Artists from the-Dream to Frank Ocean to the Weeknd have been revamping Casanova soul, spiking their pillow talk with arty weirdness. But Robin Thicke is a true believer: In his bedroom it’s still 1974, champagne chilling in the bedside ice bucket. Love After War dips into a range of decades-old styles, from blaxploitation funk to groovy Al Green/Willie Mitchell Memphis soul. Thicke spends a lot of time pondering romantic turmoil, but he's at his best when he reverts to classic loverman form: squeezing gentle bossa nova chords on his acoustic guitar, and letting his feathery upper register do the dirty work.

Listen to "Love After War":

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."