On the cover of his debut album, Matthew E. White rocks a white suit he might have borrowed from 1970 Eric Clapton and a mane/ beard combo he might have borrowed from 1975 Bob Seger. Inside, the laid-back sounds of the Seventies have rarely been this laid-back: Lazily swelling Randy Newman orchestrations and hippie-gospel choirs coil around the sleepiest Allen Toussaint grooves, as White, who's from Richmond, Virginia, soul-mumbles about the power of the Lord (the nine-minute "Brazos"), randomly quotes Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" ("Will You Love Me") and turns in a resplendently somnolent funk workout ("Big Love"). It's sometimes silly but also undeniably soothing: The bone-warming "Hot Toddies" leaves you feeling like you just had six of them.

Listen to "Big Love":

“Satisfied”

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.