Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days SPCD 630

The 'one bloke with an acoustic and a bucket of tunes' bus is surely getting a little crowded, but Sam Beam, a lecturer from Florida who makes up Iron & Wine's studio line-up, gets by thanks to being perhaps the quietest of them all. Singing in a mid whisper, and almost always just with his guitar, he writes simple slow summery songs about life. So of course, that means he's reflective, wistful, has songs about love, but the great thing is the low volume really does create a rare sense of constant intimacy. Honest.

Songs like 'Fever Dream' and 'Naked As We Came' are just stripped down songs about love to absorb yourself in; all simple melodies and caring lyrics. He's definitely moved on from previous album 'The Creek Drank The Cradle' which suffered from repitition for me, and whilst I dont think Beam will ever be anyone's favourite singer/songwriter, his albums are like a walk in a nice forest; not something you want to overdo but something you can always rely on for a nice, different and thoughtful experience.

Salif Keita - M'Bemba - 0602498312278

Salif Keita once said he developed his voice as a child while scaring the monkeys away from his father's crops. In that case, we have a lot to thank the monkeys for. For many, me included, his soaring, powerful vocals on Soro, were an introduction to the music of West Africa and the album helped launch "world music" as a genre. He was always more other-worldly than his contemporaries, like Baaba Maal and Youssou N'Dour, and never quite followed their path to international fame. He is famous, of course, but he did get lost along the way and his output has been patchy.

His last album, Moffou, was rightly welcomed as return to form. Quiet and traditional, it had a sense of calm. M'Bemba builds on that. It has a stellar cast of Malian musicians, including Kante Manfila and Toumani Diabate, and was recorded in Keita's own studio in Mali. Buju Banton's contribution on Ladji is rather dubious, but the rest is flawless, with even a touch of soukous. And on the last two tracks, M'Bemba and Moriba, that voice starts soaring again.

Van Morrison - Pay The Devil (Polydor E6EIT4)

And while we're in a country mood, there's this. I tried, really tried, not to buy it. I defer to no-one in my admiration for Van Morrison but too many recent albums have been way off the pace - and I assumed this would be too. Then I heard Playhouse and then his version of Your Cheatin' Heart and gave in. It's country covers and a couple of originals. His voice is great and the band, handpicked and honed to perfection. Not everyone's glass of JD but if you're in the mood - or need to keep the country feel going after listening to The Little Willies - it hits the spot. Anyone for Nashville?

The Little Willies (Parlophone E6UJXS)

Every so often you discover something which you know is going to become a fixture in your life. It may not be the stonking great settee in the middle of the room, but it will fit comfortably in some corner and be returned to and appreciated often. So it is with The Little Willies - a group of friends who got together to play in a New York Club but who happen to include some great musicians and Norah Jones singing. It's a country feel, with covers of songs by Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson amongst others. The lazy vocals fit the laid back feel like the proverbial silk glove, the guitar, just behind the beat, always seems to head in an unexpected direction and you can just tell they are having a good time. If they played in a bar near you every Friday you'd be a regular. If you want to download a taste choose "It's Not You It's Me".

Cat Power - The Greatest - OLE 626-2

Everyone's agreed that Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, is a bit of an enigma. For a start, Chan is pronounced "Shawn". Then, apparently, no one knows what to expect at her gigs other than chaos. And she seems to have something of a hit on her hands with this album but has cancelled her tour for "health reasons." Which may, of course, be true. If so, I hope she gets better because, despite what one might expect, The Greatest is a collection of tightly-written and played, sparse, hypnotic songs. It's quite beautiful. Recorded in Memphis, it swings between country and blues, with Marshall breathing, rather than singing most of the lyrics.

But when she does open up her voice, as in Where Is My Loveand Lived in Bars, it's dramatic and effective. She's also a good piano player but like the other musicians on the album, she restricts herself to under-stated and subtle contributions to the songs. If this sounds rather low-key, well, it is. But there's more than enough change of pace and tone to hold your interest. By the way, the band's name, and she is the band, has nothing to do with felines. She chose it after seeing the words on a baseball cap so it's got more to do with large earth-moving machinery. Incongruity piled upon enigma.

Death Cab For Cutie - Live at Nottingham Rock City 02/03/06

Maybe it's the fact that I'm surrounded by trendy people who only know the mighty Death Cab from that most hideous of teen shows, The O.C. but there seems to be a definite divide between them and us devoted converts singing along to every word of (mostly) genius soft rock stylings. Regardless, the band roll through 19 songs in a little under 90 minutes; great value for money I reckon.

