"Lost in the world," sings My Morning Jacket's frontman on this single from his solo debut, Regions of Light and Sound of God, due early next year. And lost he sounds, in the most ecstatic way, unfurling his high tenor amid synth drones, keyboard improvisations recalling Sun Ra and what sounds like a Seventies disco-soul sample RZA would appreciate. Jacket it ain't: no ripping guitars, no roof-raising choruses. But James' longtime fascination with psychedelic R&B – he penned liner notes to the reissue of Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul – informs a track that vibes with the current narco-funk renaissance (the Weeknd, etc.) while channeling broader history. Magnificent. 

Listen to "Know Til Now":

“Everyday People”

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.