Latest CD releases reviewed

RODNEY CROWELL
The Outsider Sony/BMG Records
****

The "Houston Kid" continues his fiftysomething purple patch with an album that punches home his questioning attitude to life and liberty in the Bush era. Though Crowell is generally credited as a country artist, his instincts definitely lie to the rockier side of the Nashville skyline. But it's only since he went full-blooded with 2001's autobiographical Houston Kid, followed by 2003's Fate's Right Hand, that his music has uniformly reflected this fact. Certainly, The Outsider touches little on his country connections, except for featuring Emmylou, Buddy and Julie Miller and John Prine on selected backing vocals. Instead, it is packed with hard-hitting, polished and confident mainstream rock tunes, driven by the incisive guitar playing of Will Kimbrough and inspired by mature reflections and angry opinions. www.rodneycrowell.com

Joe Breen

AMADOU & MARIAM
Dimanche a Bamako Allother Records
****

How's your French? No bother. Even if you don't know a word, the irrepressible sound of this infectious concoction of West Africa meets the West will have you mumbling away while your feet do the real talking. Amadou and Mariam are a married couple from Mali who have been blind since their childhood and yet have managed to create a reasonable career in France, Mali's former coloniser. Step forward Manu Chao and suddenly their music, without sacrificing its intrinsic Malian sensibility, sounds more pop-friendly, in some cases a Euro-beat too much. Chao's bubbling guitar colours many of the tracks, though the sunny sound remains very much the product of Amadou's voice and guitar and Mariam's voice. Sunday in Bamako (Mali's capital) sure sounds like fun. For evidence, check out Senegal Fast Food or Coulibaly. www.amadou-mariam.com

Joe Breen