Drum legend Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, ex-Dream Theater) recently spoke with Music Aficionado about his Top 10 classic rock albums. Following is an excerpt from his rundown.

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Portnoy: "The Beatles are always number one on any list I make. It’s beyond difficult to pick just one record of theirs; my mood and taste changes every day, and I love everything The Beatles did. But I always go to Sgt. Pepper because it was the record that broke all the rules and created a new set of rules. It’s a complete studio masterpiece. There’s a certain symmetry with my life, too, because they completed Sgt. Pepper the day I was born – April 20, 1967 – and it was released six weeks later. My lifeline is a parallel with this record coming into the world. It’s always got a special place in my heart."

 

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Portnoy: "I’ll say 'masterpiece' again, because this one certainly qualifies. This is a double album with so much diversity. It’s almost like the White Album in that it ranges from reggae to rock ‘n’ roll to hard rock and jazz. Each song was different from previous one, but everything flowed together beautifully. 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding' is one of the best album openers ever, and four sides later it closes with 'Harmony', which is just spine-tingling. And all of the deep cuts like 'Grey Seal' and 'Danny Bailey' are remarkable.

I’ve done all of these tributes over the years – the Beatles, the Who, Zeppelin, Rush – but I would really love to find somebody to cover this entire album. I’ve done 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding' with Dream Theater, and I did the title track with Transatlantic, but doing the whole thing is definitely on my to-do list."

Go to this location for the complete list.

"Listened to the latest tracking ruff on the upcoming Neal Morse Band album yesterday," Portnoy said recently. "I have to say it again: this is the GREATEST album of my career! It is my/our Tommy meets The Wall... absolutely mammoth and my greatest recorded work... my desert island disc! Can't wait for you all to hear it."

The as yet untitled new release from Neal Morse Band is a double disc concept album, slated to hit stores in September or October.

Portnoy previously said, "If you think you've heard the prog album of 2016, you ain't heard nuthin' yet! Wait 'til you get a load of this..."