "Most cool."
  • "I always liked this one a lot, this direct approach brings the well-written lyrics to light even more."
  • "Best recording of the song yet!"
  • "A less-than-interesting song (in BC context), which is played in such a way that it becomes a bit interesting anyway. This is how the song should have sounded originally."

#5 COME BACK TO ME (36% of the voters linked WTRIS and CBTM as on Steeltown, while another 8% kept the two together but inverted the order.)

  • "I appreciate the power of this song more every time."
  • "Good! But why another live release of that song?"
  • "Since I like the original version so much, I was seriously worried about what they would do to the song in acoustic format (I'm not too fond of Stu's solo performance on the BBC disk). I had no reason to worry. This version is as passionate and beautiful as the original..."
  • "Great acoustically."

#6 BIG YELLOW TAXI

  • "Only problem, Stu don't sing."
  • "Where's Stu?"
  • "Carol Laula has a great voice."
  • "By far the best 'cover' on the CD."
  • "A good song but did BC really sing?"
  • "Stuart's voice really blends well with the guest vocalist."
  • "This song is OK, though not the obvious choice of a cover. But as long as they decided to do it anyway, I'm glad Carol got to sing it. That and BC's arrangement makes it quite enjoyable."
  • "Them's some good female vocals."
  • "...I hate to say this but women just sound darn silly in this band. There. Don't quote me."

#7 THEY NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN

  • "Classic, timeless."
  • "This song is pretty medium. I can take it or leave it."
  • "Great campfire song."

#8 ELEANOR RIGBY

  • "Prefer this one to the Beatles."
  • "Better than the Beatles."
  • "...also good; my sister who is a Beatle-maniac liked the cover."
  • "On the positive side: they make the song sound like it's BC who plays it. Nice arrangement. But it is not one of my fave songs even with the Beatles, so I have trouble approving of this pick. Guys, why couldn't you have done a song like 'Everything I Need' instead??? AAARGH!"
  • "I feel sick!"
  • "Blah!"
  • "Could've done without this poor cover version."
  • "Beatles OK, BC not. Besides, remember when I had to analyze this song in High School for a writing class. Didn't go over well."
  • "Didn't like it by the Beatles, don't like it by BC."
  • "Give that fiddle player a job!"

#9 RUBY TUESDAY

  • "...Stu makes something out of this song."
  • "A song I really like a lot originally, and BC's version is stunning. I never expected them to be able to make so much out of it. The vocal harmonies alone makes it my favourite 'Ruby Tuesday' ever. Easily (and by far) the best cover song on the album."
  • "...an excellent cover, much better than the original."
  • "What can I say, I was a Stones fan at a young age." "Even Big Country can't make me like this song."
  • "Great song but not for BC's style." "Blech!"
  • "...the Stones couldn't make this one rock, BC did."

#10 SUMMERTIME

  • "Brand new interpretation! Even my mother liked it!"
  • "Nice change of pace for the band."
  • "Way peaceful."
  • "Kym does OK here...would've been #1 without her!"
  • "No more, please!"
  • "This one is boring, plain and simple. I'm sure about everyone would prefer an original BC track to this."
  • "What is that screaming at the end of the song?"
  • "Yech! I actually really like the song, but again, the screeching doesn't help and it sounds kind of contrived, like Stuart is trying too hard to sound like a 'jazz singer'. Does that make any sense?"

#11 I'M ON FIRE

  • "What a sense of humour! Knee-slapping good time!"
  • "Yeeeeh! Haa! What a jig! HUH?! But enjoyable nevertheless, would've preferred the entire song played slowly with the haunting opening guitar riff!"
  • "Yes, from someone who HATES the original! I think this version is great! Made me want to go to a barn dance."
  • "What can I say?...I guess many fans will be bored (if not all). But as long as it makes a few extra Springsteen fans buy this album..."
  • "...enjoyable since it was done differently than the original, as was 'Eleanor Rigby'."
  • "Horrible cover, Springsteen fans would barf at this one."
  • "Original was Springsteenian pretension. This one makes it come alive."
  • "Leave this for the Boss."

