The Friday Five: October 26, 2012

Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dā – fÄ«v| : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button in iTunes and share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up the media player of your choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.

The Five:

“I Don’t Wanna Talk About It” by Indigo Girls (from Philadelphia: Music From the Motion Picture, 1994)

“I can tell by your eyes that you’ve probably been crying forever.” I can’t deny that when I first heard this tune I had no awareness of its lineage; originally recorded by Crazy Horse (yes, that Crazy Horse), the song enjoyed Billboard chart success on both sides of the pond when Rod Stewart recorded it for his 1975 release, Atlantic Crossing. Amy Ray’s voice is perfectly suited to the melancholic verse, with Emily Saliers’ ethereal harmonies coming in to bring the chorus home. I’m not going to lie, I hit repeat three times on this one before letting the shuffle move onto the next tune.

“How” by Maroon 5 (from Hands All Over, 2010)

The pairing of Maroon 5 with Á¼ber-producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange should have been a home run. Instead, it was … well, boring.

“Seek Up” by Dave Matthews Band (from 1998-12-08: DMB Live Trax, Volume 1: Worcester Centrum Centre, Worcester, MA, USA (disc 1), 2004)

Despite being one of my favorite DMB tunes, I don’t know that I have all that much to say about “Seek Up.” It’s epic in scale, even by DMB standards, and generally clocks in over the twenty minute mark.

“All or Nothing at All” by Billie Holiday (from Verve Jazz Masters 12, 1994)

As much as I love Miss Holiday, it is ‘Trane’s version of “All or Nothing at All” from his 1962 recording, Ballads, that holds my top spot.

“Blowin’ in the Wind (alternate mix)” by Stevie Wonder (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 6: 1966 (disc 30), 2006)

I’m generally of the opinion that Dylan songs are better performed by anyone other than Dylan, this is probably one of the exceptions. Not that Stevie doesn’t bring his all, and deliver an impassioned take on the classic. Hell, he even took this version to the Top 10 in 1966.

What’s on your shuffle today?