The Smiley Smile Message Board

Non Smiley Smile Stuff => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Wata on December 29, 2017, 05:50:55 PM



Title: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: Wata on December 29, 2017, 05:50:55 PM
Hello guys. Here's next Battle of The Songs:

Rag Doll by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
https://open.spotify.com/track/1wjjSjkhlzTDmM3frz559j (https://open.spotify.com/track/1wjjSjkhlzTDmM3frz559j)


vs. Uptown Girl by Billy Joel
https://open.spotify.com/track/5zA8vzDGqPl2AzZkEYQGKh (https://open.spotify.com/track/5zA8vzDGqPl2AzZkEYQGKh)

I heard Uptown Girl on TV commercial this morning, so here it is. Uptown Girl was apparently inspired by Rag Doll, according to Billy Joel himself.

Rag Doll is better for me. I admit I dig both songs, but the chorus is much better on Rag Doll.

Now, which do you think is better? Look forward to seeing your votes.


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 29, 2017, 06:42:41 PM
Frankie Valli & 4 Seasons sing very well but "Rag Doll" isn't really likeable. It gets boring in the middle. "Uptown Girl" is way cooler.

Uptown Girl is okay
Just "okay"? What do you dislike about it which doesn't describe it "good" & "great"?


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on December 29, 2017, 07:12:38 PM
I pick Rag Doll.
Uptown Girl is okay but got sick of constantly seeing the video on MTV back in the day. The video featured Billy Joel's then wife Christie Brinkley.

Rag Doll is a great song and Frankie Valli is in top form.


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: Lonely Summer on December 29, 2017, 10:04:23 PM
Could be a toss up for me, so I have to give my vote to the original.
There's one line on Uptown Girl I always hear as "as well as anyone with hot foot can". I still don't know what he really says, but I still picture Fred Flintstone hopping around with a hot foot!


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: KDS on December 30, 2017, 07:28:37 AM
Going with the Piano Man.  Like I said in another battle, Im not a fan of Frankie Valli's voice.  But I love all eras of Billy Joel.


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on December 30, 2017, 04:40:39 PM
As for Uptown Girl I think it is a good song. Haven't heard it in a good while  until just now since I rarely listen to the 1980s channel. Guess it's unfair to Billy Joel, but I can't get out of my head the memory of a friend of mine poking fun at Christie Brinkley's attempt at dancing on the music video. Of course there's no way my friend and I would have had the guts to attempt to dance on a video.

I have mixed feelings about Frankie Valli. Didn't care for his falsetto on Sherry.
However IMO he hit a grand slam with that wonderful falsetto at the end of Rag Doll.


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 30, 2017, 07:21:30 PM
You 1st said "Uptown Girl is okay". Now you say it is good song. I'm not native English speaker but, I read in studying there's big difference between (just) "okay" & "good". No, Liz?


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on December 30, 2017, 07:55:42 PM
You 1st said "Uptown Girl is okay". Now you say it is good song. I'm not native English speaker but, I read in studying there's big difference between (just) "okay" & "good". No, Liz?

C'mon Marianne!* (Sorry, couldn't resist!)  ;D
I should have said Uptown Girl was "good", although "okay" could also mean "good". If I didn't think it was good I would have qualified it by saying the song was "just okay".

* one of my favorite later Four Seasons songs


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 31, 2017, 09:25:28 AM
I see. Thank you, Liz. :)

Quote
* one of my favorite later Four Seasons songs
Can't stand it. :P


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: JK on January 02, 2018, 07:01:26 AM
I came to appreciate Billy Joel when a keyboard pupil I had in the '80s gave me a tape of BJ's stuff (his then-new girlfriend was a big fan). Some good things on there (most notably "Captain Jack").

"Uptown Girl" is an excellent song but "Rag Doll" gets my vote. It's always been one of my favourite Seasons songs...   


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: KDS on January 02, 2018, 07:46:56 AM
I came to appreciate Billy Joel when a keyboard pupil I had in the '80s gave me a tape of BJ's stuff (his then-new girlfriend was a big fan). Some good things on there (most notably "Captain Jack").

"Uptown Girl" is an excellent song but "Rag Doll" gets my vote. It's always been one of my favourite Seasons songs...   

Captain Jack is such a great song.  I'm not sure why it doesn't get the acclaim that some of Billy's other songs get. 


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: JK on January 02, 2018, 01:02:03 PM
Captain Jack is such a great song.  I'm not sure why it doesn't get the acclaim that some of Billy's other songs get. 

Well, let's give it a spin. This is the fantastic version on my tape:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qwhbNrkDXM


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: KDS on January 03, 2018, 05:51:12 AM
Captain Jack is such a great song.  I'm not sure why it doesn't get the acclaim that some of Billy's other songs get. 

Well, let's give it a spin. This is the fantastic version on my tape:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qwhbNrkDXM

It's a pity that it's not a mainstay in all of Billy's setlists, but when you have as many great songs as he does.......I think a combination of the song's length and the "masturbate" lyric probably contribute to the song not being as popular as some of his others.


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on January 04, 2018, 05:08:13 PM
Thanks to this thread I decided to revisit Billy Joel. I'm a casual fan, don't have any of his records, but last night I listened to his Greatest Hits and was amazed at how many good and great songs he had.
One of them came on yesterday while I was shopping at a grocery store. The Supervisor in the Produce section was chewing out a young employee for talking when he should have been working. The guy said that he was on lunch break, the super said if that was the case he needed to leave until his break was over. The BJ song played as this was going on. At the climatic moment I nearly shouted with Mr. Joel - "PRESSURE!!"


Title: Re: BotS #6: Rag Doll(Four Seasons) vs. Uptown Girl(Billy Joel)
Post by: KDS on January 05, 2018, 07:07:24 AM
Thanks to this thread I decided to revisit Billy Joel. I'm a casual fan, don't have any of his records, but last night I listened to his Greatest Hits and was amazed at how many good and great songs he had.
One of them came on yesterday while I was shopping at a grocery store. The Supervisor in the Produce section was chewing out a young employee for talking when he should have been working. The guy said that he was on lunch break, the super said if that was the case he needed to leave until his break was over. The BJ song played as this was going on. At the climatic moment I nearly shouted with Mr. Joel - "PRESSURE!!"

That's pretty funny.