1. Heaven And Hell (studio version)- The Who

• "In the place up above you grow feather wings and you fly round and round, with a harp singing hymns, and down in the ground you grow horns and a tail and you carry a fork, and moan and wail." If you take Peter Frampton out of the equation, how often are you more (or only) familiar with the live version of a song versus the studio version? Not that often. Sure, it happens. Bob Seger's "Turn The Page", Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed", and Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way" to name a few. Oh, and "Heaven And Hell" by The Who... if you're familiar with it at all. The John Entwistle penned "Heaven And Hell" is best known as the first song off the "Live At Leeds" album. It serves the Leeds album well as it hits you over the head with drums, guitar and bass before you can figure out what happened. The studio version was released as a B-side to the 1970 "Summertime Blues" single (taken from the Leeds album) and resurfaced for the 1st time on CD on a no-longer-in-print 1985 compilation "Who's Missing" and subsequently on the 1994 "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B" box set (of course if you are a fan then you know that you already had it). More recently the "Summertime Blues/Heaven and Hell" 7" vinyl single was reissued as a part of the "Live at Leeds 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition". "Heaven And Hell" is one of Who bassist John Entwistle's best songwriting contributions to the group. Given Pete Townshend's songwriting prowess not many people would cite a song written by Entwistle as their favorite Who song yet Jimi Hendrix did with "Boris The Spider". While it is possible this was Jimi's favorite it was widely speculated his selection was meant as an insult to Townshend.

2. Satellite (Remember Two Things live version)- Dave Matthews Band

• "Winter's cold, spring erases, and the calm away by the storm is chasing, everything good needs replacing, look up, look down all around, hey satellite." If I've told the following story on the blog before my apologies. The year was 1994. I was contemplating dropping $20 to see Big Head Todd & The Monsters (I was and still am a big fan of the song "Bittersweet") and The Dave Matthews Band play at the intimate Rec Hall in State College. The venue fits 6 to 7 thousand people at best. For whatever reason I didn't go. Shame on me. Fortunately one of my best friends hooked me up with a ticket to see the band a few years later in Philly at Veterans Stadium. At that point the band was playing venues slightly less intimate. None the less it was a great show and the first of 8 or so times that I've seen the band. If I'm not mistaken Boyd Tinsley and I were wearing the same Kangol hat that night at the Vet. "Satellite" is a great song said to have evolved from finger exercises that Dave Matthews would do on guitar. I for one believe it as would anyone who has attempted to play the song. The band would go on to record the song in studio for their major label debut "Under the Table And Dreaming". My two favorite things about "Satellite" are the transition to the bridge (genius) and when sung live Dave's vocal for the lyric "who's the king of your satellite castle" (priceless).

3. Dreamworld- Rilo Kiley

• "She was the girl with a string around her neck, came with the boy who could only give her less. The wedding bells won't ring but she could care less how you exist, when you're living in a dreamworld." In 2007 Rilo Kiley released their major label debut "Under The Blacklight". It's a great piece of work. Rilo Kiley is fronted by vocalist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and all around hotsy totsy Jenny Lewis. Jenny is also a former child actor who's credits include bit parts on shows like Golden Girls, Growing Pains and Mr. Belvedere. "Dreamworld" is the only song on "Under The Blacklight" not written, or co-written by Lewis. Maybe that explains why it's my least favorite song on the album. As far as my favorites, you can't go wrong with songs like "Sliver Lining", "The Moneymaker", "Breakin' Up" and "15". There is a great live acoustic video for "The Moneymaker" on YouTube which shows of Lewis's pipes nicely. A lot of the lyrics on "Under The Blacklight" are bawdy. I mean they are downright ribald. I'm not sure if a guy could get away with singing "15", a song about a young girl and her "developing body". In "Dejalo", Jenny sings "she sleeps on your left side, she gets nailed, I get tied, I sleep on your right side, hundred ways to keep love alive." Holla.

1. If I Fell- The Beatles

• "So I hope you see that I, would love to love you, and that she will cry, when she learns we are two, cause I couldn't stand the pain, and I would be sad if our new love was in vain." What a great song. "If I Fell" is 2 minutes and 20 seconds of pop perfection. It comes from 1964's "A Hard Day's Night" album where none of the 13 songs stretch to 3 minutes. When it's this good you only need two minutes because it's so intense. We don't often talk song structure, but let's talk song structure! "If I Fell" is beautifully constructed and in a unique way. It starts with a lengthy 8 measure non-repeating intro section, then the remaining verse sections never give way to a chorus or a bridge. For good measure there is also a key change so subtle you almost have to believe it's there to hear it. Lyrically the song is a male-perspective precursor to Carole King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". John Lennon wants to know that if he gives it to this wag she won't run off with some other bloke. Lennon and McCartney deliver a vocal performance that conveys sincere insecurity despite the fact that by 1964 their pimp hands must have been very strong.

