Best Song of the 1970s Bracket - Born to Run wins!

[Ethnic history of the Vilnius region]

Doctor, My Eyes vs. Roadrunner (Once

This was a tough one.

Cherry Bomb vs. Easy

Easy choice for me. I can't stand Easy and love Cherry Bomb.

When Will I Be Loved vs. Smiling Faces Sometimes

The Shape I'm In vs. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

I love The Band, but Gil Scott-Heron wins this one. Home is Where the Hatred Is by Gil Scott-Heron is a great, devastating cover.

Across 110th Street vs. Cars

Two really strong options here.

Wonderful Tonight vs. Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

I went back and forth on this one. I guess I'm just not a big fan of either song.

Show Me The Way vs. Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser

Not a huge Frampton fan, the other song was good, but no contest in a 70s music bracket.

Blitzkrieg Bop vs. Mr. Bojangles

Easy choice.

[AKKOLADE]

Voting is closed.

[AKKOLADE]

Doctor, My Eyes 19, Roadrunner (Once) 10.5
Easy 15.5, Cherry Bomb 14.5
Smiling Faces Sometimes 16.5, When Will I Be Loved 12.5
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised 19, The Shape I'm In 10.5
Cars 21.5, Across 110th Street 8.5
Wonderful Tonight 21.5, Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue 6
Show Me The Way 21, Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser 8
Blitzkrieg Bop 23, Mr. Bojangles 6

[AKKOLADE]

Time for part four of our first round!

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Zu2Z ... N6Hubhl6VA

#89 Goodbye Stranger – Supertramp
Album: Breakfast in America
Year: 1979
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #15, UK #57
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8pVZ5hTGJQ

#90 Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield
Album: Curtis
Year: 1971
Charts: UK #12
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9RMr9KuVZo

#91 I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) – Grand Funk Railroad
Album: Closer to Home
Year: 1970
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #22
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8MYsii4DZY

#92 (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night – Tom Waits
Album: The Heart of Saturday Night
Year: 1974
Charts: non-single
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7UHd7NVegE

#93 Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
Album: Machine Head
Year: 1973
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #4, UK #21 (1977)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUwEIt9ez7M

#94 Pink Moon – Nick Drake
Album: Pink Moon
Year: 1972
Charts: non-single
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irq959oNVww

#95 Brass in Pocket – Pretenders
Album: Pretenders
Year: 1979
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #14, UK #1
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI0WnoDK4Nw

#96 Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
Album: Poems, Prayers, & Promises
Year: 1971
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo

#161 Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
Album: Off the Wall
Year: 1979
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #1, UK #3
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURRmWtbTbo

#162 I'd Love To Change The World – Ten Years After
Album: A Space in Time
Year: 1971
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #40
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVmyRmvQo9s

#163 Garden Party – Ricky Nelson
Album: Garden Party
Year: 1972
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #6, UK #41
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JK0Z6IdLF4

#164 Delta Dawn – Tanya Tucker
Album: Delta Dawn
Year: 1972
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #72, US Country #6
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ymXTFFtnc

#165 More Than a Feeling – Boston
Album: Boston
Year: 1976
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #5, UK #22
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hQWgB07LLE

#166 America The Beautiful – Ray Charles
Album: non-album single
Year: 1976
Charts: US R&B #98
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhJwXwXDijQ

#167 The Man with the Child in His Eyes – Kate Bush
Album: The Kick Inside
Year: 1978
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #85, UK #6
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj9lnMuez-Q

#168 Cold as Ice – Foreigner
Album: Foreigner
Year: 1977
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #6, UK #24
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP8Rbct_50Y

YouTube links for convenience:

#89 Goodbye Stranger – Supertramp
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8pVZ5hTGJQ

#168 Cold as Ice – Foreigner
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP8Rbct_50Y

#90 Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9RMr9KuVZo

#167 The Man with the Child in His Eyes – Kate Bush
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj9lnMuez-Q

#91 I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) – Grand Funk Railroad
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8MYsii4DZY

#166 America The Beautiful – Ray Charles
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhJwXwXDijQ

#92 (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night – Tom Waits
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7UHd7NVegE

#165 More Than a Feeling – Boston
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hQWgB07LLE

#93 Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUwEIt9ez7M

#164 Delta Dawn – Tanya Tucker
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ymXTFFtnc

#94 Pink Moon – Nick Drake
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irq959oNVww

#163 Garden Party – Ricky Nelson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JK0Z6IdLF4

#95 Brass in Pocket – Pretenders
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI0WnoDK4Nw

#162 I'd Love To Change The World – Ten Years After
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVmyRmvQo9s

#96 Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo

#161 Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURRmWtbTbo

Your ballot:

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

You have 48 hours to vote!

