San Diego Edition

1. Fakin' It- Simon & Garfunkel

• "I'm such a dubious soul, and a walk in the garden...wears me down, tangled in the fallen vines, pickin' up the punch lines, I've just been fakin' it, not really makin' it." My favorite Simon & Garfunkel album would have to be "Bookends" despite the brilliance of the group's follow up and final studio album "Bridge Over Troubled Water". What "Bookends" lacks in "Greatest Hits" material (there is some) it more than makes up for with gem after gem. Songs like "Fakin' It", "Save The Life Of My Child" and "At the Zoo" are great songs that showcase the duo at their best. Most bands split up too late, years after they've run out of material. These guys were getting better with each album.

2. I'm Yours- Jason Mraz

• "Well open up your mind and see like me, open up your plans and damn you're free, look into your heart and you'll find love love love love. But I won't hesitate, no more no more, it can not wait, I'm yours." It's hard to imagine anything being better than LeAnn Rimes but "I'm Yours" topped "How Do I Live" to set the record for the longest run on the Billboard "Hot 100" chart at over 70 weeks. The song first appeared on an iTunes-only EP released in conjunction with Mraz's 2nd commercial full length album "Mr. A-Z". The song would disappear only to re-emerge (re-recorded) as the lead single to the follow up album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things". "I'm Yours" lost out to John Mayer's "Say" for the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy in 2009 despite being the biggest song from that year. Perhaps as a make up Mraz was given that award in 2010 for his song "Make It Mine". The original version of "I'm Yours" (now labeled as a demo) is once again available on iTunes. After seeing how this song has been embraced internationally it dawned on me that this is one of the great pop songs of all time.

3. Jesus Gave Me Water- Sam Cooke

• "...Jesus gave me water, I want let his praises swell, Jesus gave me water, Jesus gave me water, Jesus gave me water, and it was not in the well." Before Sam Cooke was Sam Cooke he was a teenage member of the gospel outfit The Soul Stirrers. "Jesus Gave Me Water" is from Sam's 1st recording session with the group when he was just 19. The results are wonderful. Given the content of the Soul Stirrers music Gospel may be the best tag but this music is 50's doo-wop at it's finest...they just happen to be singing about Jesus. "Jesus Gave Me Water" has made it way onto a number of Sam Cooke compilations including "Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964" which has to be the authoritative single disc greatest hits collection. That being said, "Jesus, I'll Never Forget" to me is a much better Sam Cooke/Soul Stirrers song. It was used in the Cohen Brothers film "The Ladykillers". The less we say about that movie the better.

1. War of My Life- John Mayer

• "Come out angels, come out ghosts, come out darkness, bring everyone you know, I'm not running and I'm not scared, I am waiting an well prepared. All the suffering and all the pain never left a name." Everyone has trials in their life- suffering and striving are universal. "This album is dedicated to....all the n*ggas in the struggle". That of course was Biggie Smalls introducing us to "Juicy" but the sentiment here is about the same. "War of My Life" (from John Mayer's latest album "Battle Studies") is meant to be accessible; we should all be able to relate to this. I'm not sure who I am to question Steve Jordan's production choices given the fact that he helped mastermind the sound on "Continuum" but the studio version of "War of My Life" sounds a bit murky, as if the guitar leads were recorded under water. That being said the overall feel of the record hits the right emotional notes. John Mayer debuted this song this time a year ago in a small venue in Los Angeles. Where did the last year of my life go?

2. Purple Pills- D12

• "I take a couple uppers, I down a couple downers, but nothing compares to these blue and yellow purple pills." It's always nice to have a few songs in your collection that glamorize recreational drug use. D12 features Eminem and a handful of his boys from Detroit. To help commercialize the song (i.e. get it played on radio and TV) the song was reworked as "Purple Hills" with a few lyrical modifications. Searching for old records to sample is known to many in hip-hop as "digging in the crates". It really is an art form. The quest for that moment in an old record that can be reworked into something new and different is some people's life work. In the case of "Purple Pills" I must say bravo. "Purple Pills" is based on a sample of Ray (Oh yes they call him the streak) Steven's "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills". We're not exactly sampling James Brown or Parliament Funkadelic here.

