Latest CD releases reviewed

CHUCK PROPHET

Let Freedom Ring Cooking Vinyl ****

In an enlightened society, Chuck Prophet would be a national asset, rolled out at decent intervals and at the correct volume (ie loud) to bring a top-tapping wary sense of observation to the populace. This is Prophet's ninth solo album since his Green on Red days; if you can detect any sense of weariness or lack of purpose then you've a better pair of ears than me. Written in San Francisco and recorded in Mexico City as swine flu fever raged, Let Freedom Ring!takes some personal and public themes – love and age in a time of great upheaval – and wrestles them into 11 tracks of laconic vocals, razor-sharp riffs and wickedly hummable melodies. Prophet is long past worrying about whether his music is current. It works for him, and if you open your ears it'll work for you, and for all those newbies a delicious back catalogue awaits. www.chuckprophet.com

Download track: Sonny Liston's Blues, You and Me Baby (Holding On), Hot Talk

CLIVE BARNES

The Ghost Country Leander Records ****

Clive Barnes is a Wexford singer, songwriter and guitarist with at least one foot in the Mississippi Delta. While not exactly a household name, he has made steady progress over the years, and he returns with his fourth and certainly best album to date. Occupying much the same orbit as American blues guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, Barnes employs a dense moody instrumental backdrop to his insistent finger- picking guitar and banjitar (his playing on the typically craggy Dust is particularly outstanding) and deep-throated, husky vocals. Pedal-steel and Hammond add to the intensity of these 12 self-penned tracks. If the mix is occasionally too muddy, there is an impressive colourful sweep to the intriguing lyrics and their folk blues settings. www.clivebarnes.com

Download tracks: Shotgun Grin, Exit Signs, Borderlines