0015: Al Green: Simply Beautiful

The first time I recall hearing this song was when Maxwell returned to the spotlight at the 2008 BET Awards and covered this Al Green classic. I don't know how I could let a bearskin-rug song like this slip past my radar.

Al Green is the master of wails. Soulful, unintelligible sounds, replete with desire and admiration. It's as if he couldn't find the words for what he wanted to say but also couldn't hold it in any longer. He may not be saying anything per se, but you know what he's talking about. 

Damn. I've got plans for this song.

Simply Beautiful.

0014: Justin Timberlake: Magic

What a lovely tease this is. Reports have it that Stargate (producers of the track) let this one leak into the music-loving public. No one is quite sure about whether this song is intended for a future album or if it was a spare b-side that was never used.

I'm hoping for the former because this track is hot. I've obsessed myself with deciphering the lyrics, but there's a spot in the song that's nigh unintelligible, and it's starting to drive me nuts. But I press on through frustration.

It's very indicative of JT's pop and dancy sound, so there's nothing new here. That's actually a good thing - his voice and persona carry it well, so I don't see a reason why he should tinker and foul a proven formula that's still widely accepted and appreciated.

I've been sitting on this song for a while now... kinda figured that everyone who's reading this post knows how to use the internet and by extension knows how to find things on said internet. It's been a little over a month since the leak, but I say better late than never. For those of you who've not heard it yet, let this post be your heads-up: I urge you to cop a listen. It's a banger.

I'd point you in the right direction with this song if I had a viable link. Y'all are gonna have to do some footwork for this one. Trust me, it's worth it.

And when it does become a track on a new album: BUY IT

0013: Musiq Soulchild: Just Friends (Sunny)

I received this album as a birthday gifts from a very good friend a loooong time ago. He had heard this song and figured it was something I would dig. And I did. IMMENSELY. 

I think I'm a sucker for the organ keyboard and hand claps. Or maybe effortless lyrics and the way they're conveyed. Simply a wonderful, badass song.

Again, proof that songs can be about the simpler things - like flirting and attraction - and still turn heads and volume dials.

0012: Faith Evans: All Night Long

I can't believe I slept on this song until I heard it as a closing song on an episode of Entourage. The chorus is beautifully sung by a handful of Faith harmonies, and the beat, although simple, is perpetually compelling. 

This one surprised me. When I realized it was a 90's Bad Boy track, I had to go back and rediscover their library. For what little lyrical skill Puffy/Diddy has, he definitely knows how to pull a crowd by their ears.

One of Bad Boy's best offerings.

0011: Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

One of my first contacts with what I consider good hip-hop. No machismo, no bravado, no misogyny - just relevant social commentary over a dope beat, backed by them horns.

16 years old and this song still holds it down.

0010: Billy Paul: Me and Mrs. Jones

Do you hear how Mr. Paul is singing this song?

Cot DAMN Mrs. Jones had something damn GOOD goin' on!

I may conceive my first daughter to this song and name her Mrs. Jones.

If anyone still believes in slow dancing, this ought to be the song you dance to right before you make sweet love by the fire. And maybe this song should be preceeded by this one.

0009: Shai: Yours (Acappella)

Shai (Egyptian for personification of destiny or fate) churned out a bunch of great singles off their first album, starting with a true acappella song called If I Ever Fall In Love. This kind of introduction to the public gave them a solid identity as a talented vocal group. They enjoyed a string of subsequent successes afterward, up to and including a true live performance of a new song, Yours (likely an extensive version of an album song, Baby I'm Yours).

This is quintessential acappella for me. Every part is gorgeously sung. I don't know how else to describe the song. It's plain, gorgeous.

I remember wishing I was a member of Shai when I first heard this song. They must have gotten so much pie for singing this.