It's Hard To Be Good Without You

Louis Jordan

Very clear, a lyric straight from the heart and he sings it beautifully. A lovely song.

Life Is Like That

Little Milton

This is so assertive both in the way it's played and the way it's sung. It's quite blue but not a 'blues'. The sort of thing you listen to when you're feeling 'wise' and 'lifeworn'.

It Ain't Meat

The Swallows

Humorous

Keep On Churning

Wyonie Harris

For the sexual connotations — "keep on churning 'till the butter comes; keep on fuming, let the butter flow; how now brown cow; here comes your bull." Very male.

Sexual Healing

Marvin Gaye

Not for the sexual connotations but because it's such a good song, always sounds so fresh. The syncopation is modern in the way it's played, but basic in the way it's felt... modern and roots at the same time. A lot of new things lack that roots feel. He didn't always hit on that, but this track works. One of his guitar sidemen wrote the riff and the lyrics were written by a guy working on his biography.

1999

Prince

Nostalgia, I suppose. This reminds me of two years ago in new York. This was the track being played everywhere... in clubs, on the radio... it put Prince on the map in England but wasn't anywhere near as big as it was in America.

Pink Cadillac

Paul Barrasco

The best sax solo I've ever heard on a modern song. Might even be Paul Barrasco himself.

Concerto For Harp and Orchestra

Rodrigo

Lovely thing to listen to in the morning when you wake up. It's refreshing, like a glass of orange juice, or something. How did I find it?? Well, er, it was on the other side of the record from the guitar concerto...