1. Burn- Ray LaMontagne

• "Oh mama don't walk away, I'm a goddamn sore loser, I ain't to proud to say, that I'm still thinking 'bout you, now I'm so lonesome without you, and I can't get you out of my mind." "Oh so kiss him again, just to prove to me that you can, and I will stand here and burn in my skin." Ray LaMontagne's voice is so filled with emotion that his songs come across with great conviction. "Burn" is a great example of the singer/songwriter's heartfelt passion; it's like you can feel the heartbreak come through the record. At one point in "Burn" Ray advises, "don't pay no mind to my watering eyes" and blames it on something in the air. It's the serious version of Flight of the Conchord's "I'm not crying, it's just been raining...on my face." My favorite version of "Burn" is from the "Ray LaMontagne: Live from Bonnaroo 2005" EP. If you do catch Ray live, don't get thrown by the fact that he sings from stage right...he's not comfortable being the center of attention, or for that matter making conversation with the crowd between numbers. I caught Ray in Philly in 2008 and "Burn" was one of the highlights of the night.

2. Breakfast in America- Supertramp

• "Take a jumbo 'cross the water, like to see America, see the girls in California, I'm hoping it's going to come true, but there's not a lot I can do." I don't know of too many classic rock hits that have a polka feel, but "Breakfast in America" would have to qualify. The tuba work is superb. On that note, if you want to hear classic rock and pop in a polka style I'd recommend the song "Polka's on 45" from the Weird Al Yankovic "In 3-D" album (my first record purchase). Getting back to "Breakfast in America", this song is best know for the lyric "take a look at my girlfriend, she's the only one I've got, not much of a girlfriend, I never seem to get a lot." The Gym Class Heroes borrowed these lyrics (plus the ba ba da da) for their hit "Cupid's Chokehold" in 2006. I have a few Supertramp songs in my collection (and "Breakfast in America" is a fun song) but for the most part this type of late 70s pop/prog-rock helps me understand why punk emerged to destroy the mainstream rock movement of the time.

3. Message to Love (Live)- Jimi Hendrix

• "Well I travel at a speed of a reborn man, I got a lot of love to give, from the mirrors of my hand, I said a message of love, don't you run away, look at your heart, come along with me today." This version of "Message of Love" comes from the classic "Band of Gypsys" Live album from 1970 featuring Hendrix, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Hendrix passed away just 9 months after the album was recorded; the only live Hendrix recording issued while the performer was alive. The material on Band of Gypsys doesn't steer too far from the sound of The Jimi Hendrix Experience but there is more funk/R&B/soul to compliment the guitar wizardry. A studio version of "Message to Love" remained unreleased until the 1997 "South Saturn Delta" compilation. Speaking of posthumous albums, there is a new collection of Hendrix recordings titled "Valleys of Neptune" scheduled for a March 9 release. If nothing else, the release of "Valleys of Neptune" finds Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls resting on their laurels.