#12 KING OF EMOTION

  • "Dead last, no doubt."
  • "Dead last. Blargh!"
  • "Big improvement over the original, I think."
  • "I wish for a different backup singer, though I like the lyrics and the idea behind it."
  • "Eclectic has only 6 original BC songs on it. How they could decide on this song instead of any other song from their entire career eludes me. They do quite a good job on it, but I get depressed when I think of what they could have picked instead."
  • "Kym just destroys an otherwise good song. :("
  • "Yes it was, but not really on this CD."
  • "Someone please gun down Mazelle! Oops, how politically incorrect!"
  • "Never one of my favorites. Why is this woman yelling?"
  • "The only one I honestly hated was King Of Emotion, and actually I liked the first half, it was only the end when that &^%$#!! Tina Turner clone came on that I had to protest. Loudly."

#13 SLING IT

  • "Why?"
  • "Not completely without merit, but not one to put on a mix tape."
  • "...very disappointing."
  • "Barf-o-rama!"
  • "This one really stinks, IMESHO."
  • "It didn't really jump up and bite me in the buttocks."
  • "Now that we've suffered through it and it's part of the 'repertoire', do it right the next time. Electric with Stu on vocals."
  • "Although #12, I still like this!"
  • "...not even worth mentioning."
  • "AAAAARGH!!!! Who let that guy up on stage with them??? How bloody awful he sings!!! Will somebody shoot him, please!!!"

2 Guest Artist You Think Should Be An Honorary Band Member
"Mick Jagger..." Reality check! :)
1) Bobby Valentino -- 68%
2) Carol Laula -- 23%
3) Ramzy & Toufiq -- 9%

And the reasons why:

#1 BOBBY VALENTINO

  • "Fits very nicely with the band's sound."
  • "Always thought they needed a violin; imagine FOF with a violin in addition to everything else."
  • "He adds a real folky feel and is cool!"
  • "Violins rock!"
  • "Adds great to acoustics."
  • "Should be kept for many years to come. Honorable mentions for everyone except the two jokers that ruined the disk (Kym and Steve)."
  • "None. BC need no others. Guests are good for acoustic shows, and they very much added to the occasion here (especially Bobby's fiddle), but when BC go electric there's really no need for them. Mr. Valentino could be used on the next studio album."
  • "I cautiously vote for Bobby Valentino for acoustic songs, I think he adds to the sound of most of the songs on Eclectic. I wouldn't want to hear much more violin though, the violin can be overused easily."

#2 CAROL LAULA

  • "...definitely! live her voice was even better as on BYT...But the percussionists were great, too."
  • "Imagine 'The Seer' with that voice!"
  • "...has a good voice, but I wish Stuart had sung lead with her."

#3 RAMZY & TOUFIQ

  • "Those nifty Egyptian percussion dudes..."
  • "Yes!! I love these boys! Finally BC is able to capture the amount of percussion Mark does in the studio when they play live." Now the other side of the disk....

3 Guest Artist You Could Easily Have Done Without
1) Kym Mazelle -- 50%
2) Steve Harley -- 37%
3) (Three-way tie): Aaron Emerson, Carol Laula, Bobby Valentino

And how did they earn this dubious distinction?

#1 KYM MAZELLE

  • "But she was still cool."
  • "Or was that a cat being tortured that I heard?"
  • "Who told her she could sing anyway?"
  • "The more I hear Kym Mazelle on this album, the less I like her."
  • "Didn't they learn anything from the PIOT tour? Leave the lounge act in Vegas."
  • "...'screeching cat vocals'. Yep. That's it. It's almost overpowering sometimes."
  • "The Tina Turner lookalike. Better yet, kidnap her and surgically remove her voice box. Or else mail her to Robert Palmer. (No, that's too cruel.)"
  • "How did she get this gig? Whose girlfriend is she?"
  • "...why, why, oh my god, why?"

#2 STEVE HARLEY

  • "Without a doubt...Steve Harley. He sucks! (pardon!!!)"
  • "The question has the answer in it: I'm sure most people will agree..."

#3 AARON EMERSON

  • "Couldn't hear him much."

#4 CAROL LAULA

  • "She has a great voice but after all this is a BC CD."

