Stuck on the Farm Music II

Back in late January, Rob had his annual 'sick' that made it hard for him to sleep, so he sought some solace in song.  (I was going to say "music," but the alliteration was too much fun).  He played the "if you were stuck on the farm and could only have ten albums for music" game.  The first three albums are listed in Stuck on the Farm Music Part I.  We now present you with Part II.

The 77's - Sticks and Stones
As we mentioned with the Apocalyptica album, you have to let us have the extended play version.  Hey, they all fit on one CD, so it counts!  Plus, it's my list, I can do what I want!

The beauty of this album is the wide range of styles that Mike Roe and the Sevens can employ.  It's an album we've enjoyed for a long time and we're still not tired of it.  That's a good sign if you have to have it on a short play list.  The only sad thing about the 77's, we detect no cello presence.  But, that's ok, we don't have to have cello all the time.

Evanescence - Synthesis
The voice.  This is all about the voice.  Ok, the music surrounding that voice is pretty good as well.  But, Amy Lee's voice makes all of the difference.  I am not sure any one of the Evanescence albums would have made the list, though I would have regretted it.  Then, they did this retrospective of some of their better work.  The result is something I can listen to over and over again.  The revisited compositions are interesting and beautiful.  Oh, and there are cellos.

Over the Rhine - Ohio
I will admit that I am working my own system to get myself a bit more music in my ten albums than I might deserve.  But, this one isn't really cheating because OTR released Ohio as a double CD.  Tammy and I have enjoyed OTR since their earliest days when they had more of an alternative rock vibe.  This album could be more of a folk to folk-rock to whatever other label you might want to use here.  The song-writing and delivery of their meaning and emotion is superb.  And, there is a song for every emotion, it seems.  You know what, I don't recall if they use cello on this album or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did and I know they have in the past.

Four more to go.  I wonder what they'll be?