The latest CD releases reviewed

IBRAHIM FERRER Mi Sueño World Circuit ****

There is a real sense of poignancy hanging over the final album from this great Cuban singer who died in August 2005. Ibrahim Ferrer's voice is clearly a little shaken, even frail, his trademark lisp and his easy, beautifully rounded way with a melody slightly affected. Yet this

is a wonderful farewell because his singing has never been as gently passionate or as utterly compelling as on this suite of romantic boleros. Robert Fonseca and Nick Gold's production is understated, allowing Ferrer to take these songs on a journey that aims straight for the heart. He is lucky in his sidemen. Fonseca is all touch and elegant fills on piano while Cachaito López on bass and Manuel Galbán on guitar help colour those empty spaces. But the greatest colourist is Ferrer. His timing, his tone, his simple intuitive understanding of the needs of the moment set him apart. He is missed. www.worldcircuit.co.uk Joe Breen

Download tracks: Dos Almos, Quiereme Mucho, Quizas, Quizas

NEIL YOUNG Live at Massey Hall 1971 Reprise ****

It is 1971. Neil Young has made the breakthrough with After the Goldrush. CSNY are already heading into the past and Crazy Horse are having a tour off. Harvest is yet to come. He is 26 and, armed with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, he plays a short tour that includes this gig in Toronto. The audience is in awe and hangs on his every word. Songs such as Old Man, The Needle and the Damage Done, Heart of Gold and the ever-embarrassing A Man Needs a Maid get a first airing along with more seasoned tunes such as Down by the River. This second instalment of the Neil Young Performance Series is both fascinating and revealing, both of Young and of the time it was recorded. He is a remarkable man, heroic in his failures and noble in his many successes, and one senses he has a few more of each yet to come. www.neilyoung.com Joe Breen

Download tracks: Tell Me Why, Old Man, The Needle and the Damage Done