Let’s get this out right at the beginning, this really isn’t progressive rock. It’s pure jazz. That said, there are similarities between the two styles.

I like this album a lot. It has a lot of modern progressive rock mixed with space rock and many other sounds built into the musical tapestry.

Since I am new to this band, I’m not as involved into the story of their previous four CDs.  

This album used to be available only as an LP. It is getting its first CD release now, although it was the first album from Copernicus.

Maybe this doesn’t really belong in progressive rock. Sure there is a lot of alternative rock meets pop built into this album.

The alien musical entity known as “The Gak Omek” has produced a new CD of thrilling instrumental progressive rock.

This is an intriguing disc – both in concept and delivery. Marco Minnemann recorded a massive drum solo several years ago.

I like this album a lot. It does a great job of combining classic progressive rock sounds with more modern elements.

There is something to be said for keeping it short and to the point. This album could have probably benefited from some reduction in terms of the amount of music.

This is an all instrumental album. It has quite a bit of heavy metal built into it, but more in a fusion motif. There are other sounds that occur, too.

I like this disc a lot. I’m sure there are those of you who will say that it doesn’t fit into progressive rock, but I’ll stand by including it in that category.

With this release Erik Norlander has revisited different pieces of music that he recorded with Rocket Scientists, Lana Lane and more.

This is far from traditional progressive rock. It’s not even closely tied to music like Dream Theater.

The latest disc from Pilgrim Speakeasy, this time out it’s a double CD set.

The instrumental progressive rock that makes up this album is quite entertaining.

Random Touch never fail to change things up from disc to disc.

This might not really qualify as progressive rock, but it has to come close if it doesn’t.

Ohio’s Syzygy have released a masterpiece in Realms of Eternity.

Tempest has always been a cool band, but it seems that the last few releases they’ve done, they’ve just been on fire.

This, the sixth studio release from the Chicago-based sextet, serves up nearly an hour of new compositions.  The songwriting is quite good. 

Univers Zero is considered progressive rock. At times they fit that definition.

Steve Vai is an amazing guitarist.

This is an intriguing disc. It’s three bands all covering Hawkwind songs.

Here we have a new Rush tribute album from the fine folks at Magna Carta.

This is a good album, but it stops short of great. The main shortcoming here is the lack of variety.

While the technical, epic metal that Derdian produces here is not all that original (at least in terms of the genre), these guys do it better than most.

I’ve already reviewed the British Steel album, and in fact, the version that’s released here as the audio CD. That doesn’t mean I’ve reviewed this set.

Perhaps it’s metal, perhaps it’s not, but either way, this disc is cool. LA Guns is forever tied musically to Guns N Roses through Tracii Guns, but you really don’t hear a lot of the GNR sound on this set.

This is the first Ratt album in ten years and it is a barn burner for sure.  It’s like they stopped time and created a record that would have fit comfortably in 1985.  

I’m not sure about the wisdom of titling your EP “You Don’t Need This”.

While this band creates some strong epic metal and this is a strong disc, it’s not without its share of shortcomings.

This is a rather unique album. It comes by that label because of the variety of music contained within.

Here we have a band that is quite diverse. If you only listen to one song, depending on which one you choose, you are likely to consider them to be a completely different type of act.

These guys lay down a smoking version of killer hard rock with plenty of retro stylings. Their sound at times makes you think of different bands like Led Zeppelin, Clutch and the Black Crowes.

Black Bone Child’s Alligator disc (reviewed in this same issue of Music Street Journal) showcased a blues heavy, hard rock sound that’s well rooted in the classic rock traditions.

This disc is a cool one. It’s got a very retro funk sort of texture to it.

This live album from Jonny Lang is good, but not great. The truth is, had Lang stuck more towards his blues roots it would be a more powerful disc.

Sister Hazel are currently working on a new album. They’ve released (digitally only) this three song EP in the process, though.

I would almost put these guys under progressive rock. They are closer to jam band music, though.

Well, there is something to be said for taking the time to get it right.

This live set from 1990 sure has a lot of great performances from a lot of great stars.

OK, it’s a safe bet that there are a number of you out there who really hate Michael Bolton. The truth is, he might not be the cutting edge rock music, but he does what he does quite well.

If you know Jeff Healey as a blues guitarist and singer, prepare to have your head rearranged. This is a great live DVD featuring Healey playing jazz.

I really like this series – both in concept and delivery. The idea is deliciously simple. Take a jazz musician and set him free to improvise an entire performance.

Incognito’s brand of music combines jazz, R and B and funk into a mélange of sounds that is simply catchy and yet also shows off plenty of instrumental prowess.

There’s sort of a bizarre element to this series of DVD’s. Basically they are an attempt to reconstruct the final day of the life of a celebrity. 

I won’t necessarily trash this DVD, but I will say that, while it has its strong points, being true to its title is not one of them.

This is an intriguing series. Essentially, they take a jazz musician and let them perform full on improvisations.

This is a no brainer for Beatles fans. A DVD of a collection of literally rare and unseen footage of John Lennon, this will be a fine addition to any Beatles’ fan’s collection.

Just based on the concept of this series, you can probably understand that there is a certain “driving by a fatal collision” element to these videos.

Stones fans, rejoice, this DVD has a lot of great interviews you may have never seen before. Don’t come here looking for live clips, though, as the set is lacking in those.

What do you get if you take a jazz musician and put him alone on a stage and tell him to improvise? You get some incredible performances. And that is the concept behind this DVD series.

Let’s get one thing out right away. Those looking to find a lot of footage of Frank Zappa playing live will be disappointed with this DVD.

It has been a few years since I have seen Ratt in concert so I was pretty excited that they were not only coming back to Chicago but they were also doing it on the heals of their newest release Infestation.  

One caveat that I need to get out right away is listing this book under Various Artists. Here’s the thing, Patrick Campbell-Lyons was one of the main guys in the band Nirvana.