I haven't done one of these in a while, so for those of you who are looking for some new music to make the ears and the soul be filled, maybe check these out:

1) Chicane - "Behind The Sun"

This is such a great CD. It came out a couple years ago, but is still one of my favs. Chicane is a dance/trance group of DJs from England. Amazing stuff! This particular CD is just layered with beautiful tracks, keys, beats, and some great vocals. I usually don't like all that many vocals for a trance album, but this works. I love this CD for driving, or if you are into the work out thing, definitely a must have. This CD is calming for me, because this music is beautiful not in a soothing put you to sleep way, but in a life is good and affirming sort of way. Another CD that I highly recommend but is very hard to come by from Chicane is "Far From The Maddening Crowds." This CD is what I like to listen to right before I go to bed. So beautiful, and relaxing. This CD is not full of dance, rather layered keys and some ambient beats but not in your face and punchy. This is a a great piece of work, and if you can find it, get it.

2) GPS - "Window To The Soul"
Another great CD that just came out last fall. Three of the four guys in this group, just left the band Asia after some time together. The fourth guy, their keyboard player used to be in the band Spock's Beard. If you are anywhere interested in progressive rock or metal, this CD is a great addition. It is not hard or heavy, rather I would say this melodic rock, with some heavy moments, all supported with these amazing keyboards. John Payne's vocals are alright. There are moments that I think he sounds hoarse, as if he didn't warm up his voice before he laid down the track. But, I tend to listen past that, and enjoy the guys behind him. For those of you who are well versed in 80's metal, the drummer is Jay Schellen, who used to play for the band Hurricane. Great "in the pocket" player, very groove oriented. So, if you are looking for something not too hard, not too soft, this sounds really good. You can read about them here: www.insideoutmusic.com/bands/band-gps.php

3) Joe Satriani - "Satriani Live!"
I love Joe Satriani! When his new work comes out, I pick it up right away, as I love to see how this amazing guitar player evolves from one CD to the next. Satch is amazing. His playing is so fluid, passionate, controlled, and definitely loud and heavy when it needs to be. This 2 CD live set recorded last year, is an amazing collection of his work, including his most recent studio release, "Super Colossal." Satch lets his playing speak for itself, and so there is no singer. He just plays with a bass player, rhythm guitar player, and this incredible drummer. This is definitely in the genre of good driving music, work out stuff, or avoiding work at the office stuff. This is music that is ballsy and fun, and yet soft and melodic at times. I am in awe of how he has a mastery of the electric guitar, and maybe for all of us guitar nerds that want to play better and tighter, Satch gives us inspiration and hope that deep down inside of us all, we have this inner-master of bombastic playing fury that is clawing its way out of us...some more slowly than others. I highly recommend this...one of my top ten CDs of 2006!

Some other CDs I have literally been obsessed with in 2006:
Iron Maiden - "A Matter Of Life And Death"
Slayer - "Christ Illusion"
Dream Theater - "Score: 20th Anniversary Live" (3CD Live)
Pet Shop Boys - "Fundamental"
Pillar - "The Reckoning"
Vanden Plas - "Christ. O"
David Gilmour - "On An Island"

I am also looking forward to some great CDs coming out this spring:
Threshold - "Dead Reckoning" coming out March 23, 2007 on Nuclear Blast Records

Neal Morse - "Sola Scriptura" (with the man himself, Mike Portnoy on drums) coming out March 7, 2007 on Radiant Records

Sevendust - "Alpha" coming out March 6, 2007 on 7Bros. Records

Marillion - "Somewhere Else" coming out April 9, 2007 on Intact Records

Dream Theater - Unknown Date or Name, but will be released this year!

Some great music coming out soon, great movies coming out on DVD finally (Saw 3, Miami Vice Seasons 3 & 4), and great books too (Rob Bell - "Sex God"). For pop culture junkies like me, this looks a good spring, even though it is only just stuff. But good stuff. More later...