Whenever an artist gets a big name, old recordings (if they exist) show up on offer.

It’s always a cool quest to look for new music to help set the mood for your holiday festivities. When you get a set like this it’s general an iffy proposition.

The central theme on this set is guitar, but this is no noodling kind of guitar hero sort of compilation.

Soundtrack albums like this are always a mixed bag. Surely this one must be a hit considering the following the show has.

Dreampop and shoegaze might not be what people think of traditionally as progressive rock, but really, isn’t a lot of very close to what bands like Porcupine Tree do?

Larry Kirwan is the main man behind the band Black 47. I like that band a lot, and I like Kirwan.

These live recordings are all quite good.

This album of covers by relatively obscure acts is quite cool.

Discs like this are always kind of iffy. I mean, there’s definitely a certain gimmicky side to them.

This is a sampler of artists from the Asheville, North Carolina area. The music is mostly along the punk rock boundaries, but it covers a lot of range within that field.

This is a CD with a lot of high points, but some low points, too.

While the main influences here are psychedelia and surf music, it certainly doesn’t end there.

I’m a big fan of Deep Purple, particularly the classic stuff.

Featuring hard rocking adaptations of Frank Sinatra songs, this is kind of a mixed bag.

I am a big fan of pretty much anything Billy Sherwood is involved with and I love Supertramp, so when I heard Sherwood was in charge of assembling an all star tribute to Supertramp, I was excited.

This split vinyl release features one song by the group Space Mirrors and one by Acid FM.

Soundtrack albums are always such a crap shoot. Some times the music, taken away from the film, doesn’t really hold up. 

This album is a compilation of various progressive rock performances that were presented on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show. All of the outings are quite good, and the selection of artists is also. 

There are a lot of different sounds presented on this album. .

Space rock is the main order of business on this split.

This is so good it's almost unreal, as there are thirty two tracks from which to choose.

Terror rock is cool genre.

Kelly Keeling is a great rock guitarist who has worked with a lot of great people over the years.

So many times discs like this are really uneven. Well, that’s not the case here.

I like The Who quite a bit. I mean, they aren’t one of my favorite bands, but I do really like them.

For the first time since the film’s release in 1977, Andrew Belling’s soundtrack to Ralph Bakshi’s groundbreaking animation Wizards has finally made it to CD.

Featuring The Meat Puppets, Redd Kross, The Minute Men and Twisted Roots, this really is a glimpse inside the world that was the LA punk rock scene of the 1980s.

At least in the States when we think of the 1960’s and the psychedelic movement, much of it centers around San Francisco.

If you like rock and roll, this is a DVD to have. It’s a 1998 performance for Bill Wyman’s A.I.M.S. (Ambitions, Ideas, Motivation, Success) project.

The format of this set is a bit different than some of the others in the series.

Don’t pop this in expecting some kind of documentary detailing the history of country and western music.

“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.”

While this is in no way a documentary, you can learn a lot about rhythm and blues from watching the performances captured here.

You might think from looking at the cover and title of this DVD that it’s a documentary chronicling the history of rock and roll.

This is a concert from 1983 and while the staging and other aspects have a tendency to be a little silly or dated, the performances make it all worthwhile.

There really are two faces of folk music. The real folk music that’s down home performance with a raw and real feeling to them is one face.

Looking at the box to this series, one might assume that these DVDs are documentaries. They are not.

There’s a whole school of Chicago blues and there’s a label built right in Chicago to celebrate it.

This series is an interesting one. It delves into the music that more popular artists emulated. 

Apparently Fest is an annual festival that takes place in Florida.

Frank Zappa might not have been the first or last artist to form his own record label and sign new acts.

CBGB’s was such a huge part of the punk rock scene. It was also such a huge part of New York City.

A benefit to help kids affected by war, this concert was hosted by Keane. I’ve heard about this band quite a bit, but never really heard of them before.

It’s something rock bands and music fans have known for years, Japan loves music. The Japanese culture around rock stars is intense.

This DVD is a compilation of former surf group The Impacts’ Merrell Fankhauser's cable television show “Tiki Lounge.”

This DVD is the second group of selected episodes from Merrell Fankhauser's cable television show “Tiki Lounge” It consists of another six shows including a road trip to the Rock Creek Guitar company, and a very good cover of “All Along The Watchtower” by Fankhauser.

I had to miss this tour due to unforeseen circumstances, but now I can check it on this DVD. 

Spokanarchy is an hour and 20 minute journey into the 1980's punk scene in Spokane Washington.

This documentary is an intriguing one. It serves sort of like a thesis paper.

I still have some of these comic books. I had no idea of the whole story involved.

This is the first book to be written by one of Deep Purple and Rainbow's entourage, and a most interesting story it is, told by Colin Hart, their long running tour manager. 

This is an enjoyable read that saunters through the chronology and culture of progressive rock.

I haven't read very many books complied strictly of interviews, but it is a format I greatly appreciate.

This is a confounding book, one that is both pleasing and frustrating.  

There are only a few musical instruments that have changed music and defined a sound.

I suppose how you feel about this book has a lot to do with how seriously you take it.

Books written by music fans are very far and few between.