3. Red Bus Needs To Leave!- DJ Shadow

• (instrumental) Speaking of "digging in the crates" we have come to one of the masters. Josh Davis a.k.a. DJ Shadow has made a career out of blending moments from obscure and long lost records into brand new music. His breakthrough "Endtroducing...." was reissued several years ago as a "Deluxe Edition" with a bonus disc of material. The bonus disc has a number of cool moments. "Red Bus Needs To Leave!" is not one of the more notable selections but he bonus disc is labeled as "excessive ephemera" so it's not like we haven't been warned.

1. Radio Ga Ga- Queen

• "So don't become some background noise, a backdrop for the girls and boys, who just don't know or just don't care. All we hear is Radio ga ga." How this hasn't been remixed/reworked into a Lady Gaga song is beyond my powers of comprehension. I wasn't quite sure when this song was recorded but the production is a give away that we were talking about the golden age of the 1980s. Turns out the song was released in 1984 -back when I was a part of the Pepsi Generation and several years from being a part of the Electric Youth movement. I can remember having a late night/early morning conversation about music with a guy working the desk at a hotel. It wasn't a hotel where I was staying or visiting anyone but I found myself there none the less. We were talking about the greatest "popular singers" of all time. I threw out a few of my favorites like Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. This dude (an older black guy) told me that Freddie Mercury was the best pop singer ever. The more I listen to Queen the more I can see where he was coming from.

2. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed- The Allman Brothers Band

• (instrumental) There's an episode of the Simpson's (All's Fair in Oven War) where Bart and Milhouse begin to live the "Playdude" lifestyle by doing a number of cool adult things including listening to jazz music. They both seem to enjoy it though Milhouse muses aloud, "I wonder when they'll start singing". "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" has me wondering the same thing. This studio version, found on "Idlewild South" and "A Decade of Hits 1969-1979" clocks in at almost 7 minutes. The famed 1971 live "At Filmore East" album finds the band stretching the number another 6 minutes. At times "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is tight, focused, and downright funky. At other times it's rather masturbatory and meandering...but hey, I'm just the critic. If you are really a fan of an extended southern rock jams that can take your mind to another dimension I recommend the Allman's "Mountain Jam" from the classic "Eat a Peach" double LP. Not only does it clock in at over 33 minutes but if you have the album on vinyl you'll need to take side 2 off of your record player and put side 4 on to hear the whole thing. Love it.

3. I Want You Back- The Jackson 5

• "Tryin' to live without your love was one long sleepless night, let me show you girl that I know wrong from right, every street you walk on I leave tear stains on the ground, following the girl I didn't even want around." As far as debut singles go this one isn't half bad, and by that I mean it's one of the greatest of all time. "I Want You Back" introduced America to the Jackson family including some 10 year old named Michael. This song pretty much leaps off your turntable- 2 minutes and 59 seconds of R&B/funk/soul pleasure. This is one of 3 versions of the song in my collection. I have an acoustic cover by Jer Coons which puts the song in a singer/songwriter context. I also have the Z-Trip version from the "Motown Remixed" album which puts it in a hip hop form. My favorite part of the Z-trip remix is the extended intro which gives us a greater appreciation for the wonderful electric guitar riff that forms the basis of the song. I can't tell what's better in the original song- the music track or the vocal. They are both impeccable.

1. Galileo- Indigo Girls

• "And then you had to bring up reincarnation over a couple of beers the other night. I offer thanks to those before me, that's all I've got to say, cause maybe you've squandered big bucks in your lifetime, now I have to pay." About 5 years ago I can remember playing "Galileo" and "Closer To Fine" on acoustic guitar for a girl I had recently met...a girl I dubbed "L.T. Smash". She was rather impressed that a guy would know how to play these types of songs (chick songs?). I was more impressed that she was able to do back to back power hours without getting sick (which I did). Gotta love college girls. "Galileo" is a brilliant song. My favorite version is from the "Y100 Sonic Sessions Vol. 1" CD. The energy between the band and the crowd is unmatched. Normally when a band has the crowd sing a few lines it's a disaster but in this case it sounds amazing. It's by far one of my favorite live recordings of all time.

