I've Got My Mind Set On You - James Ray - 1962

Ordinarily I wouldn't say such a thing, but George Harrison be damned. And don't take that the wrong way. He's actually one of my favorite Beatles. Then again, there were only four. Whatever the case, he tried to pull a quick one on us in the 1980s.

While I was preoccupied with Thundercats and seeing what happened when I put chocolate chips up my nose (it never ended well), Mr. Harrison was busy bastardizing James Ray's 1962 soul-swinger 'I've Got My Mind Set On You.' Honestly, George's version wasn't that bad - but James Ray deserves the credit.

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Kelley Stoltz - Old Pictures - 2003

I recently managed to get my paws on an obscure Kelley Stoltz tour-only Australian EP. It's not so great. Except for this song. I listened to it 6 times on the bus this morning. I advise you to do the same - sans the ambiguous bus smell.

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Love Potion No. 9 - Herb Albert + Tijuana Brass - 1965

My grandparent's record collection went something like this:

Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Hot-Naked-Lady slathered in whipped cream
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk

..... at 6-years old, it was nothing short of eye-opening.

It wasn't until years later that I actually listened to it. And as it turns out Grandpa wasn't just being a perv. Well, maybe. But there's some great music to boot. Specifically the cover of The Clover's Love Potion No. 9. Complete with horns and tack piano, I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty, that if I were a stripper, this would be my anthem.

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Chuck Jackson - Any Other Way - 1963

There's nothing polished about this song. In fact, if it were any rawer, you'd need to be worried about salmonella. But why worry when you've got, what could be, one of the best floor-stompers recorded in the 1960s? The horn track alone is worth the price of admission. Hell, there's even a verse where Mr. Chuck Jackson refers to himself in third-person. As far as early 60s R&B goes, it doesn't get much better.

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Bettye Swann - Don't Look Back - 1967

One song. Two essential versions. Plus her name is Bettye, like my mom, but with an extra E.

[Tracklist]
Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (unreleased acoustic demo)

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Spyder Turner - Stand By Me - 1967

If you're one of those misguided souls that thought "shout-outs" were invented by hip-hop, get with the program. And rid yourself of those stupid white sneakers too.

This 1967 rendition of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" isn't just a fine cover, but a 6 minute crash course on mid 1960s R&B. Half way through the track Spyder seamlessly takes on the persona's of a who's-who's of soul singers. Sam Cooke. Jackie Wilson. Smokey Robinson. Eddie Kendricks. And with an incredibly awesome and punchy burst of horns, James Brown.

It should be enough to make your feet tap. But so help me if they're wearing white sneakers.

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Beach Boys - Party! - 1965

The year is 1965 and you're working on Pet Sounds. You're also being pressured to put out a quick and easy Christmas release (because everybody knows Jesus loves the Beach Boys). An acoustic-based live album full of fun sloppy covers seems like a pretty easy out. Unless your name is Brian Wilson. In which case you meticulously engineer a live-SOUNDING album full of fun sloppy covers. It's quite the concept.

The songs themselves, including some great Beatles & Dylan covers, were painstakingly recorded in studio. Then Brian went to work making the whole thing sound like it was performed live at a drunken-party in someone's basement. And what a job he did. In fact, it saddens me such a party never actually happened. At least those quote marks that straddle "live" on the cover art earned their keep.

[Tracklist]
1. Hully Gully
2. I Should Have Known Better
3. Tell Me Why
4. Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow
5. Mountain Of Love
6. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
7. Devoted To You
8. Alley Oop
9. There's No Other (Like My Baby)
10. Medley:I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe
11. The Times They Are A Changin'
12. Barbara Ann

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