‘Santana IV’ remind us of what made the Santana band so groundbreaking, influential and appealing back in the day, plus a little bit more.

Milwaukee hero Ethan Keller will issue five albums this year with just a little help from you.

Where better to begin a multi-writer, song-by-song examination of the music of Chicago than the aptly named “Introduction” from their debut release?

Joe Bonamassa’s new record ‘Blues of Desperation’ is hard, gritty but soul-infused blues-rock with no tricks, just forthright musicianship and earnest passion. You can’t ask for anything more than that.

“I got back to England, after a very successful tour – and my phone rings at 11:30 at night,” Keith Emerson remembered. “It was their then-manager Brian Lane.”

If American Football takes another long hiatus, Mike Kinsella is prepared. “I’m going to keep these jeans,” he mused, “and wear them again!”

The ‘Pierced Arrow’ advance track “Virtual World” exemplifies everything that’s right about the Rides: a comfortable confidence that can only come from stellar musicians with nothing left to prove.

When a musician of Spalding’s caliber makes an “I don’t give a damn what the people think” kind of record, that’s exactly when the people need to pay the most attention.

Returning to songs by the Beatles, Talking Heads, R.E.M. and others that – despite being pretty much incomprehensible – captured the public’s imagination.

B-Leaguers’ ‘Death of a Western Heart’ is crammed to the finish line with hooky punk-pop songs along the lines of the Buzzcocks, Undertones and Green Day.