“Where Were You” stands out for what’s not there: A gaggle of hired-hand sessions guys meant to bolster Chicago musically.

Chris Church’s third solo album ‘Backwards Compatible’ disappeared in the spring of 2020 as the pandemic panic took hold. Now, it’s getting a second chance.

From two very fertile musical minds come endless ways to approach a duet. with ‘Any News,’ Satoko Fujii and Alister Spence don’t even need to plug in and be in the same room to make theirs compelling.

‘Sirocco’ became Australian Crawl’s first No. 1 LP in their home country, but didn’t manage anywhere near that level of success on the ‘Billboard’ charts.

James Brandon Lewis typically alters his approach from album to album but with his forceful new quartet, the second go-around ‘Code of Being’ is not a bad idea at all.

Ever-more-confident Yes frontman Jon Davison seems to be growing into his role with each passing verse on the solo-written “Future Memories.”

Often over-looked albums by Tom Petty, Aerosmith and Cheap Trick are turning 40 next year. But why wait for a rock ‘n’ roll re-evaluation?

‘Trance-Fusion’ arrived 15 years ago today, offering no traditional structures, no choruses, and few repeated elements. It was classic Frank Zappa.

This checks all of Chicago’s boxes, including prominent horns and alternating lead vocals. Where “90 Degrees and Freezing” fails is in the production.

Osibisa, Nate Smith and Octarine Sky are part of the latest edition of Five for the Road, an occasional look at music that’s been in my car lately.