Skylark vs. The New Birth | Head 2 Head 🗣️

In the 6^th edition of Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️ (2023), Skylark and The New Birth contend for the best rendition of “Wildflower.”

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song together, comparing their performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  In the 6^th edition of head 🗣️2 head 🗣️ (2023), 🎙 Skylark and 🎙 The New Birth contend for the best rendition of 🎵 “Wildflower”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Skylark, “Wildflower”

💿 Skylark • 🏷 Capitol • 🗓 1972

“She’s faced the hardest time you could imagine / And many times her eyes fought back the tears.” The late, great 🎙 Donny Gerrard superbly brings though lyrics to life melodically, singing lead for the short-lived, Canadian pop/rock band, 🎙 Skylark. Despite their tenure as a band, Skylark scored a huge hit with their single, 🎵 “Wildflower” (💿 Skylark, 1972), which peaked at  no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Gerrard’s expressive voice is one of the reasons this one hit is sufficient to remember the pop/rock collective.  Another reason is the sound. The arrangement, and the production (🎛 Eirik Wangberg) are impressive. There are some great rock cues incorporated (ripe guitar) as well as the classical, symphonic ideas embraced by pop and soul music at the time (strings, including harp). Safe to say, the auditory experience is celestial.

Besides marvelous vocals and top-notch production, thematically, “Wildflower” is poetically penned. The song was composed by 🎼 ✍ David Richardson and Doug Edwards. The focus is a lady, who seems to face her fair share of adversity.  The wildflower metaphors are utterly superb: “A free and gentle flower growing wild,” “Be careful how you touch her, she’ll awaken,” and “As sleep’s the only freedom all that she knows / And when you walk into her eyes, you won’t believe / The way she’s always paying for a debt she never owes.” Given the beauty and memorable nature of this 70s classic, it’s unsurprising it has been covered by others, including 🎙 The New Birth, saxophonist 🎙 Hank Crawford, and Color Me Badd. 

Appears in 🔻:

• Skylark, “Wildflower”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 24 (2023)

2. The New Birth, “Wild Flower”

💿 It’s Been a Long Time  • 🏷 RCA • 🗓 1973

“Let her cry, for she’s a lady / Let her dream, she’s a child / Let the rain fall down upon her / She’s a free and gentle flower growing wild.” 🎙 The New Birth covered the 🎙 Skylark classic, 🎵 “Wild Flower”, on their 1973 album, 💿 It’s Been a Long Time. If the record sounds familiar to a younger audience, it’s thanks to 🎙 Jamie Foxx, who sampled for his 2005 hit, 🎵 “Unpredictable”). The gorgeous, symphonic introduction exemplifies the 1970s soul sound.  It is often this opening portion that has been marvelously repurposed with a string of more contemporary hits.  That said, “Wild Flower” deserves all of its flowers now for being a truly stupendous classic. “Wild Flower,” which runs six-and-a-half minutes, earned some success on the pop charts, peaking at no. 45.  It fared better on the R&B charts, peaking at no. 17.

The orchestrations are one of the biggest selling points of The New Birth rendition of “Wild Flower” – the lush strings, the horn riffs, the locked-in rhythm section! The vocals are dynamic as well, including authentic, expressive lead vocals and sweet, harmonized falsetto backing vocals.  The songwriting continues to thrive in The New Birth’s hands. An underrated soul gem, 🎵 “Wild Flower”, in the hands of The New Birth is a prime example of sheer brilliance!

Appears in 🔻:

• The New Birth, “Wild Flower”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 134 (2022)

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️

So, who owns “Wildflower,” 🎙 Skylark or 🎙 The New Birth?  This one is incredibly tough.  Skylark is responsible for the original, which features those heavenly vocals by Donny Gerrard, not to mention peaking in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.  While The New Birth’s cover didn’t perform as well as the original by Skylark, it features more elaborate orchestration not to mention some significant music transformation that distinguishes it. So, considering these arguments, ultimately, I prefer The New Birth version by the slightest edge – like 51/49… Both are masterpieces, however.

Skylark vs. The New Birth: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 6 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Antoni Shkraba via Pexels; andresilva5, talha khalil, Valentin Tikhonov via Pixabay; Nick Wang on Unsplash]