After this opener: Gang Starr's confident "You Know My Steez", followed by Anita O'Day with Stan Kenton & His Orchestra singing "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine".
"Whiskey, Mystics & Men (Vers. 1)" is my pick for the great lost Doors song. It was off their sessions for The Soft Parade album and encapsulates everything great, or insufferable, about the band. And it hasn't been ruined by overexposure on classic rock radio.
That is followed by a slow-burning cover of The Doors' "Light My Fire" by Etta James, then a wonderful version of "The Girl From Ipanema" by Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Solomon Burke delivers a heartfelt cover of Sly & The Family Stone's "Stand", leading into the little-known but great "Ha Ha, Hee Hee" by a late-career Sly, sans most of the Family Stone.
Next: The funky "True And Livin'" by Lord Finesse, the irresistible "Kiss On My List" by Hall & Oates, the irrepressible "I Will Dare" by The Replacements, David Bowie's swinging "Suffragette City", and the chipper 1930 ditty "Give Yourself A Pat On The Back" by Phil Spitalny's Music.
Ex Go-Go's rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin wrote their huge hit "Out Lips Are Sealed." Here, she does a great solo acoustic version, in her girlish voice instead of Belinda Carlisle's lead.
This leads to a couple oddities: the groovy "On The Loose" by Hi Rhythm and Serge Gainsbourg's hilarious "Docteur Jekylll Et Monsieur Hyde".
Rounding out the mix are a remix of "Where I'm From" by Digable Planets, an insane version of "The Girl From Ipanema" by Archie Shepp and a somber cover of David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" by Grant Lee Phillips & The Section Quartet.
Finally, a gentle acoustic version of "Don"t Know What You (Til It's Gone)" by Cinderella. I love their original. Its screeching vocals and bombastic guitars were such a balm for bad dorm parties when I was 18. Beneath all that, as this version proves, is a beautiful song.
