Tom Booth vs. Bob Rice

As I mentioned in my last post, it seems Tom Booth has gotten the "best of" me by releasing his "best of" album before mine. I thank you for the email condolences. One of you was bold enough to ask the question on everyone's mind: Which "best of" is the best? The answer, of course, is mine- but I'd hate you to think that I'm biased. So I have asked some basic and fair questions that compare the two CDs. You can be the judge of who is the winner (hint: it's me). So ask yourself these questions:

WHICH "BEST OF" ALBUM HAS MORE HITS? Well, that depends on what your definition of "hits" is. If by "hits" you mean extremely popular songs that have garnished awards and been sung internationally, then I guess that would go to Tom Booth. But on the other hand, if you embrace a more general definition of "hits", meaning a song that some people like, then I would say we are even. Wait, I just realized that Tom has 17 songs on his CD and I only have 15. Alright, I guess he wins that one. But only by two songs!

WHICH "BEST OF" ALBUM IS CHEAPER? The answer: mine by 2 bucks. That's right, friends. My CD will be only $15, while Tom's is an extravagant $17. Though mathematically, we're each charging a buck a song, so I guess that evens out. We'll call that one a tie.

WHICH "BEST OF" ALBUM HAS MORE LYRICS ON IT? You might think Booth has the edge on this one because he has more songs. But the Cinderella story here is that I win in this category. That's right, with my music you get more words per song than Tom Booth, and we all know that the more words that are used, the more knowledge you get, and the holier you become. He's got one song on there that has, like, 10 words max. What is this, Taize?

WHICH "BEST OF" ARTIST SINGS HIGHER? Hands down, that would be me. All you pre-pubescent boys can sing along with ease.

WHICH "BEST OF" ALBUM HAS MORE STEUBENVILLE THEME SONGS? Do you have to even ask? My CD boasts TWICE as many has his. (He has one on there, while I have two.) Now, I could have dusted him on this category by including 5 other theme songs I've written, but I didn't want to hear about deaths caused by stampedes to the Catholic book stores of the world when my CD was released. So I pulled back a bit on that one.

WHICH "BEST OF" ALBUM WAS RECORDED AT A COOLER PLACE? Some of Tom's music was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in England, where the Beatles recorded. That would have been great if he was making an LP in the 60's. My CD was made in beautiful Steubenville, OH- a.k.a. the "Catholic Nashville". The mental institution next door and crack dealers down the street only added to the ambience.

So which "best of" album is better? I'll let you decide, but I think the evidence speaks for itself. Still, maybe you should purchase Tom's CD, if only out of pity (and if you want a really killer CD to listen to). Click on the title of this blog for a link to do that. As for my new CD, it will be available at the end of this month, and pre-orders will be available soon. Also, check out bobricemusic.com, 'cause I've got some new updates. And congradulations to Karsten for getting my age right- I'm a tender 34 years old.

I'm older! Free music!

Yes, January 26th was my birthday. How old do you think I am? Let's make that the game today. I'll give something to the first person who responds.

So my birthday was cool, especially because I got season 4 of Enterprise on DVD and a Star Wars belt buckle. It's nice to know you can be in your 40s and still get stuff you would have liked as a teenager. (Did I give away my age, or is it just a red herring?)

I've also been around a bit this month. Went to Denver, twice, for two different reasons. I lead worship at a Youth Minister's Retreat on campus- hello to all on the front lines! You'll probably never read this because I keep forgeting to promote myself or my web page at those events. Some say that makes me humble and holy. I say it makes me poor and stupid.

Speaking of being poor and stupid, my "best of Bob Rice" CD is nearly finished. I prided myself on doing something innovative. After all, how many other Catholic artists do you know that has a best of album? Then I found out that Tom Booth just came out with one! The dog! He, by the way, IS in his 40s. I thought I was cutting egde but got beat by a pro. And his album cover is him holding a flame!!! No, just kidding. But that would have been funny.

Next thing you know, Matt Maher will come out with a song titled, "Shining like the Son", and I'll be screwed. All those AZ cats are out to get me.

But the good news is I've put all the MP3s that didn't make it free on the web (click on the title of this blog to get there). It's a work in progress, but there is a good amount of stuff there, including the ever asked for but rarely available "More Than Gold". You old timers can go down memory lane with me back to 1996 when I was just 15 years old and wrote my first conference theme song.

Or was I?

Thanks to all the great comments on this blog. It's nice to be read.