Latest releases reviewed

MUSE Absolution Tour Warners ***

Over here, probably overpaid and definitely overblown - try as they might, UK rock band Muse just don't know the meaning of subtlety. You'd think that rock music on such a grandiose scale wouldn't have a place in today's pared-back, Britrock-revisited market, yet, like many a faux prog-rock act before them, there's a certain appeal to the mind-scrambling music. This is a respectfully framed snapshot of the band's set at Glastonbury 2004, a best-of gig that closed one chapter and set the scene for a reinvigorated re-envisioning of Muse's place in international rock. That Matt Bellamy & co grab the nettle with such ferocity isn't surprising; that they tread such a thin line between preposterous, pompous and spine-tingling is equally brilliant and worrying. Extras include live tracks recorded in Los Angeles, London and San Diego - but they're not a patch on the Glasto performances. Tony Clayton-Lea

AL GREEN Live in '72 Revolver ****

These days, the Rev Al is very much back on top, both in the recording studio (where he has been reunited with producer Willie Mitchell) and on stages around the world. But in 1972 Al Green was at the peak of his career, enjoying Top 10 US and UK hits with I'm Still in Love with You and Let's Stay Together. Naturally, when he showed up to shoot an hour-long live performance for the PSB show, Soul!, Green had every right to be in grandstanding form. When you watch the digitally remastered footage from that New York show on this DVD, you can relish the sight of Green and his band turning great tracks such as Love and Happiness and Tired of Being Alone into new-school standards right in front of your eyes. Green's career would go through many changes in the years after this, but in that studio on that night, he truly was the embodiment of soul music. www.revolver group.com

Jim Carroll