2. The Impression That I Get- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

• "Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high, you need a strength most don't possess, or has it ever come down to do or die, you've got to rise above the rest." Yes. Have you ever had to knock on wood? Apparently the lead singer of the Bosstones hasn't but he still managed to write a great song about it. I don't have much in the way of ska in my collection but "The Impression That I Get" is one of those modern rock crossovers I happen to know and love. Modern of course being the late 90s. Speaking of knocking on wood...when I was a kid I had a cover of Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" on 45 that I'd spin on my turntable when I really wanted to rock out. I suppose "The Impression That I Get" has even more kick than that old 45.

3. All Night Long (Live)- Jason Mraz

• "Well my friends the time has come, to raise the roof and have some fun, throw away the work to be done, let the music play on (play on, play on). This is a fun song- I don't care who you are. The original of course is one of the countless hits from superstar Lionel Richie. Lionel set the modern record for the most consecutive years with a #1 hit single. If you check out Lionel's video for "All Night Long"you not only get to see Mr. Richie cut a rug but you get some popping and locking as well. B-boys and B-girls should not miss it. You can check out the video on YouTube or do like me and buy his video collection on DVD. Some things we need to cherish. Jason Mraz does a nice cover version on his "Live on Earth" CD/DVD. The vocals are tight plus the percussion and horn line sound great. Sail on Jason.

This isn't Bastille Day weekend, what's all the fuss edition

1. Sunrise- The Who

• "You take away the breath I was keeping for sunrise, you appear and the morning looks drab in my eyes, and then again I'll turn down love, having seen you again, once more you'll disappear, my morning put to shame." I'm too lazy to dig up the liner notes for "The Who Sell Out" at the moment but if memory serves Pete Townshend wrote this song to prove to his mother that he could write jazz. Take that Mrs. Townshend. "Sunrise" is quite unlike any song you've heard from The Who. We have Pete Townshend on vocals and acoustic guitar (channeling his inner Barney Kessel) while the rest of the band is nowhere to be found. It's not obvious what the remaining members of The Who would have done on this song. The results of "Sunrise" are in fact quite jazzy. As far as I know The Who never performed this song live. Hearing "Sunrise" reminds me how each Who song started out as a Townshend demo. The Lifehouse Demos box set (for the avid fan) or Lifehouse Chronicles compilation CD (for the faint of heart) as well as the "Scoop" collections provide brilliant insight into the origins of a number of Who classics.

2. Talking About My Baby- The Impressions

• "I wanna talk about my baby (yeah yeah), she does the walk real nice (yeah yeah), there's no questions about maybe, for her I'd make any sacrifice." The first 6 seconds of "Talking About My Baby" are heaven sent. Curtis Mayfield gives us a soulful guitar lick for the ages....it's so pure. When the horns and the rest of the band kick in the sound gets even better. By the time the vocals (and backing vocals) arrive we've gone to another level. If you are a fan of soul music, "Talking About My Baby" ought to be in your collection. When Curtis Mayfield passed away I remember reading a quote (which may have been from Mayfield himself) that said his particular style of guitar playing was passing away as well. If you listen to Mayfield's lick here it is impossible not to hear how he influenced Jimi Hendrix. On top of the great guitar sound his voice is so distinctive there is no mistaking it. "Talking About My Baby" gets an A+++.

3. In Da Club- 50 Cent

• "Go shawty, it's your birthday." I can remember the 1st time I heard this song. My friend Mike D played it for me at the Days Inn (State College) on a burnt CD, playing on a Sony PlayStation connected to the hotel room TV. I was told it would be a popular song. I had no idea. Now it's hard to remember life before 50. These days gangsta rappers are spokesjacks for things like Vitamin Water (50 Cent) and Dr. Pepper (Dr. Dre) so we can't escape them even if we wanted to. One of the more memorable lines from "In Da Club" is "Banks told me, go ahead switch the style up, and if 'they' hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up." Of course Kanye West took the lyric and ran with it in "Good Life" on 2007's "Graduation". "Graduation" was released the same day as 50's "Curtis" LP. 50 boasted (hip hop does encourage boasting) that he'd retire if "Graduation" outsold "Curtis". Of course it did and he didn't. "In Da Club" will go down in the all time pantheon of great hip hop songs and I'm not one to argue.