2. Hallelujah- Jeff Buckley

• "Well I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music, do ya? Well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift, the baffled king composing Hallelujah." This is one of the greatest recordings of all time. Period. It's gorgeous. Sexy. Spiritual. Other-worldly. I don't want to over-sell it but it's better than 10 Super bowls. "Hallelujah" is many things, but it is not Jeff Buckley's song. Leonard Cohen penned and released the original version in 1984. He is said to have written over 80 verses for the song. His live versions of "Hallelujah" would feature lyrics not in the original recording; lyrics that would go on to form the basis of most cover versions. The Jeff Buckley cover is from his 1994 full length debut "Grace". It has to be the definitive version of the song. As I've said before songs get bonus points for Old Testament references and "Hallelujah" has a few- Sampson and Delilah and my namesake King David. There are more great lyrics here than you can shake a stick at. "Well maybe there's a God above, but all I've ever learned from love, was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya" Amen. If I had to come up with a top 5 all time songs list I'd have to put Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" on it. I'd put The Band's "The Weight" and The Beatles "Hey Jude" on that list as well. I'm not sure what the other 2 songs would be to round out that list, but they're on my iPod somewhere.

3. The Boomin' System- LL Cool J

• "Cause my system is pumpin' loud, like Rakim said I want to move the crowd, I warm it up with Kane, fight the power with P.E., tell the cops you've gots to chill with EPMD." Back in my college days I was known to tear up a dance floor or two with my partner in crime Mike D. One of our favorite spots was The Den, which in those days had an actual (slightly elevated) dance floor. My all time favorite memory there was approaching the dance floor with Mike D and the people on the floor actually spread out so we had room to do our thing. Picture Moses and the parting of the Red Sea only more epic. My second favorite memory involves "The Boomin' System". I spent my senior year spring break in Los Angeles with might mighty VR. On said trip I purchased a bucket Kangol hat (the kind LL Cool J helped make famous in the 80s) and wore it from time to time the rest of the semester. One night at The Den the DJ went on the mic to acknowledge that LL (me) was in the house and put on "The Boomin' System". My friends formed a circle around me on the middle of the floor for the "C to the O to the O to the L to the I to the N to the F to the R to the O to the N to the T to the I to the N...that means I'm chillin'" breakdown and (for a moment) I was a superstar. My personal glory aside I love "The Boomin' System" for it's notable hip hop references. Not only the songs quoted above but the direct nod ("like Spoonie Gee said my seats are soft like a bed") to rap pioneer Spoonie Gee's 1980 classic "Love Rap" is awesome. The Beastie Boys paid homage to Spoonie Gee two years later with 1992's "So What'cha Want" ("I'm like Spoonie Gee, I'm the metro-politician").

1. Breaking the Girl- Red Hot Chili Peppers

• "She was a girl, soft but estranged, we were the two, our lives rearranged, feeling so good that day, a feeling of love that day." In the fall of 1991 the Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", an album many consider to be their best. The album offers hits galore; "Breaking the Girl", "Suck My Kiss", "Give it Away" and "Under the Bridge". Listening to these songs takes me back to high school. It's not a place I'd ever want to go back to but in this case the memories are pleasant. Looking back the interesting thing is that "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" hit it big during the grunge explosion yet there is nothing all that grunge going on here. The Peppers alt-rock music is more rooted in funk than anything else. Speaking of 1991, that was the year James Cameron gave us Terminator 2, a cautionary tale of artificial intelligence gone awry. 20 years later we celebrate as "Watson" bests our foremost trivia experts on Jeopardy. How long before Watson seeks to enslave mankind? I can't imagine it will take long.

2. Rockin' the Suburbs- Ben Folds

• "Let me tell ya'll what it's like, being male middle class and white, it's a b*tch if you don't believe, listen up to my new CD (sha-mon). It wasn't my idea, it wasn't my idea, never was my idea." What could I possibly say about "Rockin' the Suburbs" that would be more hilarious and amusing than the song itself? Not much. It's a regular party in the USA with this song- "and the Ben Folds song was on". In 2000 Ben Folds parted ways with his band mates (the "5") and went solo. His first official solo album, "Rockin' the Suburbs" was released on September 11th 2001. If that's not creepy enough, how about this- in the song Ben Folds references a number of popular 80's artists; Michael Jackson, Quiet Riot, and Jon Bon Jovi. These days Michael Jackson and Kevin DuBrow (lead singer of Quiet Riot) are dead which can only mean that Bon Jovi's days are numbered.

