The Friday Five: June 12, 2009

Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.

The Five:

Willie Nelson – “Always on My Mind” (mp3) (from The Essential Willie Nelson)

I may be committing an act of blasphemy, but this is – in my opinion – the quintessential version of this song. Released in 1982, this earned Willie a Grammy award (Best Male Country Vocal Performance) and the songwriters Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson the Song of the Year and Best Country Song statues. This tune is easily in my top 10 favorite ballads.

Incognito – “Rivers Runnin’ Black” (mp3) (from Life, Stranger Than Fiction)

Not my favorite Incognito record, but this is a specifically strong (mostly instrumental) track. This band never lacks for groove.

Chrisette Michele – “Playin’ Our Song” (from Epiphany)

This record, while good in it’s own right, was a disappointment for me. After the power and range displayed in her debut I Am, this record feels flat. It’s a decent modern R&B record but suffers from the input of her songwriters trying to hard to sell a ‘hit”. The biggest offender here is the track “Another One” which is essentially Beyoncé‘s “Irreplaceable” with different lyrics. Oh, and the real rub here is they were both written by Ne-Yo.

Janet Jackson – “That’s the Way Love Goes” (from Design of a Decade: 1986-1996)

Mmm… Good Tune!

Old Californio – “From the Mouths of Babes” (from Westering Again)

You may recognize Old Californio from Pete’s Ick Pick column (link). This is actually one my favorite cuts from that record and has stood up to multiple listens. As a matter of fact I think that I’m going to go listen to the whole record again now.

What tunes are brightening your day?