1. The Next Day- Glen Phillips

• "Tic-toc the hour goes, junk food junk TV shows, I can't remember, one thing that I took in, everyday, I promise (that), I will change, the next day." In 2006 Glen Phillips released his 3rd full length solo studio album "Mr. Lemons". Since then Glen has released an EP of space inspired music, formed and recorded albums with multiple "side project" bands, fallen trough a glass table, and reunited sporadically with his band Toad the Wet Sprocket. In short he's done everything but issue a proper follow up to Mr. Lemons. Thankfully there is enough great material on his 1st 3 albums to make the wait bearable. "The Next Day" is one of the better songs from "Mr. Lemons". Perhaps the most notable song from the collection is a brilliant reworking of "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis & The News. For me though the ultimate gem is "Everything But You"...a song that sounds better every time I listen to it. Speaking of "tic-toc" I'll go ahead and call myself out by admitting that I was dancing to Ke$ha at a bar last night. I'm not proud of that.

2. Giving It All Away- Roger Daltrey

• "I paid all my dues so I picked up my shoes, I got up and walked away, oh I was just a boy, I didn't know how to play, worked hard and failed, now all I can say, is I threw it all away, oh I was just a boy, giving it all away." Despite being the front man for The Who, Roger Daltrey never seemed to be in a position to break out on his own. Pete Townshend served as the band's principle songwriter and as a result held all of the cards. That was until 1973 when Roger teamed up with David Courtney and Leo Sayer who penned "Giving It All Away" for him. It became Daltrey's 1st hit song outside of The Who. Leo Sayer would turn around and record his own version a year later. Of course a few years after that, Sayer would record "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" which is one of the most effeminate recordings known to man. A few summers ago I played "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" on a jukebox at a Chicago bar as a joke. When a few girls got into it I approached them and asked if they were into Leo Sayer....of course they had no idea and thought that I was the one who was strange.

3. If You Want Me To Stay- Sly & The Family Stone

• "If you want me to stay, I'll be around today, to be available for you to see, I'm about to go and then you'll know, for me to stay I've got to be me." We all know that groove is in the heart. In this case the bass groove in "If You Want Me To Stay" is the heart of the song. There are a lot of things to like about this song- the great vocal, the funky horns and keys but they all take a back seat to the bass line. Of course Sly & The Family Stone had a significant influence on much of the music that came in their wake. In 2006, Sony records put out "Different Strokes By Different Folks" which featured current artists recording new parts overdubbed alongside the original Sly recordings. It's like singing with a dead Nat King Cole but with a lot more funk. The range of artists on the collection (The Roots, Joss Stone, Moby, Steven Tyler) speak to the broad influence of Sly & The Family Stone.