[Habitat_Against_Humanity]

Your ballot:

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice - Both these songs sound very 70s and both suck pretty hard, but I don't think I can ever vote for Foreigner.
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful - I love Ray Charles, but not this. Also, just listen to that competent drumming.
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling- brutal, brutal matchup here. Tom Waits is the better artist by far, but as a song, More than a Feeling is some kind of of pop rock Platonic ideal
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

You have 48 hours to vote!

[Bosa of York]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough: the meme lives on

[A Dim-Witted Saboteur]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Foreigner is an incel band.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
Not voting against Curtis Mayfield

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
I'm Your Captain is nice enough but does not justify its decision to be 10 minutes long.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
I don't like More than a Feeling all that much.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Delta Dawn is a pleasant enough country song and I had to listen to the riff from Smoke on the Water performed very badly enough during my formative years (my younger sister was learning to play guitar) that I'll go with the lower seed here

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Learning about Nick Drake was one of the best things that happened to me in the otherwise god-awful summer after my freshman year of college.

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Brass in Pocket is much better than whatever cringy 70s Doomer dreck this Ten Years After song is.

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
One of my friends from high school's parents were "high pointers", which meant they wanted to visit the highest point in every state. As a result, a couple summers ago they went on a driving vacation up Spruce Knob, which is only accessible by a very poor quality one-lane gravel road. They got caught in a rainstorm on the way up, so he kept pressing his parents to go back, but they thought they'd gone too far to turn around. I don't recall much of the rest of the story; I think their car broke down, but they managed to make it back safely, but he somehow realized only when I pointed it out after his recounting that he was asking country roads to take him home to the place where he belonged while in West Virginia with his Mountain Mama.

[dwd500]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
- Tough call. Boiled down to which one I'd turn the radio up for.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
- I was going to be biased towards Curtis Mayfield as it is, but this is maybe the 5th best song I've heard by him and it still wins this one easily.

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
- I felt guilty not voting for Ray Charles, and particularly not voting for this song. It felt somewhat unpatriotic. Then I remembered that "We're an American Band" should have been the Grand Funk Railroad song in the first place, so I'm covered.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
- This was hard. That's the best song from Tom Waits' early stuff, but "More Than a Feeling" is the best song off one of the strongest debut albums of all time.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
- The great old country songs can't catch a break. Machine Head is a strong album, and the best song off of it is way too good to lose this round. Every week, some kid at school who's been learning guitar will want to borrow mine so they can show off that they've learned this riff.

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
- Best song about being booed off the stage at Madison Square Garden that I know of.

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
- Even though this only made being a 70s song by about three months, I'm taking it over the hippie manifesto.

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
- Prime John Denver beats transitional Michael Jackson.

[34 + P.J. Dozier]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[Stained Diviner]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
These songs are both OK, but Goodbye Stranger is better. I would have preferred The Logical Song, which is something we were all taught to sing in Hebrew School because our music teacher liked it.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I've known people who really liked Kate Bush, but I've never been one of those people.

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
These are both very good. This was the living legend phase of Ray Charles' career.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
I never owned a copy of Boston because I didn't need to. When I was 8, this song was always on the radio or my friends were playing it.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
My daughter got excited about playing this song when she was in middle school, so I'll vote for it.

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well. You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself.

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
I'll vote for this song, but I don't know whether it is expressing its viewpoint sincerely or sarcastically.

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
A love song by Michael Jackson is too creepy for me.

[Steeve Ho You Fat]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice Neither of these songs are good but at least this one is kind of fun
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes I'd rather have included something off the Super Fly soundtrack, but how can you vote against those horns? Soul at its finest, before you even pay attention to the message. Also coincidentally happens to feature prominently in two of my biggest cultural experiences of 2010-2011: the first times I listened to Late Registration and watched The Wire.
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful I know I should, but for whatever reason I've just never been able to appreciate Ray Charles. I wish Grand Funk Railroad were represented by Some Kind of Wonderful, which is the perfect corny but fun '70s song.
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling I assume I'll be the only person making this vote since the Boston song is famous and this is an odd representative of Tom Waits (come on dude, Martha came out in the 1970s and would deserve to win this or any bracket!). But I have to give respect to the greatest songwriter of his generation.
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn Instantly recognizable riff.
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[Whiter Hydra]

Goodbye Stranger -- Breakfast in America, and this song in particular, is solid despite not really being stand-out in any way. It's a longer song than I remembered, but it doesn't feel long, which is a point in its favor.
Cold as Ice -- This is another song that was on heavy rotation on my local classic rock station growing up. To me, Foreigner's songs are usually good on initial listen, but wear out after a while. Their lyrics tend to be kinda meh too. That being said, I like a lot of their fare, but this song isn't really in the top echelon.

