1974

Okay, not totally back to normal here, but ready to put up a mix nonetheless.

This is a great mix, in my opinion, one of my favorites of the decade, and one that I've listened to a great deal. First of all, George McRae's "Rock Me Baby" is one of my all-time favorite songs. It puts me in a good mood no matter what. Then I managed to include "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" - twice. How did I manage to do it? Well, they are two different songs, record by two very different artists, but in the same year, and both were fairly sizable hits. A pretty unique occurence, especially considering the fact that it's not just a one word title.

A lot of people don't like "Rebel, Rebel," but I think those people are wrong, and while it isn't Bowie's strongest single, it fits in with The Raspberries' "Overnight Sensation" and Neil Young's "Walk On." Similarly, the pairing of "Help Me" and "Jolene" is a nice combo, both beautiful songs by strong female artists.

The mix begins and ends with live tracks, and they both slightly break my rules. "Distant Lover" was originally on 1973's Let's Get it On, which will obviously be represented on next year's mix by the title track. However, since this is a live performance, the one per album rule still works, and this was a major, major live track, one that hit the charts and stayed there. Similarly, the live performance of "No Woman, No Cry" has had a much bigger life than the studio version, going so far as to be included on Legend. I broke a rule pretty blatantly by including it here, as this performance wasn't released until 1975, even though the studio performance was 1974 (the studio version, by the way, is awful, and most of you probably haven't even heard it). I included it here for time and quality reasons, and I would hope you look the other way and don't think too much less of me.

Enjoy the mix.

Download the mix here.

1. Distant Lover (Live) - Marvin Gaye - 6:22
2. Rock Your Baby - George McRae - 5:36
3. Never Can Say Goodbye - Gloria Gaynor - 6:16
4. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night - John Lennon - 3:20
5. September Girls - Big Star - 2:49
6. Tell Me Something Good - Rufus/Chaka Khan - 3:28
7. Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang - 3:06
8. Lady Marmalade - Patti Labelle - 3:56
9. People Say - Meters - 5:16
10. Take Me To The River - Al Green - 3:47
11. Can't Get Enough of Your Love - Barry White - 4:34
12. Can't Get Enough of Your Love - Bad Company - 4:15
13. Overnight Sensation - The Raspberries - 5:22
14. Rebel, Rebel - David Bowie - 4:30
15. Walk On - Neil Young - 2:42
16. Help Me - Joni Mitchell - 3:22
17. Jolene - Dolly Parton - 2:37
18. No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley - 7:07