‘The Next Day’ found David Bowie making a surprise return 10 years ago this month, but without the old theatrics and an artsy agenda.

Songs that didn’t make the Beatles’ original U.K. albums and the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ LP were collected 35 years ago today on ‘Past Masters.’

In the age-old question of Beatles or Rolling Stones, I’ve spent much of my life quite firmly in the Beatles camp. Then everything changed.

Released 20 years ago this week, King Crimson’s turbulent ‘Power to Believe’ felt like an innocent’s view of war as it started right before his eyes.

Most may not put Wayne Shorter on the level of Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane, but I do. When surveying the impact he made over 50 years, it’s hard not to.

Secret, secret – I’ve got a secret: Styx’s “Mr. Roboto” arrived 40 years ago today as a nonsensical band-busting hit. I turn it up every time.

Perfectly self-contained, ‘OK Computer’ nevertheless reads as a watershed between what Radiohead was – and what they would become.

A swampy alternate version of Walter Becker’s twangy delight “Cringemaker” bowed for the occasion of his 73rd birthday. Check it out at Walter Becker Media.

Prog Collective’s ‘Seeking Peace’ wobbles and rolls through melodic twists and turns, avoiding many of the current cliches of neo-progressive rock.

John M. Gouldin breaks down five less-heralded albums Yes released between 1996-2001, concluding with Jon Anderson’s swan song ‘Magnification.’