"Cass County" Survivor Game

[Jonny Come Lately]

I definitely want to save A Younger Man. Soda’s description did make me smile (you have a real knack for funny descriptions of songs), and I will concede that it’s not exactly uplifting, to say the least, but I really like it. Admittedly I perhaps have a greater tolerance for ‘depressing’ music than others (then again, many of the songs that most annoy me are extremely happy and upbeat, so make of that what you will!). It comes across as an honest acceptance that he’s old and cynical and can no longer pretend to be this idealised version of himself. I feel that it and Where Am I Now are companion pieces and in this context it feels less depressing: ‘I’m just a grumpy old man. But I like being a grumpy old man’! I love the ‘angel from the future/old devil from the past’ verse, partly because it reminds of the classic One of These Nights lyric, which has always been one of my favourites.

This time around there are three songs in peril - interestingly no one has voted for any song outside of this trio yet. Of these songs, my order of preference from favourite to least favourite is:
A Younger Man
Too Far Gone
Words Can Break Your Heart

I like Too Far Gone, but one thing keeps me from really loving it – it shares its title with a Neil Young song from his 1989 Freedom album, which also has something of a country sound and the start of the chorus is quite similar, and I prefer that song to the one Don has covered (here's a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmjQNkQeVmQ). However, I do prefer it to Words.

Therefore, I will again vote for Words Can Break Your Heart.

Thanks to Dreamer and FP for your kind words about my Bramble Rose comments. One thing that has been fun about this game is that it’s been quite unpredictable as the songs are still relatively new, so it’s been interesting to see how songs have been received. I’m personally not surprised that When I Stop Dreaming was the first song to go (from my experience, I think Dolly Parton’s voice is a bit off-putting to people who prefer rock to country), but some of the other results have surprised me a little.

Another thing I’ve noticed: I was listening to Maggie’s Farm by Bob Dylan a few days ago and it struck me that the opening verse lyrics include ‘Well I wake up in the morning, fold my hands and pray for rain’. This has made me wonder if Don got the idea for Praying For Rain from this song, and if he did this might explain his vocal on the ‘some pray for sweet release’ verse.

[Glennsallnighter]

I haven't played CC since Glenn 's death (I'm sorry, I felt too resentful that Don could release an album while Glenn was dying. I know thats not strictly true either - the album release and tour were sorted long before Glenn ever got ill. Hard for me to explain in words - Sorry) Anyway I let it play twice yesterday so thats another hurdle I've jumped. My favourite is still my favourite and I'm glad of that. I think I will give it another blast today before I vote.

[L101]

GA - I'm glad that you know that Don wouldn't release an album and tour while Glenn was so sick as we both know that the first thing he would do if that was the case would be to postpone both!! But I'm glad that you were able to listen to CC and it was ok for you

I'm sensing a bit of a backlash against Don over Glenn passing on the web at the moment and how he's getting on with his life and touring etc. and it's annoying me - so much so that I've stopped reading anything to do with Don, Glenn and the Eagles at the moment. The only thing I'm doing is the CC survivor (and I might not even do that soon) and watching out for Don's tour dates - I think I've finally had enough Eagles !!

Anyway, I can't vote for any of the three songs in contention in this round so I'm going to vote for No, Thank You. It's one of the liveliest songs on the album, and Don is at his best ranting but I can give or take it - and no matter how hard I try, I always end up singing Achy Breaky Heart which stays in my head for the rest of the day

[DivineDon]

Please don't stop playing, Lacken 'though I understand how you feel. GA, I'm glad you're listening to CC again - I also kind of understand that listening to Don invariably makes you think of Glenn so you get sad and then angry because he's gone but as Lacken said, there is no way Don would have released CC if he had known what was going to happen.

I'm surprised and disappointed that some of the comments in this Survivor game are so vehement - it's supposed to be a fun process which is why I joined The Border in the first place. Of course not everyone has the same taste but if you don't like a song there's no need to be so vitriolic - others do and that's the nature of the game....and no, I'm not talking about anyone in particular just a general sense of the situation. I just have the feeling some players are resentful that it's Don's album so all I can say is if you don't like it or aren't really interested in it then don't play. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'll stick around either - life, as we've all discovered, is too short for pettiness.

[GlennLover]

I'm sure that Glenn would want Don (and others) to get on with living.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I believe most of us here know that Don is in no way to blame for Glenn’s death or that he went full speed with the release of Cass County and the subsequent tour on Glenn’s deathbed. It was quite the contrary. All of the plans for Cass County were made well in advance of Glenn becoming sick. It is true that Glenn had taken sick towards the end of the tour. Once Don was aware of the seriousness of Glenn’s illness, he rushed right to his bedside to be there to support Irving and Glenn’s family. From all indications, he has been there to support them throughout the remainder of this horrible ordeal. I have nothing but admiration for the way he has conducted himself.

Having said all this, still anger is a natural part of grieving, so I don’t think it’s abnormal for people to feel a sense of resentment when they see others moving on with their lives while they're dealing with the finality of their loss. However, it is not and has never been acceptable on this board for anyone to lash out against band members. To the best of my knowledge that hasn’t happened in this case.

