I’ve only got about 24 minutes left, so I’m going to make this quick. Today’s 2026 song of the day is a cover of Dan Penn’s “If Love Was Money,” from the new album 3614 Jackson Highway by Jesper Lindell. Lindell is a Swedish singer/songwriter who has been deeply influenced by the classic soul and pop music recorded at select studios in the southern United States during the 1960s and ‘70.

Lindell brought his band to Muscle Shoals Sound (located at the titular address of this album, in Sheffield, Alabama) and, over just a day and a half, recorded the tracks that became 3614 Jackson Avenue, a record that joyfully transmits Lindell’s love and gratitude for these songs. You can read my PopMatters review of the album here.

While 3614 Jackson Avenue contains a few familiar songs (like “Drift Away” and “Rainy Night in Georgia”), I actually enjoy Lindell’s takes on lesser known tunes, such as “If Love Was Money,” the best. Dan Penn is a lowkey but legendary singer/songwriter/producer whose name I’ve known but now, thanks to Lindell’s fine cover, I want to take a deeper dive into Penn’s own records.

Few if any artists have had their work compiled, recompiled, and recontextualized as often as Elvis Presley. Even before Presley died in 1977, his fans were treated to a steady stream of “previously released material” compilations, and that cottage industry exploded thereafter.

Many of these collections were cheap and tacky but RCA did get some of them right. Reconsider Baby is a 1985 thematic release, the theme being Elvis singing blues, or at least “bluesy,” songs. Tracks here range from a previously unreleased Sun Records master record of “Tomorrow Night” (originally recorded, according to the album liner notes, by Lonnie Johnson) through a 1971 recording of Charles Brown’s “Merry Christmas Baby.”

Over the course of the 17-year period covered on this album, Elvis’ style evolved and Reconsider Baby charts this evolution, while obviously skipping the tons of movie soundtrack tunes (few of which had any connection to blues) he was churning out at the time. One constant here though, is Presley’s level of enthusiasm. He loved these songs and wasn’t merely punching a time clock to record them. That level of engagement, especially compared to the movie songs, shows.

Beyond the music, I love the aesthetics of Reconsider Baby. The colors in the album cover photo are beautiful and the lack of any text on the cover accentuates the photo. I’d also love to own the jacket Elvis is wearing.

I think this copy of Reconsider Baby came to me through friends who deaccessioned a couple boxes of records my way. One box was a treasure trove of nothing but Elvis, including this barely-played Reconsider Baby, still in its original shrink wrap. As you can see in the photo above, there is a hype sticker, but even that’s cool:

My advice today (which as I type this, is now yesterday, time being impermanent): give Jesper Lindell’s 3614 Jackson Highway a listen. Also, if you’re thinking you’d like a few Elvis records in your collection, Reconsider Baby is a fine collection of off-the-beaten-path tracks.