Downloads

“CMT’s 100 Greatest Love Songs”

Raul Malo

www.youtube.com/watch?

v=IaN-9gXxqg4

Raul Malo, the former frontman for the Mavericks, delves into a medley of classic country ballads and delivers the heroic goods. Such is Malo’s Naugahyde-and-bourbon authenticity that the listener could be pardoned for imagining a TV commercial touting a CD for the hits of 1963. A tease of Eddy Arnold’s “Make the World Go Away” and then Ray Price’s “For the Good Times” are given bravura renderings, but it is the classic Roy Orbison weepy, “Crying,” that Malo hits out of the ballpark, singing full voice in his upper register.

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“They’re Leaving Me Behind”

Nick Drake

brytermusic.comAnointed by acolytes with the kind of sainthood reserved for the likes of Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan, Drake’s purple ghost has received a resurrection in the last few years, partly because of the use of his “Pink Moon” in a well-known Volkswagen commercial. It’s well deserved. A new collection of Drake’s early demos is being released June 19. “They’re Leaving Me Behind” gives a good indication of what all the fuss is about: lively picking, a smoky voice and chillingly prescient lyrics -- “The chances they come, but the chances have been lost / Success can be gained, but at too great a cost / For some there’s a future to find / But I think they’re leaving me behind.” The song can only be streamed and can be accessed on the player at the top of this Web page.

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“Hey You”

Madonna

liveearth.msn.com/green/Madonnadownload

Produced by Pharrell Williams and sounding unlike anything either artist has done before, “Hey You” was inspired by the Live Earth concerts scheduled for July 7. She will be one of 17 headliners performing in London at Wembley Stadium that day. The song is a military waltz revolving around an acoustic guitar, Madonna’s multitracked vocals and a string section, possibly simulated, that is strangely, muddily mixed. The lyric is an admirable sentiment of loving yourself before you can love -- or change -- someone else, and Madonna sings the memorable melody in an unaffected, straightforward fashion.

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“Crossing Line”

The Sea and Cake

www.thrilljockey.com/drop/freebies/The_Sea_and_Cake-Crossing-Line. mp3

An odd piece of musical magic from Chicago’s venerable band, “Crossing Line” is from the new album “Everybody” -- the Sea and Cake’s first release in four years. Sam Prekop’s half-asleep, funky white-boy vocals are a perfect juxtaposition with the low-budget distorted guitars, and listen to Eric Claridge’s wonderfully in-the-pocket bass. It’s hard to make out what Prekop is singing about, but the subtle, organic music more than makes up for the obscured lyrics. It’s a casual groove for a summer afternoon.

casey.dolan@latimes.com