The one silver lining to come from the tragic loss of Walter Becker is that we’ve now seen a steady stream of officially released goodies from his vault.

Lounging between Chicago’s vintage poppier moments and the slicker stance they’d recently adopted, “Baby, What a Big Surprise” is the best of both worlds.

The off-kilter charm of “Don’t Pass Me By” showcased Ringo Starr’s personality, while also serving as the first step on a path away from the Beatles.

‘Seraphic Light’ is the kind of musical togetherness that can only happen with a great deal of time-tested rapport and virtuosity.

Gong Expresso’s ‘Decadence’ is exactly the kind of album fans of the jazzier side of the Gong family must have been hoping for.

It’s a somewhat revamped Ronin, but Nik Bärtsch saw opportunity with those changes and exploited them. ‘Awase’ can move both your mind and your soul but the deceptively fresh approach it takes to get under the skin like that is the brilliance of Bärtsch and his Ronin quartet.

Aimee Mann angered some fans 10 years go by focusing on keyboard-equipped instruments for the electric guitar-free ‘@#%&*! Smilers.’ Not me.

To Mike Zito, ‘First Class Life’ is taking joy in the place he finds himself in. For the rest of us, it’s just first class blues.

Michael Franks’ ‘The Music In My Head’ continues his forty-five year tradition of delivering comfort music with intellect, wit and grace.

A newly unearthed demo reminds us of the genius of Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker, and what a huge loss we suffered with his death.