Move On Up -- It's a decent enough song. It's not super memorable to me, but I still enjoyed listening to it.
The Man with the Child in His Eyes -- This sounds like the type of music my dad play on the turntable while I was growing up. It's not really my style, but the vocals were quite nice.

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) -- The first 70% of the song is good and had a lot of promise for a 10-minute long song. Then they kinda ran out of steam for the final couple minutes.
America the Beautiful -- I'm not a fan of patriotic songs, and Ray Charles' version I detest more than usual. Probably the worst song I've heard so far.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night -- Tom Waits is a great storyteller and I very much respect his unique voice. I'd love to vote for this song, but it's up against tough competition.
More Than a Feeling -- This is the opening song on the greatest debut album until Appetite for Destruction and for good reason. The bridge absolutely rocks and I will always crank up the volume for it.

Smoke on the Water -- There is a reason why this song has Baby's First Guitar Riff -- it's simple, yet it rocks. Also gets bonus points for name-dropping Montreux.
Delta Dawn -- I'm so glad we're listening to an era when country was actually good. It builds up superbly and I got into it a lot more than I thought it would. I really don't want to vote against either one of these songs.

Pink Moon -- I just couldn't get into this song. It's probably good for other people (or else it wouldn't be here), but I guess it's not for me.
Garden Party -- I'll give props to Rick Nelson for writing about a low point in his musical career. It doesn't hurt that it's a decent song too!

Brass in Pocket -- This is the one Pretenders hit I'm not super fond of. It's fine, but they have much better stuff (that was released after 1980).
I'd Love to Change the World -- It's a unique-sounding song, but it's done in a good way. It's standard hippie fair, but at least the music holds it up.

Take Me Hone, Country Roads -- This is one of those songs that I will invariably sing out loud if I don't think anyone else could hear me. It also helps that I've driven through most of the places mentioned many times during my life in Virginia.
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough -- Michael Jackson's best hits might be ahead of him, but he nails this big disco hit. It's a shame that it's in a very tough matchup. In the end, I feel like I had enough of this song at around the 4:15 mark and the song didn't stop.

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[Noble Rot]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Both these songs suck and should lose in the next round but Foreigner represents all of the worst aspects of 70's rock

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
Curtis Mayfield, even if not my personal favorite song, versus this dreck? Easy choice.

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
Grand Funk Railroad made some fun songs and is a solid classic rock band, but there is absolutely no reason they should have ever made a song that's 10 minutes long.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
The hardest match-up of the bunch, unfortunate seeding for both songs. I went back and forth on this one, and would probably take most Tom Waits songs over just about anything else in this group, but More Than a Feeling is arena rock at its very finest.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Smoke on the Water has a great riff, but it's honestly overrated, and not as good a song as Child in Time or Highway Star. Delta Dawn has some great gospel vocals, and is a great example of how to make country that can appeal to pop listeners and feel traditional at the same time.

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Rick Nelson's best hits came way before the 70s.

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
I don't love either song but the guitar puts this over the edge for me.

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
I've disliked Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough since the very first time I heard it.

[Asterias Wrathbunny]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes - not even close
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful - Grand Funk is a load of hot garbage
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling - I despise More Than a Feeling, and I need Tom Waits to continue in the bracket
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[mrtyrmystry]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
i don't care to vote but - goodbye stranger: too long, kind of pretty in the middle. cold as ice: ive heard it some number of times. i find it pretty funny.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
victor's few words sold me.

i like more than a feeling! the riff is louie louie or smells like teen spirit on a bad day. Boston is Weezer.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
this is the one whose result will deeply offend me. sure, it turns out that "Country Roads" is one of the most iconic songs from this country of ours, and i don't really care that it's a meme. but it's worse.
there's a version of country roads where many of the words are emotes from twitch (the streaming website, where i spend time watching ppl play game). Keepo 4Head

