The latest CD releases reviewed

VARIOUS
And All The Pieces Matter: Five Years of Music from The Wire Nonesuch ****

You'll hear a lot of music in acclaimed TV series The Wire, but it's very much in the background. The songs and sounds are there because they fit with what's happening on screen, not because the director wants to distract you. As a result, you'll hear hip-hop booming from D'Angelo Barksdale's jeep, The Pogues at full volume at a policeman's wake in an Irish pub, or Curtis Mayfield soundtracking Cutty Wise's jogging through Baltimore on election day. And All the Pieces Matter features tracks like Solomon Burke's version of Van Morrison's Fast Train, Blind Boys Of Alabama doing Tom Waits's Way Down in the Hole (the show's theme tune) and Paul Weller's spooky I Walk On Gilded Splinters. For those seeking more Wire soundtrack fixes, check out companion album Beyond Hamsterdam for B-More club bangers. www.nonesuch.com

Download tracks: Body of an American (The Pogues), Way Down in the Hole (Blind Boys of Alabama)