6 April 2015, No. 69, Wilson Pickett, ‘Engine Number 9’

This is a fun tune to juggle with. I just spent 20 minutes or so setting up cue points in the intro and breaks and throwing them back and forth. Sure, one can just press the buttons and jump around in one track on one channel, but it’s more fun to use faders too. In the break there’s a nice “Yeah” on a four that makes for some fun, old school looping. Wilson Pickett screams a lot, and the guitars are distorted and screaming too, giving this locomotive tune an urgency we don’t often hear from the slower end of the spectrum. Well, and I guess the train-themed lyrics (“Got to get me there on time”; “Keep on movin’”; etc.) help with that feeling too. The best thing about this tune might be the really understated organ part in the break. Figure it out for yourself when you listen to “Engine Number 9” from Wilson Pickett, which is selection No. 69 on our list.