Not wishing to be elitist, but 7 songs of tonight's set are culled from last year's 'Plans', which is possibly just Death-Cab-by-numbers. Not bad songs by any means, but thankfully, its left to 'Transatlanticism' to deliver the moments of the evening, including a weighty rendition of 'We Looked Like Giants', and a mesmerising run through the album's title track to end the set. As great an end to the gig as it was, I did find myself wishing for a few more ardent fans and less curious onlookers to make the unifying sing-a-long at the end a bit more powerful. Maybe I'm just getting old. Still; great band, great songs, great gig.

Sonny Stitt - Just The Way It Was: Live at The Left Bank - Hyena 9337

This is the hottest album of live black music I’ve ever heard.

It was recorded in 1971 in Baltimore. Stitt was accompanied by Don Patterson, the most articulate jazz organist, and Billy James, an underrated drummer. They had been working together for a decade; the rapport is absolutely there.

Six weeks earlier, Sonny and Gene Ammons had been in Van Gelder’s. Jug told Sonny that he sounded terrible using an amplified sax and Stitt apparently never recorded with it afterwards. Well, he was still using the amplifier in Baltimore. I don’t like the sound either but, this time, I don’t give a damn. Anyway, you can hear why Sonny was using it; he needed it!

The sleevenotes of Don Patterson’s albums are full of references to how unlike most organists he is, in eschewing volume pedal and pounding organ. Well, those were studio recordings. This is the only live recording Don made. He is totally overpowering; fast, articulate, visceral, breathtakingly exultant – oh yes, and loud, too.

That night, the three men played music that is the ultimate in excitement. I’m sure the audience left the ballroom with blistered faces and scorched clothes.

A warning: Hyena is Joel Dorn’s fifth label, following Wolf, Night, 32Jazz and Label M. This album was released on Label M in 2000 but, a few weeks later, Label M followed its predecessors into bankruptcy. I was lucky to get one. Now it’s reissued, the message is: don’t delay too long - AM

Paul Weller - As Is Now (V2 9S2G8C)

Something's happened to Paul Weller. Britain has decided to embrace him as a national treasure. It came to a head with the Brits award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement (or something). But before that he was already being written about in terms normally reserved for 60s icons and any appearance was marked by inreasingly frantic behaviour by those seeking tickets. And Why Not (as Barry Norman would say)? While no-one would call him humble he has certainly patiently built a remarkable career. The Jam (together with The Clash and The Ramones) stand as the best legacy of 70s punk and new wave. He then made a genuinely bold career change into white soul with The Style Council, again called it a day at the top of their popularity and embarked on a solo career encompassing Stanley Road, Wild Wood, Studio 150 (a covers album) and now to this. He's back in top-volume-hard-edged form - but, as ever, not shy of a sweet melody either. Blink And You'll Miss It and From The Floorboards Up stand out for me. But everywhere on here you'll find echoes of nearly 3 decades of fine Britpop innovation coming together in his strongest album for years.

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am That's What I'm Not (Domino BTDMDC)

I nearly didn't bother with this as so much has already been written about them. Post-punk nervous energy married with clever lyrics (again heavily influenced by The Streets). They now famously built a fan base on the internet (My Space.com) and with relentless touring without the support of a record company became unignorable. The album is sharp, edgy and very assured. My favourite tracks - "Bet you look good on the dancefloor" and "Still take you home". If you want to remember what it was like to be 17 put this on and turn up the volume. No place for a burnt-out-40-something to be hanging around? Maybe - but I'm not alone. 50 quid bloke pointed me to a piece by Andrew Collins’ in Word magazine this month. "Titled: ‘How Arctic Monkeys saved my life’, it’s basically a description of how they have turned him - a middle-aged, seen-it-all music hack - into a stammering fan again." Indeed.

Hard-Fi Stars of CCTV (Atlantic B90U2M8)

Current british radio favourites based on the infectious single "Cashpoint" about the hardships of a hand-to-mouth existence and teenage pregnancy when the machine swallows your card. Surprisingly catchy in the circumstances. The album is refreshingly varied in influences including reggae, ska, indie rock anthems and much else. The tone is very much about the alienation of modern youth - but as they come from Staines that's understandable. Think Mike Skinner (The Streets) meets Bloc Party with a dash of The Specials and you're close. Can't quite envisage that? Take a glimpse then....

