20 Love Songs To Cure Your January Blues

15. You're All I Need To Get By €“ Method Man And Mary J Blige

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxYlfU6bocQ Well this was a tough choice - the majesty that is the original by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Tyrell, or Method Man and Mary J. Bilge's updated (in every sense of the word) version? Well it had to be the latter, because anything that can make one of the Wu Tang Clan sound positively soppy and wide eyed (well, as much as he can be) has to be included. I'm not saying that he finds his inner Jarvis Cocker, but this is vulnerable as we've ever seen a male hip-hop artist, and no, 'I Need Love' by LL Cool J isn't a song about vulnerability, that's just a plea to get laid, this song has the line "Even when the skies were grey you would rub me on on my back and say 'baby, it will be OK." Barry White would be proud. Sadly there's still some of the Wu Tang's unforgivable misogyny ('You don't need no brain to be my wife' anyone?) but this is saying that love is a meeting of minds, mutual respect and admiration, getting just the right blend between spiritual and physical love, Blige's coo of "I took one look at you and it was plain to see you were my destiny", mixes sensuality and romance terrifically, you can picture her raising an eyebrow as she sings it. What makes this a great cover is that they make it their own - keeping the melody and chorus of the original and adding to it, bringing the language of love into the 21st Century yet keeping the message exactly the same. Oh, and it's got such a killer beat to it you don't just have to listen to it and wonder what the story's all about - it's also a great song to dance your ass off to.