As Billy Sherwood assembled an all-star cast for the forthcoming 2012 Cleopatra Records release The Prog Collective, he thought of an old friend: Former Yes bandmate Chris Squire.

Cover 2 Cover, the latest tribute album from Morse/Portnoy/George, will include songs from prog legends King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Styx. No surprise there, considering the band lineage of those involved.

I don’t usually spend a lot of time dumping on music that I don’t like. This is pretty much an ironclad rule when it comes to reviews. It’s the most pointless kind of writing, rarely rising above the level of drunken frat-boy snark.

Broad and spacious as all hell, Astra’s The Black Chord is retro in excess. The San Diego outfit employs all manner of guitar and analog synths to get the job done

Now that you’ve devoured all of the weekend’s Record Store Day goodies, time to refocus on the next round of tasty musical newness headed your way — including 2012 releases from Anathema, Jack White and the Maccabees

Since appearing onstage dressed in a flower costume while with Genesis, Peter Gabriel continues to take fans on musical and visual twists and turns.

Issued today as a special single to commemorate Record Store Day 2012, these two songs give us an early glimpse into one of the more interesting collaborations in memory between legacy prog-rockers.

For those already familiar with the band, the evolution of Anathema has been a fascinating one to watch — particularly since coming back from a prolonged absence a few years back.

An official street date, tracklisting and album title have been released for Squackett, the forthcoming collaboration between Yes’ Chris Squire and Genesis alum Steve Hackett.

Here’s where the Steve Morse edition of Deep Purple staked its claim to the band’s stirring history — and, in many ways, began to refashion it for a new age.