[kammajos000]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[Blackboard Monitor Vimes]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
"Goodbye Stranger"'s chorus is kind of annoying, but all of "Cold as Ice" is kind of annoying, and for me at least Foreigner belongs in the 80s anyway.
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm familiar with at least two other songs by each artist, but I don't think I'd heard either of these before, nor do I expect to listen to either again. A narrow victory for Curtis Mayfield.
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
My fondness for 10 minute songs has been noted, but I can't blame anyone who needs to tap out halfway through what could easily have been two songs. This is a fine rendition of "America the Beautiful", but it still fails my "would I listen to this if it came on the radio?" test.
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
I think Tom Waits has been a musical blindspot of mine so far in life, and I enjoyed this song enough that I went back and forth on this vote as I kept listening to other matchups. Still can't not vote for "More Than a Feeling."
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
I went into listening to this round fully expecting to vote for "Smoke on the Water" and was pleasantly surprised by "Delta Dawn".
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
"Garden Party" is considerably more fun than the experience that inspired it.
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Like Harry, I prefer The Pretenders' 80s outings. I expected "I'd Love to Change the World" to be a worse song, but it's still not good enough to win here.
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
"Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" dodges the argument of whether you should separate the artist from the music by being a bad song.

[Wynaut]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[kitakule]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - how is this song losing??? I mean, Don't Stop isn't Michael's best hit, but Take Me Home is horrible.

[ScoBo]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Probably my favorite song on Breakfast in America. "Cold as Ice" is fine but I probably would have picked a different Foreigner track.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
One of my favorite Grand Funk songs, even though the end does drag out too long.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Maybe it's because I've had Boston's debut album in my MP3 library for 15+ years, but I want to say I was already familiar with all eight tracks from radio airplay. Whenever I think of the album, one of the first things that typically pops into my head is that the length of "Rock & Roll Band" is printed as 2:60.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
A widely recognizable classic, although "Highway Star" is probably my favorite Machine Head track.

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
I recognized the chorus of "Garden Party" but wasn't previously familiar with what it was about. I'm not sure I've heard any Nick Drake before and am curious to listen to more.

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
My four year old niece has said this is her favorite song.

[MiltonPlayer47]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
I dislike both bands, but I'll give Foreigner the edge in this matchup.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[ValenciaQBowl]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
--Supertramp's three album run from Crime of the Century to Even in the Quietest Moments to Breakfast in America is incredible. That middle album is very, very good, and you probably haven't listened to the whole thing (though lord knows you've heard too much of "Give a Little Bit," skip that), and you should.

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
--No strong feelings here

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
--I have to disagree with Jakob; this song should actually be 25 minutes long.

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
--Damn, wish it was the heartbreaking "Postcard from a Hooker in Minneapolis," but Tom Waits is top notch.

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
--"Delta Dawn"? Really? C'mon, y'all.

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
--Who doesn't like a Volkswagen ad?

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
--These don't seem like the same decade at all, and they barely are. I like both a lot, but gotta go with my teenage faves.

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
--In the mid-70s I had a book of recorder sheet music of John Denver's greatest hits. I barely recovered.

[cdbarker]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice

Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes

I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful

(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
If it was good enough for Kurt Cobain to "borrow"...

Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn

Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
This hurts, because "Garden Party" is a wonderfully self-aware lament about fame and aging, but I mean, Pink Moon!

Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World

Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[AgathokakologicalPunk]

Goodbye Stranger
Move on Up
I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)
More than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water
Abstain
Brass in Pocket
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[AKKOLADE]

We have about four hours left to vote.

[BenWeiner27]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[Triton of the Minnows]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[ryanrosenberg]

Goodbye Stranger vs. Cold as Ice
Move On Up vs. The Man with the Child in His Eyes
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) vs. America The Beautiful
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night vs. More Than a Feeling
Smoke on the Water vs. Delta Dawn
Pink Moon vs. Garden Party -- by far the best song in this tranche
Brass in Pocket vs. I'd Love To Change The World
Take Me Home, Country Roads vs. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

[AKKOLADE]

voting has closed

[AKKOLADE]

Results:

Goodbye Stranger 20.5, Cold as Ice 9
Move On Up 29, The Man with the Child in His Eyes 1
I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) 21.5, America The Beautiful 9.5
More Than a Feeling 21.5, (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night 10.5
Smoke on the Water 19, Delta Dawn 11
Pink Moon 16, Garden Party 13
Brass in Pocket 16.5, I'd Love To Change The World 13
Take Me Home, Country Roads 20, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough 11

[AKKOLADE]

Your next ballot is here:

