Van Morrison | Astral Weeks – Lost Gem

When he made Astral Weeks, Van Morrison finally tore away the mask he wore during his days as the angry young front man for Them. Released in 1968, Morrison's...

Unicorn | Blue Pine Trees & Too Many Crooks – CD Review

There are so many bands that had Unicorn's trajectory. Formed by close friends in early 1960s England, Unicorn experienced the usual personnel changes, touring and a record deal with...

Dire Straits | Brothers In Arms – Lost Gem

In the 1980s, popular music was forced to adjust itself to a changing landscape. One of these changes came as a result of MTV, the 24-hour music television channel...

Joe Cocker | No Ordinary World – Lost Gem

As rock’s perennial comeback kid, Joe Cocker managed to turn a whiskey-soaked, gravel-grounded voice into a pulsating instrument of its own. His gift for taking others' compositions and giving...

Rick Wakeman | No Earthly Connection – CD Review

Matched only by Keith Emerson in classic 70s prog rock keyboard wizardry, Rick Wakeman was/is one of the most prominent musicians of the last 50 years. He has not...

Steely Dan | Everything Must Go – Lost Gem

Steely Dan’s Everything Must Go, released in 2003, is the band’s ninth and final studio album. It arrived three years after Two Against Nature, the unexpected 2000 comeback that...

The Yardbirds | Ultimate! – Los Gem

It is widely known that the Yardbirds spawned three of rock’s most influential guitarists — Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Disjointed anthologies and limited availability of their...

Paul Simon | You’re The One – Lost Gem

After tapping into the pulse of South African and Brazilian styles on Graceland and The Rhythm Of The Saints, and then mixing Latino doo-wop with conceptual fire on Songs...

Emerson, Lake & Palmer | Works Volume 2 – Lost Gem

I realize there might very well be a few Emerson, Lake and Palmer albums one would consider better off forgotten. When I asked Greg Lake about 1978’s Love Beach,...

Yes | Drama – CD Review

From heavy guitars to the semi-hit staccato impressiveness of "Tempus Fugit" to trying to discern where vocalist Trevor Horn doesn't sound like Jon Anderson (but surprised at how much he does),...