"Across The Universe" by The Beatles first appeared on a charity album released in December 1969. It later appeared on their album Let It Be as well as various compilations, all in slightly different forms, some sped up and some slowed down. The version on this week's mix strips out much of the instrumentation: keyboards, maracas and choirs and returns the songs to its original key and tempo. Also included here are covers by Laibach and David Bowie.
Gene Clark was the original vocalist for The Byrds. "Tried So Hard" was from his debut solo album from 1967 and is considered by many to be the first "country-rock" song. Also included here are versions by The Flying Burrito Brothers and Yo La Tengo.
1996's "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" by Nas with Lauryn Hill is an update on Kurtis Blow's 1985 early rap hit "If I Ruled The World".
The rest: the sitar-accented "Let's Live For Today" by The Grass Roots, the sweet Motown obscurity "Is There A Place (In His Heart For Me)" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, the orchestral "Fell For YOu" by The Dramatics, the J Dilla-produced "Time Travelin'" by Common with Fema Kuti and Roy Hargrove, Fela Kuti's rhythmic "Gentleman", Funkadelic's spacey "That Was My Girl", the brooding "Staring At The Sun" by TV On The Radio, Air Supply's dramatic "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All", the wistful Dean Martin standard "There's My Lover" and the innocent "Soon" by 1930s crooner Al Bowlly.
