This DVD and book cannot be overlooked, especially for any serious music collector. Just think of all the great music that you’ve heard and loved over the last fifty years. Most of it (or at least half) is probably covered in this DVD or book.

Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built:
This 2007 DVD video release from Rhino/WEA is a glorious tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, who established and nurtured Atlantic Records into one of the biggest music labels today. The DVD features Bette Midler, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton and a cast of thousands.

The hardcover book is also available, and both are highly recommended:
it’s an amazing insiders look at who was onstage and what went on backstage.
What’d I Say: The Atlantic Story (560 pages with 1,000 photographs)

2007 was an amazing year for classic rock! We flashed back to the Summer of Love in 1967 and celebrated musical milestones like the Monterey Pop Festival. We saw some of our favorite groups reunite for a world tour, like Genesis and Van Halen. And Eric Clapton hosted his second Crossroads Guitar Festival featuring guitarists B.B. King to Steve Winwood. I give thanks for such great music, when 40 year anniversaries ping back to 1967 and it all came together in San Francisco and down in Monterey.

I saw Clapton live in concert back in March with Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks on slide guitar, and they just tore it up at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. They played alot of tunes from the early 70’s like “Motherless Children,” “Anyday and Tell the Truth” from the Layla album.

The 30th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival featured guitars on display from Clapton, Hendrix, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Leo Fender and the first Marshall amps. Eric Johnson performed along with others like Andy Timmons and Rick Derringer

R.I.P. Dan Fogelberg 1951–2007:
Dan Fogelberg may be gone but he’s not forgotten. One of my favorite albums from 1978 is Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg’s “Twin Sons of Different Mothers” with “The Power of Gold.” Blog Tribute

New Albums from:
Back Door Slam (great debut album from 3 piece blues rock trio from Isle of Man UK)
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band “Magic”
Carly Simon “Into White”
Dream Theater “Systematic Chaos” (plus a Special Enhanced Edition CD for PC)
The Eagles “Long Road Out Of Eden” (Double CD of new songs)
Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino! (Double CD Tribute)
Gary Moore “Close as You Get”
Jethro Tull Live at Montreux (also on DVD)
Dear Mr. Fantasy Featuring the Music of Jim Capaldi & Traffic (also on DVD)
Jimmie Vaughan & Omar Dykes “On the Jimmy Reed Highway”
Joan Osborne “Breakfast in Bed”
Joni Mitchell “Shine”
Jordin Sparks (American Idol’s Debut Album)
KT Tunstall “Drastic Fantastic”
Led Zeppelin “Mothership” (2CD & 1DVD)
Lifehouse “Who We Are”
Linkin Park “Minutes to Midnight” (also on DVD)
Maroon5 “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”
Neil Young ~ “Live at Massey Hall” CD & DVD
Norah Jones ~ “Not Too Late”
Paul McCartney ~ ”Memory Almost Full”
Prince “Planet Earth”
Rush “Snakes & Arrows”
Wilco “Sky Blue Sky”

Box Sets:
Genesis 1976-1982 (6 CD & 6 DVD)
Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 (4 CDs)
Traveling Wilburys (Remastered 2 CD & 1 DVD)

DVD:
Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built (American Masters documentary on PBS)
Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 (Double Disc)
Dear Mr. Fantasy Featuring the Music of Jim Capaldi & Traffic (Tribute Concert)
Help! (Remastered Double Disc with bonus footage of the Beatles)
The McCartney Years (3 DVD set of live performances & music videos)
SXSW Live 2007 (the first ever DVD release from South By SouthWest)

Best Books:
Clapton autobiography

Best Reunion Concerts:
Led Zeppelin at London’s O2 in tribute to Atlantic Record’s Ahmet Ertegan and his charity for music education. Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood perform together at Crossroads, then announce a new tour for 2008. Spinal Tap reunites at Live Earth concert. The Police played at the Grammies and then hit the road.

New Gear:
Fender’s VG Stratocaster
Gibson’s Robot Guitar

So keep on rockin’ in the free world, like Neil Young said. 2008 promises some great things to come. Like these ‘08 New Releases:
Detours ~ Sheryl Crow
Working Man’s Cafe ~ Ray Davies (Feb. 19)
Maidstone 1970 ~ Fairport Convention (Feb. 19)
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings ~ Counting Crows (March 25)
The Bedlam in Goliath ~ The Mars Volta
and Clapton debuts a new VH1 TV Classic Series.

CNN Entertainment has a great article about all the rock and roll autobiographies in the bookstores this holiday season. Of course, I’m buying the Eric Clapton book first, but there’s also new titles from these great (and not so great) artists…

Currently Available:
Bob Dylan (from 2004)
Genesis (currently on tour)
Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue)
Ronnie Wood (Faces & Rolling Stones)
Slash (Velvet Revolver & Guns & Roses)
Sting (The Police)

Publishing Soon:
Axl Rose
Gram Parsons
Keith Richards
Pete Townshend

There’s a kicker to this article too…Keith Richards was paid $7 million for his story, but Mick Jagger was actually offered a book deal first. Only he couldn’t remember anything to write about!

Read the entire story at CNN.com/Entertainment

More Rock and Roll Autobiographies