Bob Marley's songs are sacred texts to reggae fans — a fact that would make most artists think twice before messing with them, Enter producer and remixer Bill Laswell, who on Dreams of Freedom has remixed 11 Marley classics in the traditional dub style: Marley's lead vocals have been stripped away — relegated to floating alongside the I-Threes as part of the backing vocals — and the instrumental tracks have been turned into spacious, echoey affairs. Laswell leaves intact the wicked rhythm section of brothers Carlton and Aston "Family Man" Barrett, though, and adds only a few ambient sounds to his skanking remixes of songs such as "Rebel Music" and "Waiting In Vain." The result? Dreams of Freedom offers a fresh perspective on this familiar material while retaining the pulse and the spirit of Marley's music.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.