Los Super Seven

I do my best studying with musical accompaniment. I've found it's a lot easier for me to cram one semester's worth of information into a few hours if I have good music playing in the background. One problem: I can't listen to anything with English lyrics because my notes and the song lyrics tend to mesh together. Therefore, I choose something instrumental or in a foreign language.\nCanto, the second album from Latin American group Los Super Seven, is the perfect study music. No two songs sound the same, all sound great and I can't understand one word, although the English lyrics are in the liner notes. On each of the 12 songs, a different member of Los Super Seven tackled lead vocals with the rest backing up on guitar, piano, bass, percussion and flute. Every song sounds as if it were created by the same people, yet each sounds different. This CD is full of real Latin music (sorry J. Lo) from people who didn't just learn Spanish because Ricky Martin made it popular.\nThe CD starts of slowly with "Siboney," a slow, haunting song dominated by the vocals of Raul Malo, the official lead vocalist. In the liner notes, each song is followed by a story or anecdote from a band member explaining why the song was chosen or something interesting that happened during recording. Malo modeled his singing in this song after the operatic voice of his grandfather.\nAlthough the first track is beautiful, Canto thankfully speeds up a little. The best is track three, "El Que Siembra Su Maiz." It's upbeat, and the chorus is easy to learn and sing along to. The song is the story of a Havana street vendor named Mayor who mysteriously disappears.\nPick up Canto the next time you have to spend an evening cramming facts into your brain. The rhythm will help your memorization skills, and you can take five-minute dancing breaks when the music becomes too irresistible. Afterward go back and read the liner notes to find out what all the great music was really about. It's worth the time and the extra history lesson.