Hmm. I don't know if I can pick one over the other in an absolutist sense, as I can't stop listening to either. I suppose I can only answer your question in situational terms, as follows:
1. Studio version: I see this one as having more mass appeal - not in the sense of being more "accessible", but simply because it has bigger production values, and has a very majestic quality to it. Every time I listen to it, in my mind's eye I can imagine it being part of the soundtrack to a dramatic movie in which the lead character finds the wherewithal to move past some resounding personal loss. Perhaps it would be the closing song as the end credits roll, virtually guaranteeing a full house still in their seats as the lights come up. It could also be effectively deployed in this imaginary movie's trailer, somewhere at the half or two-thirds mark, seguing to some sense of a pivot from darkness to light in the character's journey. (Are you reading this, Hollywood?)
2. Live acoustic duet: This is the better one for intimate listening, and may have narrower appeal (say, campus or public radio rather than commercial radio). If you were looking to market yourself as a songwriter, this is the version that (I believe) would have more currency, as the more spartan arrangement would make it easier for other performers to imagine themselves inhabiting your work in a live setting. (I could have this all wrong, as I'm not in the music industry, at least not in any conventional sense.) Another way in which I connect to this version is as someone whose favorite album is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye - after almost a lifetime of repeated listening, I'm still intrigued and amazed by the double-track lead vocals throughout. This version brought that album to mind for that reason. :)
I hope this answers your question (if circuitously).
PS: Thank you for writing and recording this wonderful composition, and then having the artistic courage to give the world your own reinterpretation. :)
which version did you like best? I'm rather curious and kind of was the experiment of sharing them together...
Thanks so much for the compliment :)
Hmm. I don't know if I can pick one over the other in an absolutist sense, as I can't stop listening to either. I suppose I can only answer your question in situational terms, as follows:
1. Studio version: I see this one as having more mass appeal - not in the sense of being more "accessible", but simply because it has bigger production values, and has a very majestic quality to it. Every time I listen to it, in my mind's eye I can imagine it being part of the soundtrack to a dramatic movie in which the lead character finds the wherewithal to move past some resounding personal loss. Perhaps it would be the closing song as the end credits roll, virtually guaranteeing a full house still in their seats as the lights come up. It could also be effectively deployed in this imaginary movie's trailer, somewhere at the half or two-thirds mark, seguing to some sense of a pivot from darkness to light in the character's journey. (Are you reading this, Hollywood?)
2. Live acoustic duet: This is the better one for intimate listening, and may have narrower appeal (say, campus or public radio rather than commercial radio). If you were looking to market yourself as a songwriter, this is the version that (I believe) would have more currency, as the more spartan arrangement would make it easier for other performers to imagine themselves inhabiting your work in a live setting. (I could have this all wrong, as I'm not in the music industry, at least not in any conventional sense.) Another way in which I connect to this version is as someone whose favorite album is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye - after almost a lifetime of repeated listening, I'm still intrigued and amazed by the double-track lead vocals throughout. This version brought that album to mind for that reason. :)
I hope this answers your question (if circuitously).
PS: Thank you for writing and recording this wonderful composition, and then having the artistic courage to give the world your own reinterpretation. :)