"River Man" is a song from Nick Drake's 1969 debut album Five Leaves Left. He intended it to be the centerpiece of his album and it has been covered over a hundred times. Previous mixes featured his original album version, an acoustic demo version and covers by Brad Mehldau and Paul Weller. This mix features a recently unearthed first recorded version by Drake along with recent covers by Robyn Hitchcock, Chrissie Hynde with the jazz band The Valve Bone Woe and a brand new version by Seu Jorge with Beck.
"Some Of Us Fly" was written by Merle Haggard with Toby Keith for Haggard's 58th studio album, 2005's Chicago Wind. It is here with a cover from Bonnie 'Prince" Billy, duetting with Nuala Kennedy, on his 2017 Haggard tribute album Best Troubador.
"Goo Goo Muck" is an obscure 1962 novelty song by Ronnie Cook And His Gaylads that was later revived by The Cramps in 1981, both featured here.
Two future-looking British songs called "Silicon Chip", by Basil Kirchin from 1979 and Basement 5 in 1980, are featured here but are otherwise entirely different songs.
"2 Bullets" by American singer Pearl Harbour was written for her by Joe Strummer for the 1986 film Sid And Nancy.
The rest: Waylon Jennings' cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", the 1983 electro funk single "Robot People" by Bill Williams & Billeo, MF DOOM's collaboration with Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood and Thom Yorke called "Retarded Fren", Harlem Meat Company's sweet Chicago seventies soul track "I'm Not Gonna Be Anybody's Fool, Lil Wayne's punchline-driven "She Will" with Drake, the wistful "Hang Out The Stars In Indiana" by Al Bowlly and Ray Noble, the Pete Rock production "Grown Man Sport" from I.N.I.'s 1995 unreleased album Center Of Attention, an early version of "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell and the exuberant "Miles Out To Sea" by Slade from their 1974 album Old New Borrowed And Blue.
