Eddie Van Halen is out rehab and looking very fit and healthy these days. Earlier this year, plans for a Van Halen reunion tour with David Lee Roth were scuttled when Eddie put the brakes on to take care of his personal welfare. Now that Eddie is better, the Van Halen camp has been quietly inquiring about available dates for a fall arena tour. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Now if we could only convince Eddie to include local, original guy (and Van Halen's "secret-weapon") Michael Anthony on bass and background vocals, it would be perfect.

Alas, as the Van Halen tour seems nearer, reported rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour (with Jason Bonham sitting in for his late father on drums) were once again denied by Robert Plant. A British newspaper cited reliable sources close to the band claiming a reunion tour was imminent in 2008, setting off a firestorm of elation with music fans around the globe. Maybe Robert is just being coy, but I suspect not. In the meantime, that newspaper succeeded in selling ALOT of copies that day... perhaps exactly what they had in mind.

While we may never see the day Led Zeppelin re-unites for a full scale tour or new recording, there are nonetheless some terrific newer rock releases from new bands and veterans alike that seriously challenge the notion that "there's no good new music being released anymore."

Here then, in no particular order, are some recent CD's I highly recommend:

Shinedown - Us & Them
Buckcherry - 15
Silvertide - Show & Tell
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain
Green Day - American Idiot
Def Leppard - Yeah!
Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
Alice Cooper - The Eyes Of Alice Cooper
Velvet Revolver - Libertad
Jet - Get Born
Scorpions - Unbreakable