Round 5 Match 4

[rayge]

A Nilsson – Don’t Forget Me



B Joy Division - Shadowplay

[Deleted]

Nilsson has never been my thing and this sappy, maudlin outing doesn't change that...Did the poster of B mean to put up the live track ? (Doesn't change my vote, but the record track serves it better) Vote B

[bungo the mungo]

of all the nilsson racks out there, why choose one of his worst? as for joy division, 6th form toss.

ABSTAIN again.

[Crunchy Col]

Some folk here go nuts over Nilsson, don't they? I like some songs but this is just dreary

the JD song is as obvious a choice as we've had this cup, but....whatever

B

[toomanyhatz]

A is damned near the best Nilsson song! The Lennon-produced Pussy Cats is probably his most underrated album, because the story spread that Lennon encouraged him to shred his vocal chords, which is bullshit. He sings this beautifully.

B will win, of course, because here in our Anglocentric world, JD can do no wrong. FWIW, I find this a bold, aggressive version of a very dull song.

[Deleted]

I actually found myself warming to A, maybe it works better being listened to in the wee small hours. I can see there might be something quite affecting about its drunken sincerity ( in the same way hearing a wrecked Dennis Wilson croak through 'Make it Good' can be very affecting). It is laid on very thickly though so the overall effect is bit treacly.

B is obvious but it's one of the best JD tracks. Electric and urgent, full of tension and release..it still thrills.

B

[lokie]

I was roundly chastized when I used a Nilsson tune in the 70s Cup.  Beatles wannabe, they said.  Anyway.....

[alejandro]

I'd like to vote against B because whilst it's a great track, it's not particularly creative as a pick. But A's just not very good, very maudlin and dreary. B wins this one.

[fonz]

B

One of those tracks that got me into JD. that actual performance. Saw it on telly, a few years after the fact though.

[Inspector Norse]

A is pretty dreadful song: turgid, glum and self-indulgent.
B is, as others have said, not the most surprising pick, but it's masterfully tense and exciting still. 

[fange]

Talk about polar opposites. A is ok if i'm in the right mood, but 9 outta 10 times i'd prefer to hear B really.


B

[osgood]

I have given up to understand why JD are so revered. For me they should be no more than a footnote on pop/rock music history.

A is gorgeous.

[Deleted]

I don't wish to be rude but what the hell is the noise from A? I don't understand why stuff like this should be more revered than the likes of James Blunt or Ed Sheeran.

B, obviously.

[DarknessFish]

I'd love to like A, so I can vote against the lazy vote-garnering tactics of B. But I know I'm not going to. It's got a hint of pre-weirdness Scott Walker about the strings and vocal theatricality. Might even have influenced Ultravox a little bit, "Just for a Moment" springs to mind. Unfortunately, it's kind of dreary, despite the bombast, and comes across as a particularly slow nursery-rhyme.

B's undeniably great. I'm sure I've seen this clip with better sound quality, but whatever, it's a monster of a track. It's probably the most "Stockport" thing they recorded, you can hear the squalid concrete shopping centre writ large across the vocals and unusually clunky drums. Probably Barney's finest guitar line in JD though, he adds the right flashes of colour, at the right time. Shockingly poor cup pick, but a moment of TV greatness.

B

[rankingted]

I was expecting to like the Nilsson a lot more than I did - it really is rather dreary and over-produced although it does have some syrupy charm.

Tony Wilson blatantly feigning impartiality! B is clearly ace.

B