1. Curtis Mayfield, “To Be Invisible”: I found the best Curtis record, one I’d never heard, called Sweet Exorcist at this old antique mall in “tha ville.” Man, it is a powerful record. To listen to his gentle voice sing about wanting to be invisible, and all the troubles going on in the world when he wrote it and nothing much has changed since... makes you sad but hopeful to know there are people like him who do care and can so eloquently capture what people are really feeling: “To have to take what you can get/ Sure can make a heart upset.”
2. Sam Cooke, “That’s Heaven To Me”: Now, I have heard 3 or 4 different versions of this classic song, but I found this super slow and creepy one and it blew my mind. Religion is such a strange thing, it can bring so much beauty and cause so much pain, but to hear Sam sing about all the simple pleasures in life being “heaven” for him kinda brings it all into focus for me. That’s the way I like to think about “god” and “religion”: as love and fun and the simple pleasures in life, and no one sings about it better than Sam.
3. Dr. Dog, “My Old Ways”: Man! I can’t get over Dr. Dog! I saw the video for this one on the interweb and I can’t get it out of my head. So soft but pulsing and the harmonies are brilliant. Few people are making music this rich and detailed anymore. I don’t want to go back to my old ways....
4. David Crosby, “Laughing”: They just released this in 5.1 and it is a mind blower. The bass is huge, the harmonies are “heaven” and Jerry Garcia’s steel guitar makes me wanna weep! Perfect.
5. Marvin Gaye, “Trouble Man Soundtrack”: I once read somewhere that this was the work that Marvin was most proud of... and it really shows in the performances and the sound of the recording. This album plays as one big song to me, each track flowing seamlessly in and out, similar to What’s Goin’ On or Dark Side of the Moon: a simple blend of jazz, classical, and pure soul, so dark and so sad. Some of the greatest vocals ever committed to tape. Ever. Deal with it.