4 Two Songs Which Should Have Been Included
  • "Anything but songs already had live by fans..."
  • "ANY two songs which do NOT feature BC as nothing more than a backup band!"
  • The Most Popular Song By Reason Of Its Nonappearance was: You Dreamer followed by: The Sailor ("I would like to hear it done live.") ("The Sailor, already.") Others which tied with more than one vote: All Go Together, Everything I Need ("Sadly it seems that they are never going to play this one live."), Fields Of Fire, Starred & Crossed ("with harmonica, of course"), Tall Ships Go ("This song could work beautifully as an energetic, acoustic rave up."), 13 Valleys and Thousand Yard Stare.
  • And last but not least, the Honorable Mentions, with one vote apiece: All Fall Together, Blue On A Green Planet, Copperhead Road ("by Steve Earle"), Dynamite Lady, Eiledon, Harvest Home ("Great acoustically."), In A Big Country, Into The Fire ("...an acoustic version...would have fit nicely"), Nautical Disaster ("Tragically Hip's"), Ode To Billy Jo ("one half by Carol, the other by Stu"), The One I Love, Post Nuclear Talking Blues, Prairie Rose, Proud Mary ("They could have done real well with Kym singing along."), Rain Dance, Remembrance Day ("Only if Carol Laula was singing backup, though"), The Seer, Stand By Me ("the Ben E. King song. It would be interesting to hear BC do this song acoustically."), The Storm, Wildland In My Heart ("or anything from WTLF") and Wonderland

5 Should The Between-Song Banter Have Been Included?
You gave a resounding "YES", by a margin of slightly over 3-to-1. But let's banter it back and forth a bit:
  • "No! I would be interested in hearing the banter, but the lack of banter seems to increase the otherworldly quality (oh boy!) of the CD."
  • "Yes, some."
  • "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Often my favorite part of the show."
  • "...the banter has been edited out again...that is a DAMNED SHAME! It is FUN!"
  • "Yes, yes, YES! Even if the swear-words were bleeped! Especially because some of it was instigated by me!"
  • "I'm not sure, since this Scottish accent is so hard to understand anyway...but they were probably joking, so a little bit of that would have been nice."
  • "The between-song banter is something I have never heard in person, so including it on an album would be the next best thing (albeit a poor substitute)."
  • "No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
  • "Yes...some of it."
  • "...heck, why not?"
  • "Yes, absolutely."
  • "No (banter was good at the concert, but the CD would be spoilt when listening to a few times)."
  • "If the CD is for a wide audience and there's a hope it will sell, no. If it's just for fun and the fans, yes. But then what's the difference anyway."
  • "No. Although I love their live banter it would soon wear thin listening to it over and over on CD."
  • "Yes, this adds so much atmosphere..."
  • "If it's Stuart...YES, YES, YES. (Can this count as three votes?)"
  • "ABSOLUTELY!!! They never learn, do they? The banter makes it sound more alive. It is anything from funny to insightful. It is part of the atmosphere. I miss it sorely."
  • "That is a difficult question to answer...Yes. This is sharing this time with their friends with the fans. I think that it would show us how much it was enjoyed by the crowd. (Those who get to enjoy the presence of BC could probably do without.)"
  • "Yeah, since those of us in the USA will never get to see a concert here."

General Comments
  • "BTW, more original BC stuff & less covers would've been better!"
  • "As a whole, there are FAR too many cover songs on the album, and too many doubtful picks of the original BC songs. And I really don't think I'm being too picky."
  • "...now that they've done their Page/Plant clone act maybe they'll get back to doing BC."
  • "Good or bad album cover?...GOOD!"
  • "I like Eclectic and it gets better every time I listen to it, but I hope they keep doing electric albums."
  • "If the band wants to have a good time at a gig and do covers then that's their privilege. But keep them off the album releases. And I have no use at all for tracks where BC is nothing more than a backup band."
  • "Violin combined with acoustic guitars makes them sound too country at times."
  • "I still vote on Eclectic II except for ones that Steve and Kym were on."
  • "I hate to sound so cynical about one of my favorite bands but I suspect the so-called 'inspiration' for this show came from seeing Jimmy Page and Robert Plant on their 'No Quarter' tour. The intro to 'Big Yellow Taxi' sounds very familiar."
  • "Overall review of this album...BC was just out to have a good time, regardless of the fans' likes or dislikes. To me they needed to have fun and do something they really liked to play around with. Glad they chose to share those good times with us."
  • "Overall, a strong performance by the band. I really like the folky approach they took with the fiddle and all. 'Eclectic' exceeds most other 'unplugged' albums out there by miles."
  • And now, the moment you've all been awaiting—announcement of the Cheesy Prize winner! Despite some witty and entertaining suggestions, the award in question will NOT be a wheel of provolone or the head of Steve Harley. In fact, its exact nature will be negotiated in private with......... JENNIFER NOTT!! *applause*

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