3. B-Boy Bouillabaisse- Beastie Boys

• "New York New York it's a hell of a town, you know the Bronx is up and I'm Brooklyn down. I'd like to butter your muffin I'm not bluffin', serve you on a platter like Thanksgiving stuffin'." A traditional bouillabaisse features various kinds of fish, vegetables, herbs and spices in a hearty stew. This "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" is fortified with 9 mini songs (strung together in 12 and a half minutes) and closes out the classic "Paul's Boutique" album. If you were to pick up the 20th anniversary remastered version of "Paul's Boutique" you'd see all the ingredients; "59 Chrystie Street", "Get On the Mic", "Stop That Train", "A Year and a Day", "Hello Brooklyn", "Dropping Names", "Lay It On Me", "Mike On the Mic" and "A.W.O.L.". "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" probably isn't for the casual fan but "Paul's Boutique" songs like "Shake Your Rump" and "Hey Ladies" belong in your collection if they aren't already there. Getting back to "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" I can't believe "butter your muffin" never found it's way into the parlance of our times.

1. Come on Eileen- Save Ferris

• "At this moment you mean everything, with you in that dress my thoughts I confess, verge on dirty, ah come on Eileen. Come on, Eileen too-loo rye-aye come on, Eileen too-loo rye-aye, toora toora-too-loora...wooaah Eileen." Poor old Dexy's Midnight Runners. They never were able to muster up another hit single and faded into oblivion. They now qualify as one of the greatest one hit wonders of all time. "Come on Eileen" would have to rank among the ten best singles from the 1980s. Save Ferris gave "Come on Eileen" the royal ska treatment in 1997. More specifically they gave it a 3rd wave ska reworking. You know, 3rd wave ska building on the 1st wave and 2 Tone ska movements. My favorite part of the original (the whole thing is brilliant) is the breakdown. The tempo slows, the instruments take a back seat to the Eileen too-loo rye-aye vocal round, then the tempo swells and climaxes into the chorus. The Save Ferris remake doesn't give us the same tempo build in the breakdown but in general it matches the frenetic energy of the original.

2. A Beautiful Mess- Jason Mraz

• "Although you are biased, I love your advice, your comebacks they're quick and probably have to do with your insecurities, there's no shame in being crazy, depending how you take these, words I'm paraphrasing this relationship we're staging." Sometimes it takes hearing a song live to realize that it's good or to realize just how good it is. I never realized how sweet BNL's "Jane" was until I heard it live and everything clicked. Another case in point is Jason Mraz's "A Beautiful Mess". The 1st time I heard it live would have been in 2008 at the historic Tower Theatre in lovely Upper Darby, PA. I can remember after that show hearing a fellow concert goer on a cell phone say "I just saw Mraz...that sh#t was bangin' yo". Indeed that sh#t was bangin'. "A Beautiful Mess" was the emotional high point of that show and plays the same role on the "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" album. This song is easy to play on guitar but the vocal is pretty impossible to pull off well. Any attempts I've made at performing "A Beautiful Mess" have been a hot mess.

3. Elizabethtown- Ryan Adams

• "Well I was born (in) Elizabethtown and I moved on a west bound freight train, with everything to prove, everything to prove, and nothing to lose but the sound of the thunderstorms breaking, breaking all over Elizabethtown." Ryan Adams released 3 albums in 2005; "Cold Roses", "Jacksonville City Nights" and "29". In his spare time he recorded another album's worth of material so he could lend a song or two for the soundtrack to the motion picture "Elizabethtown". The unreleased "Darkbreaker (Elizabethtown Sessions)" collect these recordings. The collection features a number of songs that were re-recorded for "Easy Tiger" ("Two", "Everyone Knows") and for the recently released "III/IV" ("The Sewers At The Bottom of Wishing Wells", "Cemetery Hill"). I adore the version of "Everyone Knows" (later known as "Everybody Knows" on "Easy Tiger") found here. The one song from these sessions that did make it's way onto the movie soundtrack is "Words"; the rest remains unreleased. I don't own the soundtrack and despite rumors to the contrary I have never seen the film.

Then There Was A Ever-Present Football Player Rapist Edition

Staff Notes- This week's edition, a nod to the Superbowl, comes with a dash of Pepper. On an unrelated matter, I recently used part of a work-from-home snow day to listen to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" LP on vinyl. I must say that it scared the hell out of me, and that was just "The Girl Is Mine" featuring Paul McCartney.

