When Otis Redding hit L.A.'s Whisky for four nights in 1966, the 24-year-old Georgia kid was still, as Carla Thomas once sang, "pure country," addressing the crowd as "ladies and gentlemans." This disc is a notch less exciting than his 1967 Monterey Pop set, but it captures him in an achingly intimate setting: He sounds like he's singing "These Arms of Mine" two feet away from you. Sunset boosts the original In Person at the Whisky a Go Go by 18 tracks, with new songs ("Chained and Bound"), new versions (of his testifying cover of the Stones' "Satisfaction") and a stretched-out "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Crucial soul listening.

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."