Belle and Sebastian made their fragile bones whispering indie-pop songs about bicurious bookworms with huge cardigan collections. Lately, the Scottish septet have pursued more universal pleasures. "Make me dance," frontman Stuart Murdoch entreats over a soul groove on B&S' eighth disc, which loads up on Sixties-pop goodies without diluting the group's willowy kink. Murdoch duets with Norah Jones on the slow jam "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John," and Brit actress Carey Mulligan sings the part of a crushed-out office girl on the Swinging London title track. It's the sound of wallflowers owning the party.

“All Along the Watchtower”

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."