John Lennon dismissed his song "Yes It Is" for The Beatles as an inferior re-write of "This Boy", but Paul McCartney championed it as one of John's finer songs. It was not on any of their albums, but apparently was their first song to use a guitar effect--George Harrison's tone pedal--and one of their few to employ a three part vocal harmony. This week's mix includes a practice take as well as a live cover by Don Henley to accompany the original.
The 1964 single "Come See About Me" was the third of five consecutive number one hits for The Supremes. I've included cover versions by The Afghan Whigs and Lloyd Chalmers & The Soul Stirrers as well as the original.
Two other songs repeat across the mix: an acoustic home demo and the studio version of T. Rex's "The Slider" as well as two versions of the early Bob Marley song "I'm Still Waiting".
The rest: a cover of Isaac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" by Jamaica's Groove Band, the Prince Paul-produced "Top Of The Hill" by Groove B Chill, the raw gospel of "In God's House" by Sisters Of Song, the full album version of the funky "Skin Tight" by Ohio Players, the Blackbyrds-sampling "Ghetto Thang" by De La Soul, the mellow "Wilford's Gone" by The Blackbyrds, the electronic groove of "Metal" by Gary Numan, the retro-sounding "Under Your Spell" by Desire, the percussive "Double Life" by The Cars, Clipse's swaggering "What's Up?", the tragic "Goodbye Baby" by Little Caesar and Dexter Gordon's 1964 recording of the jazz standard "Darn That Dream".
