Superproducer Daniel Lanois took a rare turn on center stage as a performer on his second solo release, For the Beauty of Wynona. Released in 1993, the album follows his earlier release, Acadie. Unlike that album, which had some superstar appearances, For the Beauty of Wynona is a more low-key affair and has a more subtle impact. Lanois has a limited range as a vocalist, but he possesses a warmth that draws in the listener. Producing himself, Lanois also is an accomplished guitarist, although his protégé, Malcolm Burn, also adds some guitar as well as keyboards. The music is often moody and watercolored, but there are some more upbeat moments like the jaunty melody of "Sleeping in the Devil's Bed," which has a country feel, and the single "Lotta Love to Give," which is wispy but anchored by twang guitar and has a catchy chorus and serrated guitar solo. For the Beauty of Wynona is not an immediately striking album but rather one that slowly grows on the listener. It also proves that Lanois has something to say on his own.

Featured on 1994's Red Hot and Cool compilation, the Japanese production trio UFO heads a loose collective of musicians and vocalists present here. Jazz, R&B, trip-hop, Spanish, Caribbean, and Brazilian rhythms all appear in one form or another; surprisingly, these disparate elements flow well through the course of ten songs.

Sweden - a country largely politicised during the late sixties - took it's first steps towards creating it's own music and its own cultural language during the late sixties with bands like Hansson & Karlsson, Mecki Mark Men, Lea Riders Group and others. Out of the latter (featuring Bosse Häggström on Bass and Tommy "Slim" Borgudd on drums), Made in Sweden evolved together with Georg "Jojje" Wadenius as a instrumentally talented trio. Recording three studio albums (plus the music for a children's play called "Rengbågslandet" in 1970) and this live album, was definitely enough to showcase their collected talents, until they broke up in 1970, shortly after their brilliant album "Made in England" was released. In 1975, Made in Sweden reformed but with a different line-up only featuring Jojje as an original member. This formation released one album, and then dismantled…

Whitesnake were lumped into the "hair metal" explosion of the 1980s, but they were a classier, more classic rock band than most of their peers. So the songs that populate this hits collection hold up better than the work of many of that era's MTV-boosted groups. Vocalist David Coverdale took flack for sounding like Robert Plant, but his booming, confident voice is more temperate than the Zep frontman's caterwaul. From roaring epics such as "Still of the Night" and "Here I Go Again" to the blatant, sexy "Slide It In" to the memorable power ballad "Love Ain't No Stranger," the expected hits from the band's commercial heyday are included in this comprehensive CD, which skips over Whitesnake's several hitless discs of the '70s. Three decent unreleased songs fill out this 14-cut collection, which, much like the band itself, is solid and timeless.