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tJcP ... aJ1wzSGbng

#97 Cruel to Be Kind – Nick Lowe
Album: Labour of Lust
Year: 1979
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #12, UK #12
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQdxGpV5aV8

#98 Ramblin' Man – The Allman Brothers Band
Album: Brothers and Sisters
Year: 1973
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa4DCp6cl2U

#99 Coal Miner's Daughter – Loretta Lynn
Album: Coal Miner’s Daughter
Year: 1970
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #83, US Country #1
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iy5SRi45QE

#100 Is She Really Going Out With Him? – Joe Jackson
Album: Look Sharp!
Year: 1978
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #21, UK #13
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY9Rl_oRjWY

#101 Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe – Barry White
Album: Can’t Get Enough
Year: 1974
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #20, UK #14
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0I6mhZ5wMw

#102 Just What I Needed – The Cars
Album: The Cars
Year: 1978
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #27, UK #17
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5-rdr0qhWk

#103 Heartbreaker – Pat Benatar
Album: In the Heat of the Night
Year: 1979
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #23
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsSx6nXpBMg

#104 I'll Be There – The Jackson 5
Album: Third Album
Year: 1970
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #1, UK #4
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBhSh7y_IkM

#153 We Are Family – Sister Sledge
Album: We Are Family
Year: 1979
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #2, UK #8
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvWQ2PWNwI

#154 Midnight Rider – Gregg Allman
Album: Laid Back
Year: 1973
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #19
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJoBRMVzzMU

#155 Love the One You're With – Stephen Stills
Album: Stephen Stills
Year: 1970
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #14, UK #37
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZyj6GECjZ0

#156 War – Edwin Starr
Album: War & Peace
Year: 1970
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #1, UK #3
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZJRJpbGkG4

#157 Go All The Way – Raspberries
Album: Raspberries
Year: 1972
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #5
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULL7apmAJTE

#158 (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right – Luther Ingram
Album: If Loving You Is Wrong I Don’t Want to Be Right
Year: 1972
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #3
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9vEKTRLnUI

#159 Radar Love – Golden Earring
Album: Moontan
Year: 1973
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #13, UK #7
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckM51xoTC2U

#160 The City of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie
Album: Hobo’s Lullaby
Year: 1972
Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #18
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSeqrkRT1t0

YouTube links for convenience:

#97 Cruel to Be Kind – Nick Lowe
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQdxGpV5aV8

#98 Ramblin' Man – The Allman Brothers Band
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa4DCp6cl2U

#99 Coal Miner's Daughter – Loretta Lynn
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iy5SRi45QE

#100 Is She Really Going Out With Him? – Joe Jackson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY9Rl_oRjWY

#101 Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe – Barry White
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0I6mhZ5wMw

#102 Just What I Needed – The Cars
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5-rdr0qhWk

#103 Heartbreaker – Pat Benatar
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsSx6nXpBMg

#104 I'll Be There – The Jackson 5
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBhSh7y_IkM

#153 We Are Family – Sister Sledge
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvWQ2PWNwI

#154 Midnight Rider – Gregg Allman
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJoBRMVzzMU

#155 Love the One You're With – Stephen Stills
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZyj6GECjZ0

#156 War – Edwin Starr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZJRJpbGkG4

#157 Go All The Way – Raspberries
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULL7apmAJTE

#158 (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right – Luther Ingram
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9vEKTRLnUI

#159 Radar Love – Golden Earring
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckM51xoTC2U

#160 The City of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSeqrkRT1t0

Your ballot:

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[Asterias Wrathbunny]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[MiltonPlayer47]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
This one might have been close if I hadn't had to hear "Cruel to Be Kind" in the background almost every day at a Publix that I used to work at.

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Another matchup between two songs that I heard many times on classic rock radio when I was growing up, and this time between two that I still enjoy. I don't really like the Allman Brothers or southern rock in general, but I have always loved "Ramblin' Man."

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
I'm loving all the old time country music that is in this tournament! Both of these are good, though.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
I really love the chorus to "Is She Really Going Out with Him?," and it always reminds me of There's Something about Mary (one of my favorite movies) when I hear it.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Two more that I heard a lot when I was growing up! Close call, but I'm not super passionate about either.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[Blackboard Monitor Vimes]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS. More seriously, I love Arlo Guthrie's story-telling songs, and this is a great one.
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
A tough matchup between two songs I genuinely enjoy with great instrumentation. I think I give it to the Allman Brothers for vocals.
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
"Coal Miner's Daughter" is a classic, but I really just don't like it, even given my usual fondness for story-songs. Conversely, I usually don't go for songs about cheating, but this one's a great performance.
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
"Heartbreaker" is a good song, but I prefer Pat Benatar's work in the 80s (and fully acknowledge that "We Belong" is probably an unpopular opinion favorite Pat Benatar song). Though I don't care for this particular recording, which is slower than the one I'm used to with the rest of the band (also recorded in the 70s), "Midnight Rider" is one of my favorite songs.
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[Habitat_Against_Humanity]

This set of matchups has some absolutely brutal choices

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
[/quote]

[Wynaut]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[dwd500]

Yikes what a tough round.

