Ronan Keating: Ronan (Polydor)

This highly-produced debut by the Boyzone singer (they're not breaking up, no way) comes with all the built-in, chart-friendly features as standard. On the surface, there's bags of emotion in ballads like In This Life and Brighter Days, and bundles of exuberance in Life Is A Rollercoaster and If You Love Me, but underneath all the sincerity beats a middle-of-the-road heart. Keating is probably pitching this debut directly at kids, mums and grans alike, so every edge has been smoothed out for maximum comfort. The result makes The Corrs' new effort sound like Radiohead in comparison, but there's probably just too much at stake here for Ronan to risk it by stretching his limited talent too far. In the end, he comes across not as a superstar, but as a slick, hungry sales whiz pitching his wares to the world in the hope that every home will soon have one.

- Kevin Courtney

David Axelrod: Song Of Innocence (Stateside)

Want to know where DJ Shadow and the Mo Wax cats went for some licks of inspiration? Look no further than this timely reissue. The work of a maverick producer and musical scientist, Song Of Innocence is an extraordinary album. Back in 1968, David Axelrod was noted for his production work with everyone from Cannonball Adderley and Lou Rawls to the original Man From UNCLE, David McCallum. The signature drum and space style he had developed was ideal for this, the first of two albums inspired by the writings of William Blake. The chords and melodies are space-age and airy with sweeping strings and gorgeous deep drums to anchor them, a magnet now for the modern-day beat-seekers. Rich, lush and sublime, it really is a trip into the far reaches of stereophonic sound.

- Jim Carroll