Back to the 'version battles' for this weeks poll

A members recent suggestion on the forums and a potential classic battle lined up

Johnnie Taylor - Friday Night  v  Steve Mancha - Friday Night

All you have to do is select the one that you enjoy the most!

Will auto close in 7 days 

As always please use the comments below to explain, discuss, ponder  etc etc your reasons, background stories, history, anorackabilia and such...

Johnnie Taylor - Friday Night

 

Steve Mancha - Friday Night

over to you....

 

I suspect if you played both to  someone who'd never heard either  before they'd have a job realising it's the same song. Such is the rearrangemnt of the 70s version. Not that it's bad. Just the opposite but the original is still some way ahead. 

Have to agree with Maslar cause they sound like different records, hard to pick a favourite

Steve mancha for me as i think it is more of a distinctive work, and as Maslar has already said they are quite different takes.

p.s. a suggestion for a future version battle that i would be interested in would be Lou Courtney v Howard Guyton 'i watched you slowly slip away'.

Got both, prefer Mancha but Johnny's version is cracking too

How long has Steve Mancha's version been played as a regular play? Only heard it a couple of times, whereas Johnny Taylor 's must have been more maintstream?

In terms of quality, I agree with others that in essence it's like two different tunes.

Ed

Played Mancha out the other week but for me that's been the first time in over a year I think, still would love another copy so I can play both sides back to back

2 hours ago, maslar said:

I suspect if you played both to  someone who'd never heard either  before they'd have a job realising it's the same song. Such is the rearrangemnt of the 70s version. Not that it's bad. Just the opposite but the original is still some way ahead. 

The date on the Johnnie Taylor copy above is wrong, JT's version is from 1970 Stax 150 not 1975 Stax 2025 which was a re-release. I know it's still technically seventies, but just wanted to be accurate.

Steve for me, but what lucky buggers we are having both  . the sun shines  on the world of soul music 🎶🎶👍

JT for me....found the" issue" and the "demo",at the same boot sale....

1 hour ago, bbrich said:

Steve mancha for me as i think it is more of a distinctive work, and as Maslar has already said they are quite different takes.

p.s. a suggestion for a future version battle that i would be interested in would be Lou Courtney v Howard Guyton 'i watched you slowly slip away'.

...or...The Sapphires v The Yum Yums...unless its already been done...

36 minutes ago, MGM 1251 said:

JT for me....found the" issue" and the "demo",at the same boot sale....

...or...The Sapphires v The Yum Yums...unless its already been done...

Or maybe Tempos v Younghearts A Little Togetherness.

The Johnnie Taylor version is one of the first singles I bought with money from my paper round.  The guys at Stax have taken the song by the scruff of its neck and reworked it into an urgent, frantic slice of dance floor perfection.

Or maybe Marvin's or Darrell Hall's versions of when did l stop Lovin you 🎶

13 minutes ago, Kegsy said:

Or maybe Tempos v Younghearts A Little Togetherness.

 

3 minutes ago, Steve S 60 said:

The Johnnie Taylor version is one of the first singles I bought with money from my paper round.  The guys at Stax have taken the song by the scruff of its neck and reworked it into an urgent, frantic slice of dance floor perfection.

Given that Don Davis was involved with Groovesville, it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't the guys originally at Stax, but some of the Grooveville boys. I think JT recorded at United Sound fairly often. 

Interesting article here, don't know if it's been on here before.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2016/05/09/detroit-united-sound-systems-forfeiture-i-94-drug-trafficking/84157598/

Steve Manchas version is just perfect, production, arrangement and the finished article are just sublime.

But because it was the 1st version I heard in my youth club days and it`s a sound that sticks with you I have to vote for Mr Johnny Taylor!

 

Can I chip in with a future poll suggestion of The Spiral Staircase or Sam Fletcher? 

Edited October 10, 20177 yr by Guest

Johnny Taylor for me since it was one of the first Northern records I ever heard, back when they were simply known as "good disco records".

 My mentor and bro-in-law, John Haithwaite, had realised that the A-side (Steal Away) had not been deleted (it was around 1971), so he had a good thing going ordering new copies from WH Smiths for about 50 pence and then selling them on to the local mods at £1.50 each.

Edited October 10, 20177 yr by Dayo

Johnnie Taylor for me, He never made a duff record, even the banned Disco Lady was good.  

Johnnie Taylor all day long for me.

Steve Mancha is good but I also think Jackey Beavers' 'Love That Never Grows Old' (same backing track) is a far better record all round. Coincidentally, the other side of the Jackey Beavers, 'I Need My Baby' was also redone (sort of) at Stax:

 

 

Got to be JT,s version. Can,t help dancing to it.

21 hours ago, bbrich said:

p.s. a suggestion for a future version battle that i would be interested in would be Lou Courtney v Howard Guyton 'i watched you slowly slip away'.

 

19 hours ago, Steve Lane said:

Can I chip in with a future poll suggestion of The Spiral Staircase or Sam Fletcher? 

Thanks for the suggestions but just like to make a quick 'suggestion' on these type of poll 'suggestions'

The idea of the version battle polls is really of a more 'compare' orientated thrust than a 'discover' thrust, so both versions do need to be fairly well known for the poll to work best

If you do want to highlight different not so well known versions then it may be better suited if you start a seperate 'different versions' topic up with both versions asking thoughts etc 

cheers

mike

as always ask take any follow on discussion on polls to the support forum rather than this topic

Edited October 11, 20177 yr by mike
tidy

What was going on with the Steve Mancha version?

'Friday Night' is considered the A-side but the other side, 'Monday Through Thursday' (which sounds like they spent more time on it and is the better side) ends with him instructing the listener to 'turn the record over' and hear how the story ends...

...Suggests that 'Monday Through Thursday' is actually or was originally intended to be the a-side?

 

 

Edited October 11, 20177 yr by son of stan

Steve Mancha for me a more soulful production for my ears anyway, taking nothing away from Jonny Taylor,s version

ML

J.Ts version for me.This is my UK first issue copy.Was always a cheepie but see a lot more of the later reissues than the first.

Johnnie Taylor  is the version i have play . i know it fills the floor with dancers.Steve Mancha's version can,t remember every hearing any one play it at Nuneaton  we been going over a decade .

ys Taylors gritty heart rendering tale .

Edited October 14, 20177 yr by IAN STACEY
this is an original on my decks

On 10/10/2017 at 12:22, chalky said:

Have to agree with Maslar cause they sound like different records, hard to pick a favourite

Ditto to that!

its all over now

johnnie the winner, quite a close result!

 

thanks to all who took part in both the discussion and the poll

this weeks poll will be up later

for now over to the winner