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
- Why does Cruel to Be Kind remind me of White Plains' My Baby Loves Loving?

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
- I was going to wonder why not Midnight Rider but then I got to the later round. I need to read faster.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
- Call it a bias from my KY roots.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
- Even though Go All the Way sounds like two different songs cut-and-pasted together.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
- Wow, this one's tough. I mean, War is War, but Barry White is Barry White.

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
- Love the Cars. I hate that the synth solo at the end is so short.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
- Meh, I still like Joe Cocker's Midnight Rider better.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
- Only one of these songs was the rallying cry for a World Series winner. I'm just now noticing we've not had a lot of disco.

[Whiter Hydra]

Cruel to Be Kind -- It's a very catchy pop song, but it's one that gets old quickly, as with many songs that are about two-thirds chorus. It's also poor life advice.
The City of New Orleans -- I hadn't heard much of Arlo Guthrie before, but I enjoyed this song. It told a story well with a great vocalist, and the chorus is short and sweet and does a good job of not making the song ramble.

Ramblin' Man -- This song starts off innocently enough, but it is carried by the second solo. It sounds great while not being too long or too self-indulgent and caps off a classic rock radio staple.
Radar Love -- This is an amazing road trip song. It's up-tempo, over 6 minutes long, and I just want to belt out the lyrics while driving 25 over the speed limit. The instrumental section in the middle has a couple misses, but the variety keeps me interested enough.

Coal Miner's Daughter -- It's a nice song reminiscing on growing up in a family of hardship. If this song came out in 2020, you know there'd be a shoehorned reference to a brand of pickup trucks.
(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right -- I just could not get past the subject material, and the song itself wasn't that stellar.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? -- This song always evokes images of high school gossiping to me. It's a solid song, and I enjoy listening to it, but it's not really memorable to me.
Go All the Way -- The opening distorted guitar riff kicks this song off with a bang, and it continues strong from there. It's a fun song and it doesn't stick around too long.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe -- Maybe it's because I'm old and jaded, or maybe our names are too close for comfort, but Barry White's has never really done much for me. This song is no exception.
War -- I can't decide if this song is a bit too heavy-handed or if the lack of subtlety was perfectly appropriate for the timeframe.

Just What I Needed -- This is a song I've heard so many times throughout the years it's hard to form an opinion outside of "this song is what it is". That being said, it's catchy and mostly earns its place, though I think their best hits won't be until the mid-80s.
Love the One You're With -- This song goes strong from beginning to end with no really slow or wandering bits. It also helps that the chorus is really catchy.

Heartbreaker -- I like a lot of Pat Benatar's stuff, but her best stuff is yet to come. That being said, it still rocks even if it doesn't quite hold up on repeat listens as some of her other songs. Also, like Sam, I am of the opinion that We Belong is her best song.
Midnight Rider -- This song is fine, but it's not as strong as the some of the Allman Brothers' other hits.

I'll Be There -- It's a sweet song, probably helped because Michael Jackson was only 11 at the time. He was nowhere near fully developing as a singer yet, but there's a reason why the Jackson 5 was so popular during that era.
We Are Family -- It's disco that doesn't overdo it. It's by no means a very deep song, but it does what it sets out to do very well and has a very catchy hook.

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[Steeve Ho You Fat]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love I love the Allman Brothers, and I'm really disappointed that we ended up with one of their songs that's not even from when the band had one of the ~5ish best guitar players ever in it. Out of all the great blues-rock songs they made, we're voting for a mediocre pop song.
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider. Such an easy choice - possibly the only song that the best version of it doesn't have Duane Allman on. The Allman Brothers version is great, but this slowed down, minor key version is even more mysterious.
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

Voting for the no-brainers now in case I forget to come back and finish.

[mrtyrmystry]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
i last heard (Joe Jackson's) Steppin' Out in a Whole Foods, and before that in a dining hall. each time, i hum along. against my will.
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
I like both of these.

slick. much of the non "folk/country" is so slick.

