Put together by Mighty Shamrocks veteran Mickey Stephens, the Poor Blue’s ‘Wasteground’ is a rootsy, autobiographical tour de force.

Even in my jazz-centric world, I can come upon enough standout non-jazz records to put together a decent-sized Best of 2017 list.

Stephen Stills finds the fountain of youth by going back to one of his original muses, Judy Collins, who co-headlines on ‘Everybody Knows.’

With “50 from 50, Canadiana 1967-2017,” JC Mosquito collects 50 songs released by Canadian artists over the last 50 years.

Preston Frazier counts down his list of Best Live / Reissues of 2017, touching on favorites from Bob Dylan, Yes and Richard Thompson, among others.

Evanescence’s ‘Synthesis’ offers classical reworkings of some of the band’s most well-known songs – and a new track that brings the whole concept together.

Songwriting combines with dynamic musicianship to make Spirit’s ‘Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus’ a too-often-overlooked masterpiece.

Competing formats and differing licensing agreements have caused songs by the Beatles, Police, Black Sabbath and others to get lost in the shuffle.

Itching to do his own thing, Jimi Hendrix bassist Noel Redding formed Fat Mattress, which fused whimsical psychedelic pop with sunshine-spangled folk rock.

The Undertones produced outstanding songs, but they unfortunately never netted enough sales to acquire widespread notice, remaining a cult favorite.