The playlist for this warm October evening:

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1) Jack Bruce, from his criminally under-recognized %%AMAZON=B00008A8LQ|Harmony Row%%, a strange ballad that opens the album, Can You Follow?

2) Andy Timmons with a bit of absolutely stupid (in a good way) shredding from %%AMAZON=B000063BW6|That Was Then, This Is Now - The Best of X-Tasy%%, a marathon electric guitar exercise demonstrating Timmons’ awesome picking prowess, Groove or Die.

3) You may feel a bit worn out after that one, so here’s %%AMAZON=B000002VMH|Annie Lennox%% with an understated masterpiece of a ballad, Why.

4) Stravinsky, from %%AMAZON=B00000IOCZ|The Rite of Spring%%, Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)—one of the most powerful pieces of music ever conceived.

5) Tom Petty with a song that speaks for itself, Don’t Fade On Me, from %%AMAZON=B000002MUN|Wildflowers%%.

6) From Drive-By Truckers’ magnum opus (so far), %%AMAZON=B000068FUS|Southern Rock Opera%%, The Three Great Alabama Icons.

7) Ralph Stanley’s stunning a cappella performance from the soundtrack of %%AMAZON=B00004XQ83|O Brother, Where Are Thou?%%, O Death.

8) XTC, %%AMAZON=B00005ATHN|Oranges and Lemons%%, Poor Skeleton Steps Out. Seems to go with O Death.

9) A poignant tale of doomed … well, not lovers, exactly. Poor Edward, from Tom Waits’ %%AMAZON=B00005YX3L|Alice%%.

10) Concluding on a semi-positive note, a classic from John Hiatt’s %%AMAZON=B000002TXI|Walk On%%, Cry Love.