1. Flashdance...What a Feeling- Irene Cara

• "Now I hear the music, close my eyes, I am rhythm, in a flash it takes hold of my heart, what a feeling, bein's believing, I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life, take your passion and make it happen, pictures come alive you can dance right through your life." Does anyone want to drop a bucket of water on me? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? This song is brilliant. Sheer genius. There are no shortage of 80's pop songs with synthesizers but did any of them use the instrument this well to create a mood? The song structure is also brilliant; the verse, middle eight/bridge, and chorus all build on one another gorgeously. Irene Cara (who co-wrote the song) delivers a great vocal performance. Of course "Flashdance...What a Feeling" was written for the film "Flashdance"; the tale of a young steel worker who tries to dance away the pain associated with living in Pittsburgh. For hip-hop heads, the film "Flashdance" is noteworthy for bringing breakdancing to the masses. The film featured the legendary Rocksteady Crew, including Crazy Legs and the late Frosty Freeze. Breakingdancing (or b-boying) was an underground NYC phenomenon until "Flashdance". Overnight the dance style hit the west coast and every suburb in between (remember seeing cardboard on the streets?) with a fury. "Flashdance...What a Feeling" won an Oscar, a Grammy, and it makes me wish my life was more like 1983.

2. Return of the Mack- Mark Morrison

• "Return of the mack (it is), return of the mack (come on), return of the mack (oh my God), return of the mack (here I am), return of the mack (once again), return of the mack (pump up the world), return of the mack (watch my flow), return of the mack (here I go)." I'm not saying this song should come on every time I walk into a club, but I wouldn't complain if it did....every superhero needs his theme song. The main sample here is taken from "Genius of Love" by the Talking Heads side project band Tom Tom Club. "Return of the Mack" is far from the first song to sample "Genius of Love". Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash jacked the beat in the early 80's in the song "It's Nasty" and Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" did the same in 1995, a year before Mark Morrison took his turn. For some reason iTunes doesn't have Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack". However for years they have offered a cover version by Mo Reese Marks which has to be heard to appreciate how bad it is. Until a year or so ago the only version of "Electric Avenue" available in the iTunes library was a cover by To Kool Chris. Once Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" is added to iTunes I imagine Mo Reese Marks and To Kool Chris will form a murder-suicide pact.

3. Who Did You Think I Was (live)- John Mayer Trio

• "I got half a smile and zero shame, I got a reflection with a different name, got a brand new blues that I can explain, who did you think I was. You got my number but I always new the score, who did you think I was." The debut of the John Mayer Trio in 2005 was a serious left turn for casual John Mayer fans only familiar with his pop material. The blues-rock trio features Mayer on guitar and vocals with heavyweight session musicians Pino Palladino on bass and Steve Jordan on drums. Palladino also holds the distinction of being The Who's bass player since the death of the band's original bassist John Entwistle. "Who Did You Think I Was" is a perfect introduction to the JM3 lyrically and sonically. In 2005 Rolling Stone magazine labeled the "Who Did You Think I Was" single as a "vanity project". If that's the case I would like more artists to embark on vanity projects. My favorite lyric in this number is "I am a shifter of the shape I'm in" simply because it reminds me of the shape shifters you'd see on the X-files back in the day or on Fringe nowadays. On the "Where The Light Is Live in Los Angeles" album the trio performs 8 songs including "Who Did You Think I Was". Here it features a fake ending followed by the band jamming on the Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsy's tune "Power To Love". That song taught us that with the power of soul anything is possible....sounds like the trio to me.

1. The Field- Mason Jennings

• "Sometimes late at night I go to the field, is that where you are? are you a shooting star? Can you say my name? Darling, can you hear me? tell me where's your heart now that it's stopped beating? It's right here." Things get pretty heavy on 2009's "Blood of Man" and "The Field" is no exception. What's it all about? I'll give it to you from the horses mouth- "This is a song that was inspired by a friend of mine, he had a brother who died in the war over in Iraq, I'd been thinking a lot about the war for the last 5 years and just couldn't figure out how to really put all of the crazy different feelings I had about it into a song...when his brother died he sent a few of his brother's poems to me that he had been writing out in the desert." Not everyone is a fan of music that makes a political statement but "The Field" does a nice job of humanizing the war. In the song's emotional climax Jennings sings "I don't want no victory, I just want you back." "The Field" isn't one of my favorites from "Blood of Man" but I like the inspiration.

