1. Monday Monday- Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs

• "Monday Monday (ba-da ba-da da-da), so good to me (ba-da ba-da da-da), Monday morning, it was all I hoped it would be, oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee (ba-da ba-da da-da), that Monday evening you would still be here with me." On "Under the Covers, Vol. 1" Sweet and Hoffs tackle some of the best pop music from the 1960s. The album produces some great results, most notably the duo's take on Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere". In the case of "Monday Monday" the results are adequate. There is certainly no lack of ambition with this cover- the Mamas & The Papas original is an absolute classic and the harmonies are as tight as can be. The remake can't quite match the feel of the original. It doesn't help that we have 2 vocalists trying to do the work of four singers. Perhaps Susanna should have called up her old Bangles band mates to have them lend some back up vocals. History shows that they're up to the task. After all it was the Bangles cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" that taught us that Simon and Garfunkel could rock-years before the Lemonheads reinvented Mrs. Robinson.

2. California- Joni Mitchell

• "So I bought me a ticket, I caught a plane to Spain, went to a party down a red dirt road, there were lots of pretty people there, reading Rolling Stone reading Vogue." 1971 was a great year for music. "What's Going On" took R&B to new heights, "Who's Next" and"Led Zeppelin IV" provided rock and roll thrills and albums like "Tapestry" and "Blue" were tour de force showcases for brilliant songwriting. Joni Mitchell has such a distinct and original sound. If you can point me to anyone that came before Joni with a similar sound I'm all ears. "Blue" will probably go down as her best album. It's not just the highlights ("California" is one for sure) that make "Blue" great but rather the entire collection of songs. There was nothing "single driven" about this effort- the album stands as a cohesive work of art. After all "Blue" was made in an era where the expectation was you'd drop a needle, step away for 15-20 minutes, flip and repeat. Might as well make the whole thing great.

3. Travelin' Band- Creedence Clearwater Revival

• "737 coming out of the sky, won't you take me down to Memphis on a midnight ride, I wanna move, playin in a travelin' band, oh yeah!" "Travelin' Band" is all the proof I need that John Fogerty listened to a lot of Chuck Berry and Little Richard records growing up. We have the gritty CCR sound, classic Fogerty rasp and a 1950's rock song structure and feel. "Travelin' Band" comes to us from 1970's "Cosmo's Factory" which also brought us great songs like "Lookin' Out My Back Door" and my personal favorite "Who'll Stop the Rain". I've played"Who'll Stop the Rain" on guitar for years. I also sang it karaoke a few years ago. Imagine my surprise when the supposed "actual lyrics" varied quite a bit from what I've been singing for a long time. I could go back and re-learn the lyrics but I'm in a good place with my version of the song.