1. Born In The USA – Bruce Springsteen – The most misunderstood song of the 1980s but it isn’t the audiences fault, Bruce wrote a chorus which is about as huge an anthem as humanly possible: “Born in the USA, I’m a cool rocking daddy in the USA’ begs to become a national anthem and did. And his brother is still all gone – A+
2. He called Me baby – Patsy Cline – She might not be the greatest singer of all time but I think she’s my favorite. For its time, this exudes pre-marital sex like the smell of sex on stale bed sheets – A+
3. Big Girls Cry – Sia – Great voice, iffy song – B-
4. You Make Me Feel So Young – Michael Buble – Only Bennett is in the same league sales wise but there is something juvenile about Buble’s voice which stops him from entering the pantheon – B+
5. John Barleycorn (Must Die) – Traffic – They were better with their high heels on – B
6. Screws Get Loose -Those Darlins – Rockabilly meets garage – B+
7. Cry Baby – Janis Joplin – Late period – A
8. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For His Sunbeam – Nirvana – The Vaselines cover sounds like UK meets US folk – A
9. Summer wind – Frank Sinatra – The thing about being old is you cans ee the end of the summer at the start – A
10. Sand In My Shoes – The Drifters – The passing of time is so poignant, it’s hard to know what to do with these feelings – A+