[rylltraka]

First off, my apologies for missing the first several matchups here - I was eagerly anticipating it, but I guess this is the price for not scanning the forums enough any more.

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Wow, this first one has about the most 70s sound that a pop song could ever have - it just screams that from every note. This second one sounds like a decent Bob Dylan cover band. It feels weird to vote for the former, but it's such a perfect piece of effortless pop (listened to it twice), and I was waiting for the second one to end about three minutes in.

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Man, what a beautiful, clean guitar sound on "Ramblin' Man"; it's a perfect marriage of instrumentation and lyrical content. The execution is just so smooth, and it's such a lean-back-and-take-a-look-around experience with a little bit of cutting maestro performance. The second one ain't that different, but with a little more attitude and menace; this is a moderately difficult call, but the second one has a smidge too much fat and breaks from being completely cohesive.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Well, I believe we call this first one an example of the "Nashville Sound", which to my ears made every song produced in the genre almost identical. Lyrics are all right. I'm not too taken with it, but the other one is so slow (soul normally bothers me because of how non-up-tempo it is) and just kind of ends, so here we are.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Took me a minute, but I finally recognized the first one. It's stripped down beyond belief, and the vocals don't do a ton for me. Now this other one, I was attracted to immediately by the opening riff and boogie-woogie groove (even if it's a bit weaker when the vocals actually start).

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
This Barry White song is a lot of fun, and is carried by more than the first ten seconds of actual music - although it doesn't really know where to end, so it just repeats and fades out. "War" is much more one-note, and almost clumsily earnest - appealing, but unfocused vocally and musically - but check out the Springsteen cover.

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
"Just What I Needed" is a powerhouse and pretty damn fresh for a song I've heard hundreds of times (almost certainly not an exaggeration). That first Cars album is a work of sonic genius. I generally love me some Stills, but this is a high hill to climb. An oddly upbeat ode to pragmatism, though.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
"Heartbreaker" is sort of the garage female-vocal version of "Just What I Needed", but with a little more empty space. A classic for all-ladies a capella groups, in my experience. Benatar did a lot of carrying of fairly mediocre backing material, which is pretty all right here. The Allman is a "oh, this song" moment for me. It's fine, but too laid-back for my taste.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
This Jackson 5 song is all right as a gentle ode to affection, although I always feel a disconnect about love songs that are putatively from one person to another, but which have multiple vocalists. It's okay. "We Are Family" is immediately more interesting musically, although the content is pretty uniform throughout. But I'm fine with that.

[Wartortullian]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Two very strong songs here. It pains me to vote either way, but "Cruel to be Kind" is quintessentially '70s and one hell of a bop.

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
"Ramblin' Man" is one of those songs I always wrote off because I'd head it so many times, but god damn it's a catchy and well-put-together song. There are plenty of things I like about "Radar Love" as well, especially the chorus, but it just doesn't hold up as well.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
I'm not much of a country person, but "Coal Miner's Daughter" wasn't bad. That said, it's opponent still takes this for being a much catchier song.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
So that's what that song was. I've always loved "Go All the Way" song despite not knowing the title or the artist, so it gets my vote here.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Iconic.

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
I really, really, really love the chorus of "Love the One You're With", and while "Just What I Needed" is decent, I'd argue it's not even the best Cars song of the 70s—that distinction goes to "My Best Friend's Girl", which would've made this a much tougher mashup.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I've never been the biggest Pat Benatar fan, but this is a solid song (though It's a pity "We Belong" was released in '84 and is thus ineligible). I've always found "Midnight Rider" kinda dull.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
"We Are Family" is one of those songs that it's impossible to listen to without wanting to dance.

[Stained Diviner]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans is a great song, and it was written by the person who, despite being a Cubs fan, wrote the greatest baseball song of all time.

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Like a lot of these match ups, this pairing has two good songs. This is still an easy choice, because Ramblin' Man is awesome.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
This is the weakest pairing in this round of voting.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Go All the Way is in Almost Famous, which is a great movie, but it's not the better song.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
I don't want to vote against Barry White this early, but War is an awesome song.

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
It's a close call, but I often use the quote Love the One You’re With in a variety of contexts, so here we are.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
Two good songs, but only one can advance.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
I Want You Back beats both of these songs, but it was released in October 1969. I probably would have voted for ABC, but maybe that's just me.

[ValenciaQBowl]

II agree with those above who have said this is a brutal set of choices.

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
--Love both of these, but the perfect pop backing vocals push me to Nick Lowe.

