Free Design

Play "Friendly Man." If you flee in horror from it, Free Design's light vocal rock is not for you. But if you find yourself bobbing your head to its lyrics ("How did man's society get deformed?"), then you'll catch Free Design fever for life. Free Design's swinging, jazz beats are often overlooked, though they've been sampled often enough. The stripped-down "Going Back" is just beautiful, their cover of the Doors' "Light My Fire" is amazing and "Love Me" sounds like a lost movie theme of the hippie era. On the other hand, "You Are My Sunshine" is the worst thing the band ever committed to wax.