-Well folks, here we are nearing the end of a road that began back on May 21st. I said then that "I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into" with this, and while it certainly has been work- especially since I have tried my best to be attentive to those who've posted- it has also been a great pleasure to have talked with you all and discussed a topic that is so close to me. So, I will begin once again by giving a big THANK YOU!! to all who have participated to this point, and by also extending a warm WELCOME!! to those that haven't- as with all previous rounds, the final is also open to all and any who are interested...
-Votership was down somewhat (42 in total) in the semi final after having slightly increased over each preceding round (57 in Round 3), but we are entering vacation time for many, so that's to be expected. The results of the semi final were very interesting in one of the races, a back and forth battle which proved to be the tightest yet, and wound up in a tie. I recounted the votes three times to ensure its accuracy, but it stood up. Given this result, and the fact that I did not wish to alienate any participants with a personal vote, I elected to toss a coin (a 500 Yen piece, which is slightly larger than a quarter) to determine the result.
-Here, then, are the results of the semi-final. As with previous rounds, seedings are in parenthesis, and votes received are in square brackets:
Eric Clapton(1)[21] vs. Jimmy Page(6)[21]* -Tough end of the road for ol' Slowhand... I was tempted to ask the missus her opinion for the tie-breaker, but I know her preference (Clapton), which I also share (only slightly, as I also love Page's work as well), so in effect it would be like a personal vote, and, as I mentioned, I wanted to keep this vote as impartial as possible. There really are no "losers" here, however, as both are such greats, and the vote was sooooo dang close.... In any event, the results of the vote are hardly likely sway people's personal tastes in either direction
Page does face one heckuva challenger in the final, though, and one that EC would find no less of a challenge had he been in this position...
*Winner by virtue of tie-breaking coin toss
Jimi Hendrix(2)[35] vs. Carlos Santana(4)[7] -Mucho aficion for Santana expressed here, and that was reflected in the fact that this one appeared to pose a difficult choice for many voters. Yet in spite of it, Jimi continues to roll... Has he finally met his match in the final? Stay tuned!
So the entrants into the final are:
Jimi Hendrix(2) vs. Jimmy Page(6)
-I look forward to seeing all of your takes on this very interesting final matchup!