Cash Machine (Hard-Fi)

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat. (Rough Trade CBEWM4)

Jenny Lewis is the singer from Rilo Kiley who decided to make this solo record (with vocal support from the enigmatic Watson twins) in between RK albums. Those of you who know Rilo Kiley will already appreciate her clear, nuanced and beautiful vocal style with a country/gospel twist more noticeable here than when she's with the band. The lyrics are as piercing and intriguing as you would expect covering religion, relationships, parenthood among much else. As music writer Andy Greenwald puts it "She's got hair the color of a Pacific sunset, a voice as sweet as an ice cream cone, and a wit sharper than a razorblade." Pretty much sums it up. Stand out tracks for me are Rise Up With Fists and You Are What You Love - but you really need to hear the whole thing through rather than pick on individual songs. A cover of the Travelling Wilburys Handle With Care doesn't quite come off, but I'll forgive her. You can find out more and sample some of it here.

Nada Surf - The Weight is The Gift - bark46ltd

I've been a fan of Nada Surf since I discovered their second album Let Go and then heard them on a memorable night in Barfly in Cardiff. A trio from New York, they have, apparently, been doing it hard since they formed when they were in their teens, had one hit, saw their first album Proximity Effect sink without trace and consequently became embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute with their then record company.

However, that all seems to be behind them and their latest album The Weight is The Gift is a fine collection of bouncy and accomplished songs. Their hallmark is good, strong rock guitar work, verging on, but just about missing, cliches, pop catchiness, and an overall sensibility that draws me in all the time. The songs in this album all seem to be about the end of love or life not going terribly well (there's a surprise but does anyone listen to unrelentingly happy albums?) without being dreary and then they pop up with The Blankest Year which begins: "Oh f**k it, I'm going to have a party...". I think Let Go is better - fresher, more uplifting and more varied - but The Weight has been playing since I bought it.

Curtis Amy - Mosaic Select 007

Most people have heard Curtis Amy, if only the tenor solo on the Rolling Stones’ Honky Tonk Women or the soprano sax solo on Carole King’s It’s Too Late. Amy was a great Texas tenor player; not as important as Newman, Jacquet or King Curtis, but well up there. This set of three CDs contains all six of the LPs he recorded between 1960 and 1963 for Pacific Jazz. There is not a dud track anywhere.

The first CD covers The Blues Message and Meetin’ Here, two albums by a quintet Amy co-led with the brilliant, but obscure, organist, Paul Bryant. The front line of tenor, valve trombone and organ is pretty unusual and sounds wonderful, quite aside from the playing.

CD #2 covers Groovin’ Blue and Way Down – you can tell where Amy is coming from by his titles, can’t you? Roy Brewster is once again on valve trombone, but Bryant was replaced by two up and coming vibes players – Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers, and three piano players.

The final disc covers Tippin’ on Through – a live LP with Ayers and Brewster once more on board – and Amy’s masterpiece, Katanga, one of the albums that I’d take to a desert island (even if it meant leaving some Grant Green behind) - AM

Halloween, Alaska - Too Tall To Hide - ESD81772

Halloween, Alaska had a bit of a breakthrough earlier this year when they re-released their eponymous album, no doubt helped along by one of the tracks being used in The OC. This is much more varied, with even a hint of jazz, which shouldn't be a surprise as one band member doubles up as a jazz drummer. Overall, it has the same dreamy feel but with more change of tone and pace - you're less likely to drop off listening to this and more likely to remember individual tracks. I particularly liked I Can't Live Without My Radio, which captures that dislocated feeling you get when you're walking down a street to the rythym in your ears which no one else can hear, and Forever, which uses the sea and the beach as a metaphor for a relationship and warns that unrequited love has fifteen rows of teeth and will drag you under. Still not sure how to label this band so let's just try "good."

Grasella Oliphant – The Grass Roots/The Grass is Greener – Collectables 7657

Grasella Oliphant is obscure. He worked as Gloria Lynne’s drummer for years, then was with the Turrentine/Scott band. In the mid-1960s, he ran his own band and made these two albums.

The first, from January 1965, is a very good, very relaxed affair, with the unusual instrumentation of tenor sax, vibes, bass and drums; Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Harold Ousley on sax. Ousley is on both albums. After Horace Silver, Ousley is the most important composer of Soul Jazz standard material, most of which was not recorded by him (since he had only made five albums up to 2000).

The second, from March 1966, features John Patton and Grant Green, as well as Clark Terry. The standout tracks are The Yodel and Soul Woman, both written by and recorded by Patton and Green a month later on Blue Note. The Yodel, in addition to burning solos from the composers, has a magnificently preaching, screaming, solo from Terry, who hardly ever played this type of material. Overall, this is a brilliant album, with Yodel being one of the great performances of all time - AM.

Neil Young - Prairie Wind - Reprise 49596-2

This follows neatly from Harvest and Harvest Moon, rather than anything more raucous, and is equally atmospheric and poignant. I started thinking that some of the songs were slightly maudlin but decided that, in the circumstances, with Young having brain surgery and the death of his father, it was understandable and was more of reaction to his voice than anything else; it does sound frail on some of the songs, from age or emotion perhaps.

