Here's the first of Mick's roundups of the 12 best Detroit tunes ever. Enjoy

#1 'Money' - Barrett Strong

"This record contains everything that makes Rock 'n' Roll worth listening to: Gospel-based singing, manic drum-pounding, call-and-response vocals, buzzsaw guitar, and God's Own Tambourine. There were other R&B songs without horns by the time 'Money' was released, but there was nothing before (or since) to equal this tambourine-blasted Rock 'n' Roll frenzy. The sound of this record is just perfect: very few records in my knowledge leap out of the grooves and GRAB you the way this one does, and then clubs you over the head when the rest of the band kicks in. If your head isn't bobbing by the time Barrett Strong starts singing, then 'alive' is not a word I would use to describe you.

My family played through two copies of this record when I was a kid; I still own copy #3, although I have since gotten two copies of my own.

Very few 45s actually manage to capture Godhead within their grooves, and this record is practically BURSTING with the raw electricity held in it. On quiet nights, I can hear it softly sizzling and crackling in its velvet case upon the mantle. Almost certainly my pick for Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Song Ever. Ever."

MP3 Barrett Strong - Money (That's what I want)