“The yearning to do more is completely validated by what came before.” Caroline Davis helps to make sure we know what came before.

The Doobie Brothers’ ‘Minute by Minute,’ released on Dec. 1, 1978, features most people’s favorite Michael McDonald-era song. But mine’s not “What a Fool Believes.”

As a Toto song, “Live For Today” is an interesting footnote for the band and a hint of the greatest of future Toto contributions by Steve Lukather.

Released in December 1967, ‘Sorcerer’ is the clearest sign yet that Miles Davis was letting go of the wheel.

This Dennis DeYoung-led track illustrates all that Styx aspired to on the way to becoming one of the biggest late-1970s arena rock bands.

With ‘Vertigo’ as with their 17 prior albums, The Necks reveals its secrets in enticing ways over the course of one long, enchanting track.

The highly intuitive and forceful nature of the drummer Jeremy Carlstedt shines through to lend cohesion and makes ‘Stars Are Far’ a gripping excursion that tests the limits of rock-jazz.

Seething with energy and sass, the JAC Christmas Crew not only know how to write a good and witty song, but they also know how to arrange and deliver such wares in a cool and courageous manner.

George Harrison paid tribute to Smokey Robinson both with the Beatles and as a solo artist, including a key cut on ‘Thirty Three and 1/3’ from November 1976.

Eddie Van Halen must have been paying close attention to Steve Hackett’s unique approach to the song, released in November 1971 on Genesis’ ‘Nursery Cryme.’