The mighty Maharajas’ latest single “Black Box” (Chaputa Records), perhaps a teaser for their upcoming new album, is a winner. Up-tempo and rockin,’ “Black Box” to my ears bears a strong Fuzztones/Music Machine influence

The outstanding, early Pink Floyd-inspired debut album of Jacco Gardner is easily the best album of 2013, even this early out in the year. Gardner is like a lighthouse beacon in a fog of mediocrity of pop music.

It’s time that certain critics got over the band’s name and the singer’s then-seagull haircut, and just listen to the music here without prejudice.

Lead guitarist Zal Yanovsky’s lone solo, after his unceremonious and quite unfair firing from the Lovin’ Spoonful in 1967, announces his new sense of freedom with an opening Jerry Yester co-written up-tempo rocker

This is a first-time CD reissue in any form of Sam The Sham’s fine 1971 solo album, originally released on Atlantic Records and produced by the legendary Tom Dowd at Criteria Studios in Miami

Originally released in 1975 on A&M Records, Armageddon proved to be the late great ex-Yardbirds/Renaissance vocalist Keith Relf’s last stand — and he really went out rockin.’ It must have come as a shock to his legacy fans

Recreating an album 25 years later is not always the easiest task to tackle — let alone being able to assemble the same exact musicians (including D.J. Vin Scelsa’s new introduction), but the ex-Bongos front man Richard Barone pulled it off.

This was an ambitious album for both Del Shannon, and for producer Andrew Loog Oldham. The goal was to make a UK Pet Sounds of sorts, with Del in the guise of Brian Wilson — but the album was shelved by Del’s record label Liberty Records

Ambient music, avant-garde — whatever musical tag you want to hang on it won’t be too far off, as Tangerine Dream takes us way out in the deepest outer reaches of space rock.

The Syndicate of Sound, a garage-rock band from San Jose, California, was best known for their No. 8 1966 hit “Little Girl.” They also charted with “Rumors” (No. 55 in 1966) and with “Brown Paper Bag” (No. 73 in 1970) before initially breaking up.