Ray Wilson is enjoying the best of both worlds these days, having just released a terrific new solo project even while joining Steve Hackett for a series of concerts focusing on classic-era Genesis.

The Bay Area guerrilla thrash-jazzers the Splatter Trio were only together for five or six years during the first half of the 90s, but that managed to leave a path of destruction in their wake.

<<< BACKWARD (“Bodhisattva [Live]“) ||| ONWARD (“Josie [Live]“) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** Going back to Skunk Baxter-era material with “Bodhisattva” was cool to hear from the 90s Steely Dan band, but the first real surprise on Alive In America came on the following track.

For a confirmed Beatlemaniac like Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra fame, working with members of the Fab Four had always been a dream. Beginning in the late 1980s, every one of them came true.

<<< BACKWARD (“Green Earrings [Live]“) ||| ONWARD (“Reelin’ In The Ywars [Live]“) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** Victor’s taking a break from SDS this week and handing over the reigns to a real knowledgeable Steely Fan aficionado, Preston Frazier. Enjoy!

In 1993, I had little to no interest in Shotgun Messiah. I considered them one of the also-rans of the late 1980s glam metal scene. Their previous two albums hadn’t connected with me

Like most fans, we were hoping the Rolling Stones would pull out some deep cuts as they convened to celebrate five decades of debauched rock. What we got, however, was “Emotional Rescue”

<<< BACKWARD (“Babylon Sisters (Live)”) ||| ONWARD (“Bodhisattva (Live)”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** One of the better cuts on The Royal Scam — and the lesser cuts on that album are pretty good — this stage version gets the bank of horns handling that signature four chord interruption and other punctuations

<<< BACKWARD (“Medical Science”) ||| ONWARD (“Green Earrings (Live)”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** The mid-1990s were a great time to be a Steely Dan fan. We were first treated to Donald Fagen’s long-awaited follow-up to The Nightfly, and while that album fell well short of the classic first one, it was the first significant output from either

Perhaps, given its vintage, it’s no surprise that Armchair Theatre seems to owe so much to Lynne’s participation in the Traveling Wilburys, along with George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.