By Randy A. Salas

We did a double-take this morning when we saw Amazon's latest MP3 deal: a free I Love the '80s 26-track sampler. No problem there -- except that the sampler is of classical music. So does that mean we get orchestral versions of Europe's "The Final Countdown" and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"? No, it's music of the 1880s! You know, Borodin, Mahler, Dvorak and friends. That's just brilliant marketing, even if classical labels have done it before with collections like Greatest Hits of 1720 and Heavy Classix. The performances, from a Naxos stable that includes conductors Stephen Gunzenhauser and Marin Alsop, are a mixed bag. But, hey, it's free. And, again, it's free.