  In 1965 The Rolling Stones released two albums that, to this day, continue to nourish my soul. First was "Now", still my favorite early Stones record, and then "Out Of Our Heads" (with Keith's pimples prominantly displayed).
It would be decades in some cases before I had the revelatory experience of hearing Don Covay's original recording of "Mercy Mercy", Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike", Bobby Womack's "The Last Time", Chuck Berry duck walkin' to "You Can't Catch Me", Howlin' Wolf's menacing moan on "Little Red Rooster", or Otis Redding testafying on "Pain In My Heart" and "That's How Strong My Love Is", among many other great covers (not to mention original classics like "Heart Of Stone" and "Satisfaction".)
But it is two other songs here that bring me full circle to the present day; "Now's" killer opener, "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and "...Heads" standout ballad, "Cry To Me." In a perfect illustration of why music is such a lifelong pleasure for me, it was only a few weeks ago that I had the absolute thrill of hearing Solomon Burke's original versions of these two gems.
What motivated me to fire up my copy of KaZaA Lite and search for these songs in the first place, was the release of Burke's new album - "Don't Give Up On Me." All I can say is, with all due respect to Springsteen, this has my vote so far for album of the year. Do yourself a big favor and check this one out. I promise, you will not be disappointed.
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