Music of the Decade - New in 2006

If you grew up in the '60s and '70s listening to The Who, you can appreciate the great anticipation that has preceded the release of Endless Wire, their first new studio release in 25 years. Despite the harsh reality that only two of the four orginal members of the band are still living, the album reaffirmed the band's status as classic rock icons.

By the time Bob Seger went into semi-retirement in 1995 to spend time raising a family, he had released 18 albums, at the rate of about one every other year. A lot of artists might easily be forgotten after an 11 year hiatus, but not Seger. He was back in 2006 with Face The Promise and, for Seger fans, it proved to be well worth the wait.

More than a few folks associate Meat Loaf almost exclusively with his series of Bat albums, beginning with 1976's Bat Out of Hell. A lot has happened between the first and the third Bat album, released in 2006. In the interim we discovered that there was quite a bit more to Mr. Loaf than winged rodents and other monsters.

Highway Companion was only the third album Tom Petty had recorded without The Heartbreakers, collaborating this time (as he had on his first solo album in 1989) with Jeff Lynne (ELO) who, like Petty (along with George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison) were members of the quirky supergroup Traveling Wilburys. The album reached #4 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Chicago (who actually moved to Los Angeles the year after their formation) may be the hardest working band in show business. They have toured annually for more than 40 years, and in 2006 released their 30th album, their first new studio album since 1994. Four of the band’s original members (Robert Lamm, Walt Parazaider, Lee Loughlane and James Pankow) continued to form the core of the group.

In the '70s, Neil Young was one of the most prominent spokesmen for a generation of Americans whose lives were affected in one way or another by the war in Viet Nam. In 2006, Living With War demonstrated that his views on war hadn't changed, nor had his status as one man who speaks, trough his music, for millions.

Few artists in any genre can match Bob Dylan for the sheer volume of his catalog. With 2006's Modern Times, Dylan's creative energy at age 65 was strong as it was 44 years and 50 albums ago.

The fact that the "classics" weren't Rod Stewart's disappointed some fans, but the return to rock after four albums of pop standards was a welcome reminder of how far a raspy voice can take an artist who knows how to use it.

Several artists currently or formerly associated with major acts had solo releases in 2006:

Adrian Belew (King Crimson, Talking Heads) - Side Three
Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) - Under The Skin
Eric Burdon (The Animals, War) - Soul Of A Man
Ray Davies (The Kinks) - Other People's Lives
Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) - Morph The Cat
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) - On An Island
Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) - Old New Ballads Blues
Joe Satriani (Deep Purple) - Super Colossal
Paul Stanley (KISS) - Live To Win

Once again in 2006, we found classic rock artists in various non-rock genres.

Blackmore's Night - The Village Lanterne
Ex-Deep Purple/Rainbow rocker turns renaissance troubadour.

Peter Frampton - Fingerprints
It's a long way from his arena rock days, but his solo acoustic guitar work is soriginal, innovative, and fresh.

Paul McCartney - Ecce Cor Meum
The orchestral/choral classical work took eight years to to write, rehearse and revise.

Paul Simon - Surprise
Simon joined forces with electronic music pioneer Brian Eno (Roxy Music) to dip a toe into new musical waters.

Sting - Songs From The Labyrinth
"The album is voice and lute," Sting explained, "and it's all music from the 16th century."

Cheap Trick - Rockford
Elvis Costello - The River In Reverse
Def Leppard - Yeah!
Derek Trucks Band - Songlines
Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death
Yusuf Islam (ex-Cat Stevens)- An Other Cup
Joan Jett and Blackheart - Sinner
Kansas - Works In Progress
New Cars - It's Alive
New York Dolls - One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This
Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions; Hammersmith Odeon London '75
Styx - One With Everything
Wishbone Ash - Clan Destiny