1. Maybellene (2:16) - This fast song, previously sung by Chuck Berry, features hand-clapping on all even-numbered beats (common throughout this disc) and a harmonica. The sounds of people cheering and clapping fill the beginning and end of this song; that's also the case for most subsequent songs.
2. The Seventh Son (2:48) - This moderately fast song features a harmonica and a tambourine. I also have a version of this song by Dion.
3. Muddy Water (3:05) - This fast song features a tambourine and an organ. The key, starting at G, changes twice: after the first singing of the chorus, it rises to A; after the chorus is sung the second time, it rises to B-flat. The narrator, born in Macon, Georgia, has been told all his life to "keep [his] hands clean." Not so much in the literal sense, but rather to stay out of trouble with the law. But after falling into bad company, he robbed someone (hence the "washing hands in muddy water" metaphor), as in the third verse he asks a jailer when his sentence will be up.
4. Memphis, Tennessee (2:35) - This song was an even bigger hit for Johnny than it had been for Chuck Berry. Johnny sang his version in the key of F, one key lower than the original. The Beatles covered the song on their BBC radio show, and another artist recorded an instrumental version.
5. Mountain Of Love (2:39) - This moderately fast song is my favorite one by Johnny. Instruments include a harmonica and a tambourine. The narrator used to be happy when the girl was his girlfriend. As he looks down from his mountain, he sees a church and hears its bells ringing to announce the girl's wedding to the new man she's found. That's why the narrator now cries and his tears fall down the mountain.
6. The Poor Side Of Town (3:36) - This song, slightly slower than moderate, features orchestral string instruments and a flute. It is the only song on this disc that Johnny wrote. The girl has come back to the narrator after her rich husband dumped her. Now the narrator believes that together he and the girl can rise from poverty.
7. Where Have All The Flowers Gone (3:46) - This fast song features a tambourine. The narrator laments that all the flowers have gone to young girls. Then all the young girls have married, young men have become soldiers, soldiers gone to graveyards, and graveyards gone to flowers. This Vietnam War protest song was also sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary.
8. Baby, I Need Your Lovin' (3:08) - This version is slower and one key lower than the original version by the Four Tops. String instruments are featured in this version.
9. The Tracks Of My Tears (2:55) - This song, previously sung by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, has a moderate tempo. Instruments include a tambourine, string instruments, and a flute. The Miracles had sung in the key of G; Johnny sang it in the key of D.
10. Secret Agent Man (3:05) - This fast song is another goody. It is sung to a spy who is identified by a number rather than his name. Since spying is a deadly business, he must be careful what he says to people and keep in mind that some women who are beautiful on the outside can be evil on the inside.
11. The Midnight Special (2:30) - This version of an old American folk song is fast. Here, the second verse is the one describing certain behavior for which a person could wind up in jail, and the third verse is the one about the woman who begs the jail warden to release her boyfriend. In the version by Creedence Clearwater Revival (which I like better), the order of those two verses is reversed.
12. Summer Rain (3:37) - This song opens with the sound effect of thunder crashing and rain falling. The tempo is moderate. Instruments include violins, horns, chimes, and a tambourine. One summer night, as rain falls against the narrator's window and his girlfriend sits next to him inside his house, he looks back on the good times they had together earlier in the summer. She wants to move to the Rocky Mountains and start a family with him there.
13. Look To Your Soul (3:13) - The first 7 seconds comprise the fadeout of some marching tune. The actual song has a moderately slow tempo. Instruments include violins, horns, a tambourine, chimes, and a flute. The narrator used to pretend to be someone he's not. Now he laments that too many people don't realize who they really are. To those who wonder what the meaning of life is, the narrator says they should look to their souls. The song ends with the sound effect of rainfall, similar to the effect that opened the previous song.
14. The Rockin' Pneumonia (And The Boogie-Woogie Flu) (3:27) - This moderate-tempoed song features a piano. The narrator has many symptoms of the diseases in the title, including that he can't kiss a girl who's much taller than he, and he can't move his feet fast enough to dance a certain dance.
15. Blue Suede Shoes (2:46) - This version of a Carl Perkins hit features a piano and an electric guitar. The ending drum roll makes a nice ending for the whole disc.