Click to listen to North Mississippi All Stars' "Hear The Hills" and "This A'Way"

Deep roots, improvising valor and live-Cream brawn come easily to this trio. Catching it all in the studio has been harder, like juggling snakes and feral cats. Singer-guitarist Luther Dickinson, his drumming brother, Cody, and bassist Chris Chew come close here by lacing hard stuff like "New Orleans Walkin' Dead" with a spare fireside tension in the closing good time "Jellyrollin' All Over Heaven" and a spectral version of Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" that truly takes the song down South.

Gallery: Random Notes, Rock's Hottest Photos

“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.