But there are some epic songs, like No Wonder, taking us all the way from the prairies to Capitol Hill, as well as the more personal ones, like the title track and This Old Guitar. There's one about Elvis, He Was The King, which is rocky and several songs get a brass accompaniment which really beefs things up. Initially, it seemed good but a bit over-familiar. After several listens, the depth and the difference are coming through.

Akira Tana - Secret Agent Men - Sons of Sound SSPCD012

In the early 1990s, Lonnie Smith started recording for Japanese labels, initially by being the centrepiece of bands put together in the studio and given a session name, rather than Lonnie’s. This was the second, recorded in August 1992, and originally issued by Paddlewheel under the name and title of Secret Agent Men. It’s now been reissued in America under the name of Akira Tana, the well-known Californian drummer.

I adore this album. As the title suggests, it’s made up of songs, mostly film & TV themes, about spies; the exception being In The Heat Of The Night. Mission Impossible, The Guardsman, It’s Probably Me, Charade, From Russia With Love plus the totally unexpected theme from the Alfred Hitchcock TV series. The CD ends with a suite of five originals called Fictitious Soundtracks from ‘Tough Guy’, one by each of the band. And they do all sound like exciting soundtrack material.

Bob Kenmotsu, another Californian, is on tenor; Rodney Jones on guitar; and Rufus Reid is on bass - AM

Bob Dylan - No Direction Home: The Soundtrack - Col 520358 2

I don’t buy old stuff as a rule, partly because I’ve got quite a lot already, but also because there’s so much around that’s fresh and new, but I was persuaded by a big Dylan fan to get this and I’m very glad I did. It’s two cds of mostly previously unreleased takes and live versions covering both acoustic and electric periods, from 1959 through to 1966 and the infamous accusation of “Judas” at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall. Of course, it’s also the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s film.

I’ve been spellbound. It’s reminded me of the extent to which that voice and the songs he wrote in that period influenced those who were growing up, not just during those six years, but for many years after. It’s reminded me of how great a musician he was, and of the power of his lyrics. There’s a simple version of She Belongs to Me on the electric cd and it still comes across as a sharp a dissection of character as you’re likely to hear. When I heard Tombstone Blues and the line addressed to the commander in chief “the sun isn’t yellow, it’s chicken” I thought immediately of the Bush Administration. It’s staggering how contemporary some of the songs seem. If you didn't like them the first time around, then you won't like them now, but if you did, don't be afraid of looking back.

Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life - B00005IA02

Oddly enough, on a wet, dreary day wandering around Swansea University campus, Sparklehorse’s third album (and personal favourite) seems optimistic, even happy. Slight contradiction really, as Mark Linkous has been repeatedly hailed as the best writer of moving, slow, and quiet, sad simple songs around. Also taking into account his random weird lyrics (I.e. “I’m the dog that ate your birthday cake”, from this album’s title track) and interesting song titles of course.

With the promise of a new album being written, and also the promise of it not coming any time soon, it’s good to sink into reliable classics like ‘Sea Of Teeth’ and ‘Good Day’, which go about their simple brilliance with hushed vocals, accompanied by even quieter strings and pianos. PJ Harvey adding her vocals to ‘Apple Bed’ and ‘Piano Fire’ amongst others is a great touch too. And ‘King Of Nails’ still gets my vote for best possible single with it’s whammy bar solo.

Considering its been 4 years since ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ was released, it’s a nice pleasure to work through Linkous’ work and find plenty to keep you occupied till he gets around to releasing the 4th Sparklehorse album. Musical retarded genius? Yeah, close enough.

Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself - Megaphonic 001

Belonging to a generation where listening to solo female singers is viewed as best left to those of a Dad rock persuasion (although obviously not my Dad) thanks principally to Dido, whilst browsing through my iTunes this Sunday afternoon I was surprised to see the last three albums added were all exactly that. Along with offerings by Natacha Atlas and Jem, I remembered Imogen Heap’s album, Speak for Yourself. Her second solo album (when not singing with Frou Frou) released this year is simply put, essential Autumnal listening.

Catchy but not overtly poppy, and with an ethereal tone that becomes addictive, this album is a small wonder. Electronic in tone, Heap’s vocals draw you in and allow you to see the beauty around you as you walk down a leaf strewn lane to your Post-Communist Russia seminar. Whilst an album that never truly settles in one groove, it flows in the way all albums should. Try to opener Headlock or Goodnight & Go to be convinced.