Begun a decade ago with super-producer Don Was, Willie Nelson's country-reggae fusion album was originally intended for Island Records (the label that made its name with Bob Marley). When Island folded into Universal, the album lost its allies until a former Island executive landed at Nelson's current label. Unfortunately, the story behind Countryman is better than its music: With the exception of a folky rendition of the Jimmy Cliff classic "The Harder They Come," Nelson's vocals sound like they're in a different world than these slick, overly tinkered-with instrumental tracks. Don't hold your breath for Willie in Dub.

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.