CDs

Guy Clark, Cold Dog Soup

On his latest, Guy Clark tinkers little with his best recipe: sweet, stark, surprising lyrics; simple melodies that give his verse a smooth ride; and a plucky backup band featuring Verlon Thompson and Darrell Scott. With guitars, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, accordion, and more, this CD has a kitchen-jam feel, complete with reckless harmonies and guttural chuckles. Like all Clark songs, these are a gold mine of one-liners. Take the title track’s chorus: "There ain’t no money in poetry / that’s what sets the poets free / and I’ve had all the freedom I can stand." Thankfully, this Texas poet hasn’t laid his pen down yet. (Sugar Hill)

—Rani Arbo

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Alex de Grassi, Bolivian Blues Bar

Guitarist Alex de Grassi is not one to rest on his laurels. Last year he put out an album of James Taylor melodies. His latest recording finds him applying his solo fingerstyle chops to jazz standards, seeking out altered tunings that let him re-create pianolike jazz voicings on his six-string. The trademark de Grassi textures are present, along with Bo Diddley rhythms, angular Thelonious Monk lines, and hip chords over funky walking bass lines. One of the coolest and most surprising de Grassi recordings to date. (Narada Jazz)

—Gary Joyner

IIIrd Tyme Out, John and Mary

Like many contemporary bluegrass groups, IIIrd Tyme Out stretches the genre. John and Mary showcases the band’s vocal power and flawless harmony on material ranging from the western swing classic "Milk Cow Blues" to Ronnie Bowman’s touching "Bobby and Millie" to Curtis Jones’ "Coal Mine Blues," which features an updated take on the high lonesome sound. Lead vocalist Russell Moore is unusually adept at using simple chordal accents to fit his guitar playing to the singing. In "Just Call on Him," the four-part vocal is nicely wrapped in Moore’s country-bluesy fingerpicking. (Rounder)

—Sue Thompson

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Shirley Collins and Davey Graham, Folk Roots, New Routes. Davey Graham, Folk, Blues, and Beyond

On these 1964 recordings, two of the most influential discs in the history of British folk music, fingerstyle guitarist Davey Graham further defined the revolutionary approach to arranging folk and blues songs first heard on The Guitar Player. As a soloist, Graham is at his best on jazz-blues tunes like "Moanin’" from Folk, Blues, and Beyond or "Grooveyard" from the duo disc. Collins’ voice is a bit of an acquired taste; she is at her best on traditional English material like "Nottamun Town." Some of the material sounds a bit dated, but both records have the same kind of irrepressible enthusiasm that characterizes so much of 1960s British culture, from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to James Bond and Emma Peel. (Topic)

—Duck Baker

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Eric Fernandez, Magic Gipsy

This French/Spanish Gypsy guitarist has both flamenco and classical chops to burn. Gipsy Kings producer Jacqueline Tarta keeps the heat turned up with dense, synth-and-exotica-laden mixes, but Fernandez’ artistry is most evident in the rare quiet moments, like the lovely unadorned passages in "Mediteranee" and "Nostalgia Otoman." Magic Gipsy was conceived as a whirlwind trip around the Mediterranean, combining Fernandez’ explosive Gypsy guitar with Greek, Turkish, Israeli, Egyptian, and Moroccan traditions. (Higher Octave)

—Danny Carnahan

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Slaid Cleaves, Broke Down

As a storyteller, New Englander–turned-Texan Slaid Cleaves paints a vivid picture with just a few choice words. Cleaves’ sparse arrangements are beautiful yet haunting—as you sing along, you realize that Cleaves is leading you through tales of death, misery, and loss. Cleaves’ voice resembles that of Peter Case, but his songwriting hews close to his Austin home. On "Cold and Lonely," Cleaves’ character laments the loss of home and family over an arrangement reminiscent of Tom Waits. Any uncertainty about the theme of Broke Down disappears with the closer: Del McCoury’s "I Feel the Blues Moving In." (Philo/Rounder)

—Mark Need

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Old Blind Dogs, The World’s Room

Don’t let the name fool you—these five Scots share a youthful verve and a worldly vision that has resulted in this inventive and multitextured CD. Newcomer Jim Malcolm’s delightfully relaxed lead vocals mix perfectly with the band’s equally strong fretwork and woodwinds. The Dogs’ ability to bring new life to oft-sung classics is exceptional. The rollicking "To the Beggin’ I Will Go" opens the CD with a glint and a wink, and "Mill o’ Tifty," a version of the standard "Andrew Lammie," becomes a riveting story once again. The band has no fear of the offbeat and unusual either. In "The Branle" they pair a modern strathspey with a crooked-meter medieval French dance. (Green Linnet)

—Danny Carnahan

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Clint Black, D’lectrified

There isn’t a single electric instrument on D’lectrified, but if you’re not listening carefully you may not even notice. An "unplugged" album that’s blissfully mainstream, D’lectrified is a 15-song slice of pure Nashville product, complete with multitracked vocals, overdubbed session players, and guest appearances by country royalty. Dean Parks’ acoustic guitar is delicate, tasteful, and carefully kept at the back of the mix, leaving solos to Steve Wariner, Jerry Douglas, or the other dozen players that fill out each track. D’lectrified is strongest at its softest moments, like the ballads "When I Said I Do" and "Love She Can’t Live Without." (RCA)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Various artists, The Folk Scene Collection, Vol. 2

This collection of live tracks from Roz and Howard Larman’s 30-year-old Folk Scene radio show on KPFK in Los Angeles delights and enthralls from beginning (Nanci Griffith’s "Love at the Five and Dime") to end (Stan Rogers’ "Song of the Candle"). Culled from the more than 1,500 guests who have appeared on the show over the past three decades, the second volume of this series digs deep into the show’s history, dredging up crisp, intimate performances from Tom Waits in 1975 and Vince Gill in 1978. More recent gems come from Greg Brown, Stephen Fearing, and Patty Larkin. (Red House)

—Steve Givens

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Woody Mann, Jo Ann Kelly, Son House, Been Here and Gone

Delta bluesman Son House wasn’t up to playing guitar for his 1971 recording sessions. So 17-year-old Woody Mann was called in to create the sound, subtle nuances, and rhythmic shifts of the Delta while House sang. At about the same time, Mann took a similar role in sessions with British blues revivalist Jo Ann Kelly. His ability to match his playing to the singular style of each vocalist is uncanny. Been Here and Gone is made up of selected tracks from those sessions augmented by new Mann recordings. (Acoustic Music)

—Gary Joyner

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SOURCES

Acoustic Music, Postfach 1945, 49009 Osnabrück, Germany; www.acoustic-music.de.

Green Linnet, 43 Beaver Brook Rd., Danbury, CT 06810; (203) 730-0333; www.greenlinnet.com.

Red House, PO Box 4044, St. Paul, MN 55104; (800) 695-4687; www.redhouserecords.com.

Rounder, 1 Camp St., Cambridge, MA 02140; www.rounder.com.

Sugar Hill, PO Box 55300, Durham, NC 27717-5300; (919) 489-4349; www.sugarhillrecords.com.

Topic, 50 Stroud Green Rd., London N4 3EF, England; fax (44) 0170-281-5671.