The long-fingered guitar maestro with the mask and KFC bucket on his head is for real. And 2008 was a typical year for him: 4 albums in disparate styles, all unique.

On one album Buckethead played and overdubbed all the instruments. I've never been a fan of the monochromatic sound that results (Prince, McCartney, Rundgren), but the tracks I selected do show off his soloing skill.

More enjoyable is the work he did with others. He frequently plays with Bill Laswell's Praxis and I showcased several songs from their 2008 collaberation "Profanation." They're joined by vocalists Maximum Bob singing or groaning the song "Worship," Killah Priest on "Galaxies" (he sings the F-word "funk," so no one needs to alert the FCC), and Ramellzee on "Revelations Part 2." The rest of the hour is all instrumental.

I close out this hour with a beautiful track from another of his collaberations - Brain with Travis Dickerson called "Future Evolution."