As far as this Survivor game, I truly hope no one stops playing, but everyone needs to decide that for themselves. As we have said many times in these games, sometimes you have to have a thick skin to play Survivor. It is not a game for those that are super-sensitive. I would just ask everyone to consider a few things here about this game …

- We are still in the earlier rounds, so as is always the case, the comments are more negative because these are the least favorite songs. With 18 songs on this album, this is a longer game than many so that most likely leaves room for more negative and positive comments. We haven’t gotten to the favorite songs part of the game yet.

- While there have been some negative comments made in this game about some of these songs, that is true of all Survivor games. I don’t see where the comments here are any more harsh than in others games, and most certainly do not reach the level of ‘vitriolic’.

- It has never been a requirement that members have to like the songs, albums, videos, etc. in order to participate in our Survivor games. People are entitled to give their opinions or not give them as long as it is done respectfully without attacking anyone else.

And now I have to admit, this is definitely not my favorite album of Don’s and it has nothing to do with resentment or any kind of backlash. I feel very similar to this album as I did about Glenn’s After Hours. I don’t think they are bad albums, but their styles of music just aren’t my ‘thing’. This is strictly my opinion, but the Eagles music I fell in love with over 40 years ago works just fine for me. So I don't have any real need for Don to totally change his style. I will take more of the same anytime, pure and simple.

So, hopefully, we can all enjoy playing the Survivor games regardless of how well we like the piece of work or how much others agree or disagree with our impressions. The only way to keep it fun is to not take it so seriously and keep in mind that it is just a game after all.

P.S. My apologies for the length of this post.

[shunlvswx]

Words is going down and we need to save it.

Save Words, vote for either A Younger Man or Too Far Gone.

I'm voting for Too Far Gone.

[sodascouts]

The Survivors are always "vehement" - go check out some old ones! It's funny because when people don't say much and just vote, some will complain that the game's not lively enough. Then, when people give impassioned opinions that are negative in order to justify why they're voting for a certain song to go, others complain that the game's not positive enough.

I understand both viewpoints, and of course if you don't enjoy the game, it's perfectly reasonable that you'd stop playing it! However, I do hope that everyone continues playing with the perspective that it's actually a compliment to Don that he inspires passionate responses. It would be a much worse reflection upon him if no one cared enough to post anything about the album.

BTW, I absolutely adore "That Old Flame" and I will speak just as positively about that one when the time comes as I spoke negatively about "A Younger Man." My dislike of the latter has nothing to do with Glenn's death, nor do any of my opinions of the songs on Cass County, all of which I formed when the album came out and many of which are positive.

This is not a new problem - pretty much every Survivor we've ever played has people complaining about negativity - and I understand that because nobody likes to read someone criticizing a song that is special to them. In the end, though, I still think the games are worth playing because the negativity is balanced out with positive comments (although it's easy to overlook those when one is upset) and it's so interesting to see what people think about the album. Plus, it inspires people to listen to the album again, which is always a good thing!

[FWIW]

You're right on, Soda. I have been listening to CC again. In fact shortly after I listened to A Younger Man, I listened to I Found Somebody. Talk about a contrast!

In an effort to save Words (it's the harmonies for me) I cast my vote for A Younger Man.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

The next song to be eliminated in the Cass County Survivor is Words Can Break Your Heart. “Words Can Break Your Heart”, the tribe has spoken and it only takes a vote or two to tear your world apart. You may be thinking, ‘Oh, can we just start over’? No, what's done is done so you must leave the island immediately.

Votes
Words Can Break Your Heart – 6
Too Far Gone – 5
A Younger Man – 5
No, Thank You – 1

Vote Breakdown
Words Can Break Your Heart – Freypower
Words Can Break Your Heart – scottside
Words Can Break Your Heart – DivineDon
Words Can Break Your Heart – AlreadyGone95
Words Can Break Your Heart – maryc2130
Words Can Break Your Heart – Jonny Come Lately
Too Far Gone – NOLA
Too Far Gone – ktdids
Too Far Gone – jms18222
Too Far Gone – timfan
Too Far Gone – shunlvswx
A Younger Man – sodascouts
A Younger Man – Ive always been a dreamer
A Younger Man – SoaringRockyMountainWay
A Younger Man – GlennLover
A Younger Man – FWIW
No, Thank You – Lacken101

Songs eliminated:
When I Stop Dreaming 3/24
She Sang Hymns Out of Tune 3/26
Too Much Pride 3/28
Praying for Rain 3/30
Bramble Rose 4/01
Words Can Break Your Heart 4/03

Songs remaining:
The Cost of Living
No, Thank You
Waiting Tables
Take a Picture of This
Too Far Gone
That Old Flame
The Brand New Tennessee Waltz
Train in the Distance
A Younger Man
Where I Am Now
It Don’t Matter To the Sun
Here Come Those Tears Again


Voting for Round Seven begins now.