1. The Love Bug – George Jones – Wayne Kemp, country journeyman, wrote it and George Jones got it right; a smashing, lighthearted romp with love is a disease undertones riddling into the perfect lick. Jones vocal is a masterclass in Williams generation country singing.
2. Diamonds On The Sole Of Her Shoes – Paul Simon – Myth of money and class distinction from Trenchtown to your town.
3. Lovers Who Wander – Dion – The continuation of the “Runaround Sue” saga, is literally that: it takes the best of the classic song and expands it and includes us.
4. I Can’t Stand Myself – James Chance – One of the greatest James Brown covers ever, Chance didn’t have the record and didn’t know most of the lyrics, so he improvised.
5. You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon – A viciously clever self portrait with no way out except to sing for the angels spinning in infinity. Why am I soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard, is the middle aged man’s last and most important question.
6. Roving Eye – James Chance And The Contortions – In theory, a deep album cut off Buy, in practise as brittle, brilliant, atonal and tonic as No Wave ever got.
7. My Stunning Mystery Companion – Jackson Browne – His last great song finds Jackson happy in love for once in his life, and for me? This is the theme to the happiest romance of my life, it reminds me of her, and it is painful to listen. “My solitary nature notwithstanding” I consider to be an exact explanation of what I am truly like. “With all my expectations long abandoned and a life that just gets more and more demanding” makes me believe Browne was spying on me.
8. Peace Like A River – Paul Simon – I prefer this to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” , I would put this along with Gaye’s take on “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” as possible the greatest song of all time. Both are political, so that’s odd.
9. Tin Soldier – The Small Faces – Perhaps the only time Steve Marriott perfected his rock and soul jones. Before he was a great mod and before that a great teen idol, after both he was a hard rock icon. Bit here he was what he wanted to be. The greatest of them all. A soul man.
10. With Arms Outstretched – Rilo Kiley – This song is so great it gave us the wrong impression about everyone involved. An anthem of new love and hope, renewal they never came close to equalling.
