This week's roots CDs reviewed

COLIN LINDEN

From the Water True North ***

Anybody with a penchant for the bluesier side of roots music, with significant stopovers in the orbit of The Band and Daniel Lanois, would do well to check out this veteran of the Canadian music scene. Colin Linden’s name frequently crops up in guitarist and producer credits (including the Canadian super group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) but this is the first time I’ve heard him solo. These 14 self-penned tracks are not the most distinctive you’ll hear this year, but they do reveal an artist of extraordinary breath and craftsmanship, and with a clear love for music from the south. The playing is a joy – nimble- fingered tasty morsels of southern boogie and ballads, strong on conviction and feeling, while Linden’s voice has traces of the high lonesome tone that made the late Rick Danko such a telling singer. www.colinlinden.com

Download tracks: Trouble Only Comes in Threes, John Lennon in New Orleans, Sinking DownSlow

STEVE EARLE

Townes New West Records ***

Those who aspire to greatness can pay a heavy price for the distinction. Townes Van Zandt, a sensitive soul with an unerring ear for honest words and winning country folk melodies, never gained the acclaim in his substance-abuse-scarred life that was his after his premature death at 52 in 1997. Fellow Texan Steve Earle has been one of those shouting loudest about this strange, shy man with a talent for writing haunting songs of loneliness and pain. Such was Earle’s fascination that he named his son Townes. Indeed, Justin Townes Earle, now a rising star in his own right, appears on this compelling collection of 15 Van Zandt songs, many obscure, but all sung with a freshness and a passion that makes light of their age. This is achieved against a backdrop of mostly engaging acoustic instrumentation. Townes is a fitting tribute to a doomed maverick from one who escaped the same fate. www.steveearle.com

Download tracks: Pancho and Lefty, Lungs, Delta Momma Blues