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
--Aaagh, by far the hardest pick for me so far. I'm a Southern Rock guy, but "Radar Love" should be one of the top songs in this bracket. One of the best opening lines ever.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
--Meh.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
--Joe Jackson is fabulous, this song is fabulous.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
--Like "Radar Love," this song should be much higher on this list. But as with "Brass in Pocket" last time, I think we all associate The Cars with the '80s despite this being released in '78.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
--I appreciate Fred finding a way to get two pretty-much Allman Brothers songs on here and am glad I can pick one.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
--I'll take upbeat over schmaltz.

[kammajos000]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[Noble Rot]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Cruel to Be Kind isn't bad, but it really doesn't go anywhere after introducing its riff. The City of New Orleans gets bonus point for being penned by the same guy who wrote "Go Cubs Go".

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
I guess "Whipping Post" first came out in the 60's, but the At Fillmore East version is almost a different song and should have gotten this spot, if not another Duane-era track like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed". Anyways, Ramblin' Man is a fine country-pop song, while Radar Love feels like a not-so-great attempt at semi-orchestral rock and runs on a bit too long.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Neither of these are fantastic, but the second starts out great before falling flat and not going anywhere, whereas Coal Miner's Daughter at least feels like it has a bit of forward motion, mostly due to the lyrics rather than the music.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Go All the Way is a weird mash-up of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Who, but it works as a unified song. I've never liked Is She Really Going Out With Him, probably due to association with parties I was forced to attend as a child.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
I' don't want to vote against Barry White (that voice!), but War is a good early-era funk song with a guitar line I really like, whereas Can't Get Enough of Your Love feels like a run-of-the mill disco/philly soul song.

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
The only Cars song I like off their debut is My Best Friend's Girl, so Stephen Stills easily takes this one with a solid if unimpressive song.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
This is not the best rock song from the 70's called "Heartbreaker," whereas Midnight Rider is a classic, even if this version doesn't have Duane's slide guitar on it.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family
I've never been a massive disco fan, but We Are Family is still better than subpar Jackson 5 material.

[Nine-Tenths Ideas]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans

I had never heard City of New Orleans before. It's good, but I think Cruel to Be Kind is an all-time classic that apparently is going to lose.

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love

Both of these songs are good.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way

Joe Jackson is fantastic. Listen to Joe Jackson.

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War

I've never really liked Barry White, so easy pick!

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With

Much harder pick!

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[AgathokakologicalPunk]

This round is tough enough to warrant commentary.

Cruel to Be Kind - A bit fluffy, but it's better than a Guthrie somnofest.
Radar Love - Toughest matchup of the round IMO, but Radar Love is iconic - a Bohemian Rhapsody analog that is faster, harder, and better.
Coal Miner's Daughter - No comment.
Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Joe's got groove.
War - Motown > Disco
Just What I Needed - Signature hit from new wave's vanguard. Even Cobain loved it.
Midnight Rider - Pat Benatar just annoys me. I don't know why.
We Are Family - Another tough matchup. Jackson 5 is the better act, but I hear We Are Family and can't help but think of Pops Stargell, so We Are Family it is.

[Ethnic history of the Vilnius region]

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans
Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War
Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
I'll Be There vs. We Are Family

[ScoBo]

This was a tough ballot - took a while to decide most of these. I have six of these songs in my library (plus two covers by Bob Seger) and of course they are all matched up against each other.

Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans

Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love
Tough to vote against either of these. The Allman Brothers have a lot of good stuff. I think I'd be slightly more excited if "Radar Love" came up while driving, so I'll go with that.

Coal Miner's Daughter vs. (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right

Is She Really Going Out With Him? Vs. Go All the Way

Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe vs. War

Just What I Needed vs. Love the One You’re With
I could not decide between these. I literally flipped a coin so I could post this and go to sleep.

Heartbreaker vs. Midnight Rider
Both are great, but I can't vote against both of the Allman songs, so I'll break the tie that way. Hopefully I will get to vote for "Love Is a Battlefield" if there is an 80's bracket eventually.
I was only familiar with the band's version of "Midnight Rider" until I happened to snag a brand new five Allman Brothers album CD set a couple of years ago for $5, which included three of the first five Allman Brothers Band albums, Gregg's Laid Back, and strangely, the Allman Brothers compilation album from the "20th Century Masters" series with 6 of the 11 tracks being duplicates from other albums in the set. Even excluding that, $1.25 per album is hard to beat.

I'll Be There vs. We Are Family