Singles are the best. They're the first music I ever latched onto, when I found my parents' box of 45s. It's not big, and there are deeper collections out there. But there's some Motown, Stax, a mess of Capitol & RCA, and Leslie Gore. I've toyed with the "album", but I'll always favor pop singles. These are some of my favorites.
1. Mississippi Delta - Bobbie Gentry: She left a ton of great singles, and I think this is a great soul banger. If you're ever at Half-Price Books and can cop some Bobbie, do it.
2. Hard Times - Baby Huey: This came from Curtom, Curtis Mayfield's label. Baby Huey was an enormous Chicago dude who died of a heart attack at 26. Another great soul tune.
3. Independent Women - Destiny's Child (remix by 2 many dj's): I swear the only thing holding back soul and R&B these days is lousy production. This remix - actually a mashup with 10CC - gets everything right about Beyoncé. The vocal performance is lightning, but the original's flat production drags it down and masks a superior tune waiting to get out.
4. Lover & A Friend - Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham: Super-catchy funk, complete with tremendous breaks. Eddie Bo is a total god, and probably my favorite singles artist.
5. (Runaway) I Wouldn't Change a Thing - Coke Escovedo: This is AM Gold, great pop from the 70s. Again, a very generous break, and terribly catchy.
6. Doomsday - MF DOOM: First, he crafts a hip-hop alter-ego based on Dr. Doom. Next, he samples Anita Baker.
7. My 2600 - Captain Funkaho: The genius of this cut is that it manages to use the bad cliches from three full decades of music. It's weird and goofy, and totally bad. But it's from Stones Throw, so it's got to be good, right?
8. Mama Roux - Dr. John: Great tune, back when the Doctor mattered.
9. Our Happiness Is Guaranteed - Quasi: My friend John turned me on to Sam Coomes and his two-person band. You should really check out "Featuring Birds", as it's pretty much a solid pop records loaded with singles. I love the thunderous drums throughout, and how the dystopic sci-fi lyrics go down so sweet.
10. Check Your Bucket - Eddie Bo: "There's a Hole in the Bucket" re-done in sexual terms (or maybe the themes are just made more explicit). Another big winner by Eddie.
11. Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones: It rocks out hard, and has a nice break at the beginning - big ups to Charlie Watts.
12. Hard to Handle - Otis Redding: Like me, you probably only knew the Black Crowes version. Otis Redding might be the best male soul singer who ever lived.
13. The Mexican - Babe Ruth: Would you believe me if I said they rocked this at block parties in the Boogie Down in '80? Strange how British prog rock is present at the birth of hip-hop.
14. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan: I figured everyone had this, but this mix is about pop singles, and this is likely the best single ever.
15. Where Is Love - Eldridge Holmes: Tough to follow Dylan, so something short and to the point. I like that this song goes all over the place in less than two minutes, but you never feel lost.
