Bob Woodruff: "Desire Road" (Curb) Dial-a-track code: 2081
This is an album that pulls you in from the opening John Fogarty anthem, Almost Saturday Night, and rarely lets up until the final shivering slide guitar of the closing ballad, River's Edge. There is no great mystery in Woodruff's success; the songs are good, even great in places, the playing is spirited and tasteful and his voice is assured and appealing.
The influences are the rockier side of country, Dwight Yoakum meets The Byrds meets vintage Tom Petty, but a little piece of his heart will be forever Nashville. His own songs, from the ringing guitar of Out Of The Blue to the catchy, Cajun-flavoured Cry, Behind The Wheel, are worthy - of note but his decision to cover two Arthur Alexander; classics, Everyday I Have To Cry and Its Really Got To Be This Way, is inspired.
Cesana Evora: "Cabo Verde" (BMG) Dial-a-track code: 1971
World music all too often suffers from being judged by western standards, rather than being heard in context. Cesaria Evora's wonderful rich sunshine music has no such problems. Ms Evora hails from the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa, but her music borrows from a range of influences, moody Parisian nightclubs, insistent and shimmering West African rhythms and bright light jazz - to name but three. Yet such is her command of her art that the result is distilled into a distinctive cosy hip-swivelling confection that is both irresistible and infectious. The music is evocative of sunny June days and steamy nights, of lives lived and loved to the full. Even without the English translations, the message is always clear; and Cabo Verde repays repeated listening handsomely.
Various Artists: "Rounder Europe Blues Revue" (Rounder) Dial-a-track code: 2191
This is a three-CD sampler of varying quality, but one which will offer a timely introduction to European audiences of the wealth of music on this label. Rounder, either on its own or through its various offsprings like Bullseye, has not gone down the road of buying in reissues and branding them. Instead its policy has been to record and release "real" music which is alive and (sometimes) kicking, whether that be blues or blue-grass. This collection features three themes; "deep soul blues", "rockin the blues" and "acoustic blues cafe" covering a total of 43 tracks. Having heard them all it is the old hands, the legendary Persuasions, whose Members Only still runs around my brain. However, there are plenty of other likely contenders such as The Holmes Brothers, Rory Block, Duke Robillard and, of course, hard-rockin' George Thorogood.
