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The Original Transatlantic Sessions with Aly Bain & Jay Ungar Whirlie Records **

Definitely a case of going backwards long after going forward, this is a belated collection of performances recorded for the BBC TV series Transatlantic Sessions,broadcast way back in 1994. In the interim, we've had Transatlantic Sessions 3, Volumes 1 and 2, featuring artists who appeared in the 2007 incarnation of the series. The over-riding mood is one of extreme safety here, with high-calibre artists from Guy Clark to Jerry Douglas, Mary Black and Kate and Anna McGarrigle delivering pitch-perfect but somnolent versions of their own classics. The late John Martyn provides some welcome relief with a refreshingly ragged reading of May You Never, but the rest is just treading water. Perfectly pleasant but utterly predictable and unexciting. www.whirlierecords. co.uk SIOBHAN LONG

Download tracks: May You Never, Grey Eagle