In many ways, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were the American equivalent to Dire Straits. Both had distinct lead vocalists, used similar instruments and had a sound influenced by both British and American rock & roll. While my favorite Tom Petty song might be “Don’t Do Me Like That” from Damn The Torpedoes, their 1979 LP, “Breakdown” from their 1976 self-titled debut is a great piece of music. There’s that slow-burning vamp from Am to G, and that slinking guitar line. Even Petty’s delivery is in top form, arguably influencing Elvis Costello’s brash vocal style that would emerge on My Aim is True a year later. Tom Petty is so capable of crafting classic rock melodies that its almost easy to forget how good he was at it because the thing just sounds so damn easy. Nevertheless, it’s a great song off of a great debut record.
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Allen Toussaint is a Louisiana legend, he’s worked with all sorts of great musicians including Paul McCartney and The Band (it’s he who wrote the brassy arrangement for the spellbinding performance of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” from The Last Waltz) and written classics like “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley” and “From A Whisper To A Scream” and it’s his voice you hear on the beginning of the catchy, but otherwise meaningless McCartney song “Listen to What The Man Said”. Life, Love And Faith , his 1972 LP, and debut with Warner/Reprise finds him at his most exultant and melodic and “My Baby Is The Real Thing” deserves to be picked up for a movie soundtrack, or played non-stop at an old fashioned record store or a dive bar, or just for your own listening pleasure. Either way, it’s a great little catchy tune.
They may be forever known for their 1972 smash “I’ll Take You There” with it’s inimitable intro and rolling bassline. But by Soul Folk in Action, their Stax Records debut in 1968, they had already been a veteran band of 16 years. It was their switch to a less acoustic, more funky and upbeat soulful sound that brought them huge success. Soul Folk is a proper label for “Got to be Some Changes Made” which boasts some great harmonies by the group along with some solid guitar lines played by Steve Cropper and Pops Staples (by then 54). Also on this album was their great cover of “The Weight” by The Band, a song that came out the same year.
Got to be Some Changes Made- The Staple Singers
Norah Jones has always been a class act, and this unusual pairing with Dangermouse, producer-extraordinaire on her latest album Little Broken Hearts has brought Jones into a whole new direction and whole new aural world of songwriting. On “Happy Pills” you’ll be hard pressed to find a better hook written between the two of them collectively, which says a lot. Your catchy song of the week. Backed by a crack session band that includes Blake Mills on guitar along with bassist Gus Seyffert and Joey Waronker, the overall vibe of the songs comes off like an updated Fleetwood Mac at times, with that golden California vibe and a thrilling little touch of mysticism.
The Art of the Mixtape 