Lynyrd Skynyrd - (pronounced 'leh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) (1973)

Good ol' southern-fried rock... I'm assuming. It is a Lynyrd Skynyrd album, although it is their first, so who knows. Maybe they were a different band in 1973? Ah, who am I kiddin'?

Lou Reed - Berlin (1973)

I'm of two minds on what I want to do next. On the one hand I've developed a pretty strong opinion of Lou Reed, mostly informed by others and partly based on having heard one of "his" albums. With that in mind I almost feel as though I should give Lou Reed and his ardent followers the best chance at proving this music is as good as they all claim it is. That would lead me to review the albums in chronological order, which would give me a chance to settle in and evolve along Lou Reed's musical path. That would mean the next album I should hear is The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat.

Hugh Masekela - Home Is Where The Music Is (1972)

Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session (1988)

The Trinity Session opens with a lovely rendition of the traditional folk tune "Mining For Gold" sung a capella by lead vocalist Margo Timmins. All I can ask for is more of the same. Ms. Timmins has a beautiful soft and full alto voice, perfect for a soothing lullaby, a powerful epic, or anything in between.

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible (1994)

Manic Street Preachers: The Holy Shit What A Pretentious Album Title. There better be a good reason for that.

Leftfield - Leftism (1995)

Sigh... this is going to be a dance album, isn't it? I'm guessing that based on the year the album was released, the really neat cover art, which dance albums are known for 'round these parts, and the album being 70 minutes long and only 11 songs. Dance albums almost always work out to be obscenely long, because it's an easy trick for the "artist" to simply cut and paste and double the length of the "song". I'm used to being quickly outraged by these albums, usually in the first 10 seconds of pressing play. Here goes nothing...

Steve Winwood - Arc Of A Diver (1980)

I like Steve Winwood, at least the Steve Winwood from Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith. I only know of one definite Steve Winwood song from the 1980s, "Back In The High Life," and that has me concerned. I previously liked Paul Simon from the 70s, then I heard Paul Simon from the 80s. If Steve Winwood had a similar evolution Arc Of A Diver could be a tough listen, though hopefully a short one.

Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World (2001)

No upfront information on this band, I'm going in completely cold. It's hard not to read that name and not think of furries. If you don't know what I mean, remain ignorant. You'll lead a much happier life.