1 – Johnny Cash – Kid Rock – This guy is the Noel Gallagher of redneckdom and this is a pretty good Southern rocker but it uses Johnny’s name for no good reason (“I walk the line because you love me” is Kid’s excuse) and so it seems like a rip off. The Noel name drop? It is highly derivative as well but where from? – B+
2 – Hey Laura – Gregory Porter – The tenor of the moment – A
3 – Fond Farewell – Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield – Second pretty good Elliott Smith cover from this jip uo – B+
4 – This Guy’s In Love With You – Ronald Isley – He sings it right where he needs to, doesn’t miss a sweet spot – B+
5 – This Guy’s In Love With You – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Not as well sung to be honest, but it is the original and it souns so great, the build to the brige which morphs into the chorus is a masterwork – A+
6 – Finish What I Started – wil Butler – He sounds like a one trick pony on the album, the guitar is all angular and the songs not quite where he needs toget em to be – C
7 – Girl You Loud – Chris Brown And Tyga – I was ready to hate on this, but it works: the sample is major and the mood low key – B+
8 – Mommy – Gateway Drugs – I am a big fan of these guys and this is yet another guitar wall of sound like mbv meets Oasis meets the War On Drugs … with a chick singer – A-
9 – While The Song Remains The Same – On a stairway to a highway to heaven, the intro is an ambient fake out but the song plods in the usual way – C+
10 – What If I – Meghan Trainor – Lovely ballad, soulful stuff – B+
