The Coffee House
- You Really Got A Hold On Me-She & Him (An effective cover of the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles doo-wop number. The seemingly-recorded-in-a-tunnel echo on the vocals captures the intimacy of the lyrics convincingly.)
- Dancing On The Ceiling-Jack Jezzro (A bouncy acoustic guitar rendering of the Rodgers & Hart tune. If you like the way Earl Klugh covers "It's Only A Paper Moon," "If I Only Had A Brain," and "You Make Me Feel So Young," Jezzro's take on "Dancing..." should satisfy you, as well.)
- I've Seen Him Work-Anita Wilson (A powerfully sung case for trusting that God won't abandon you. I hear elements of Joe Sample, the Luther Vandross hit, "Stop To Love," and '80s power chords in the instrumental accompaniment.)
- Movies-Hothouse Flowers (One of the more semi-lighthearted singer-songwriter gems on the band's strong album, "Home." Not just any tune advises you to "find a friend in a film." Also recommended from the album: "Christchurch Bells," "Dance To The Storm," "Give It Up," and the cover of "I Can See Clearly Now.")
- Cry Me A River-Jim Rotondi (The longest, most reassuring version of "Cry..." I've heard; Renato Chicco's organ playing and Rotondi's trumpet runs mute the sorrow you hear in other versions, such as Ella Fitzgerald's, of this much-covered song.)
- Maiden Voyage/Everything In Its Right Place-Robert Glasper (On Tuesday, I wrote about how seamlessly Kerri Anderson wove Bob Dylan and Blue Oyster Cult together in her cover, "All Along The Watchtower (Don't Fear The Reaper.)" I never would have imagined anyone pairing Herbie Hancock's jazz landmark, "Maiden Voyage," with Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place." Hearing Glasper's excellent traditional jazz piano rendition shows the common ground between two seemingly disparate tunes. When I take notes on appealing SiriusXM, Stingray Music, FM dial scan highlights, and Online radio sampler highlights contenders, I write, "BLOG?" in the margin by selections I'm most likely to cite here. Hearing the intro of "Maiden Voyage..." made me, in a rare occurrence, write "BLOG," without a question mark next to it.)
- Tennessee-Arrested Development (Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do some of the same good people get hit with tragedies repeatedly? "Tennessee" addresses these injustices directly by asking the hard questions.)
