So I work at a company whos business it is to sell CDs and DVDs. We're actually a big company, in the top 10 music retailers in the US. As a result of our association with the various distribution companies like Sony/BMG and WEA, there are tons of sampler and promo CDs floating around the office for the employees to listen to. I like music, and I listen to it all the time. I figure my exposure to some of these samplers gives me an opportunity to listen to stuff I'd never buy, but since all I have to do is pick it up out of a stack... So here are a few recommendations:
I also ran across an interesting cover. Long ago, Johnny Cash scored a hit song with his Legend of John Henry's Hammer. I've got a Greatest Hits CD in my car with this song on it. Today, I was listening to a sampler CD from Putumayo World Music (www.putumayo.com) and I found a blues cover of the song, this time by Tangle Eye called John Henry's Blues. Both are good. Check out the legend of John Henry - steel driving man.
-- Matt Ranlett