1. Good Vibrations – Todd Rundgren – From 1976 where the often woolly Todd does an astonishing act of replication with the excitations that was one of Brian Wilson’s most intricate and highly arranged pies of progressive pop. An act of, well, complete strangeness and the better for it – A
2. Everybody Hurts – R.E.M. – A fully formed benediction and pan-humanist call to “hold on” – A
3. Cut You Loose – Kenny Wayne Shepherd – That’s Ringo Starr holding a very very steady beat on this track, yes Ringo, and he didn’t take a solo – A
4. Lovesick Blues – Hank Williams – The more I listen to Williams, the more he reminds me of Billie Holiday – A
5. We’ve Seen Birds – Smoke Fairies – This is a heavily arranged but awful pretty indie popper – B+
6. Deliverance – Mr. Scruff – Very strange jazzy beat experiments – B+
7. Simple As This – Jake Bugg – Excellent cut off the first album – A
8. Shotgun Weddings – Jamie Lynn Spears – Yuck country – C-
9. K Street – Trans Am – Electronic beats and throbbing guitars like Kraftwerk Jn – B
10. Stardust – Louis Armstrong – Remember this from Woody Allen’s “Stadust Memories” near the end, where he imagines that when he dies, in his last moment there will be one terrific memory from when he was very very happy? – A+