2. Queen Jane Approximately- Bob Dylan

• "Now when all of the clowns that you have commissioned, have died in battle or in vain, and you're sick of all this repetition, won't you come see me Queen Jane, won't you come see me Queen Jane." Every now and again you have to ask yourself- "what would Bob do?". Well in 1965 he fully embraced rock and roll and released the masterpiece "Highway 61 Revisited". It contains classics like "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Queen Jane Approximately". The album's title track offers perhaps the best (and most amusing) rock and roll interpretation of a story from the Old Testament with it's take on God's test of Abraham's faith....but that's another chapter for another book. The album's only nod to folk music is the epic "Desolation Row", a song that features unparalleled poetic imagery. "Queen Jane Approximately" with it's barrel house piano and organ has the same feel as "Like a Rolling Stone" but it's less frenetic. Here things are a bit more smooth and laid back. It's well known that you shouldn't let anyone know if you don't own "Blonde On Blonde" and the same could be said for "Highway 61 Revisited".

3. Cousin Kevin- The Who

• "I'm the school bully, the classroom cheat, the nastiest play friend, you ever could meet. You won't be much fun being blind deaf and dumb, but I've no one to play with today." The Who's "Tommy" was a Hail Mary pass that saved the band from growing debt and cult status. It's the brainchild of songwriter/guitarist Pete Townshend from start to finish, with the exception of 3 songs. "Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)" was an old blues song penned by Sonny Boy Williamson. It fits the "Tommy" narrative so well it's inclusion is nothing short of brilliant. (The song is also referenced splendidly by Stevie Ray Vaughan in the opening lyrics of the hit song "Pride and Joy"). The other non-Townshend songs-"Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About"were written by The Who's bassist John Entwistle. Townshend commissioned Entwistle to write the album's darkest material. "Cousin Kevin" tells the tale of sadistic abuse (Tommy is burnt with cigarettes, pushed down stairs, and made to eat glass). "Fiddle About" deals with the cheery subject of sexual molestation. A lost gem that was meant to tie these songs together (but did not make it onto "Tommy") is "Cousin Kevin Model Child" which boasts drummer Keith Moon on lead vocals. The 1998 CD release of "Odds and Sods" and the 2003 Deluxe Edition of "Tommy" both feature this lost treasure.

1. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds- The Beatles

• "Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies, somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes." Diamonds are forever. Throw ya diamonds in the sky. Oh wait, wrong song. This song is either inspired by a drawing John Lennon's son Julian made of a classmate or about LSD. Given that The Beatles were into "smoking drugs" it is hard to say. What we can say is that "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is perhaps the height of psychedelia. While The Beatles music is timeless this song (and it's ludicrous imagery) are very much tied to the late 60s. In 1974 Elton John covered the song with a little help from his friend John Lennon who recorded the song under the name "Dr. Winston O'Boogie". As far as pseudonyms go it doesn't get much better.

2. Beginnings- Jimi Hendrix

• (instrumental) Prior to his death in 1970 Jimi Hendrix had been working on new material for his next album while his Electric Lady recording studio was being built. (The Electric Lady studio has hosted a "who's who" of musicians over the years including favorites of mine like The Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West and Ryan Adams) "First Rays of the New Rising Sun" collects 17 of these recordings an attempts to construct what would have been Hendrix's 4th studio album. The sound that dominates "First Rays of the New Rising Sun" is a bit funkier than the music on Jimi's first 3 studio albums. The standout song in the collection is "Angel", a song so gorgeous that Rod Stewart felt compelled to cover it and include it on his box set. "Beginnings" is made up of a handful of riffs the Hendrix crew would jam on from time to time. There is nothing life changing about "Beginnings" but I'm not going to complain about getting to hear Hendrix jam out for 4 minutes. I must not be alone as last year the "Valleys of Neptune" collection of unreleased Hendrix recordings (many of them in raw form) hit #4 on the album charts.

3. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing- Jack Johnson

• "Aww maybe you've been through this before, but it's my first time so please ignore, the next few lines cause they're directed at you, I can't always be waiting waiting on you, I can't always be playing playing your fool." I'll tell anyone who will listen that "In Between Dreams" is Jack Johnson's best work. "Better Together", "Breakdown", "Good People", "Banana Pancakes". They're all here- what else do you want? "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" starts with Jack strumming the song's basic chord progression on acoustic guitar. What's amazing is that 8 seconds into the song (before the vocal kicks in) it's already obvious that this is Jack Johnson. I can't think of too many guitarists who's strumming style is this recognizable. "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" is a diss record, at least the acoustic singer/songwriter version of one. Jack is none to pleased with a special lady friend but the results are quite pleasing to this listener's ears.