Catie Curtis: A Crash Course in Roses (Rykodisc)

Before I had heard a lick from this third album by this Maine-born folk-rock singer/songwriter, the word was that this collection was something special. For once, the word was right. This is an exceptional record in the tradition of, but not similar to, Shaun Colvin/Mary Chapin Carpenter - sensitive, thoughtful and brilliantly realised. I know little of her two previous releases - I don't think they were released on this side of the Atlantic - but Curtis writes songs rich in detail (such as the opening Gave Me Love) which glide comfortably into the memory and stay there. She is also a superb storyteller, as with the title track which concerns this little island and our problems, and a fine singer to boot. In addition, her band and producer Ben Wisch create just the right, understated settings. Recommended.

Joe Breen

George Jones: The George Jones Collection (MCA)

Having dropped him from its roster, I suppose MCA, given the cynical world of popular music, felt it was time to lick the bones of this legend's decade or so with the label. It wasn't a particularly outstanding stint. He signed in 1991 when he was 59, his voice wracked by his hell-raising lifestyle, but his ability to deliver a decent song undiminished. There are echoes of his greatness, the bourbon-soaked Wild Irish Rose, for example, but too often there is a sense of him being wheeled in to play the role. The awful Hi-Tech Redneck is a case in point; though he could, as on I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair, find fire in his belly when pushed. Mostly this is a record of a fading light - though his forthcoming Asylum release could change that view.

Joe Breen

More CD reviews in tomorrow's Weekend supplement.