Kevin Bryan delivers his verdict on some of this week's alternative CD releases.

David Rawlings, "Poor David's Almanack" (Acony Records)- Americana specialist and low key guitar wizard David Rawlings continues his long term collaboration with the great Gillian Welch on "Poor David's Almanack." This utterly beguiling set finds Rawling, Welch and their supremely gifted cohorts reworking some familiar traditional themes with grace, subtlety and understated charm, excelling themselves with timeless gems such as "Cumberland Gap," "Lindsey Button" and the jauntily life -affirming "Come On Over My House."

Del Shannon, "The Dublin Sessions" (RockBeat Records)-Early sixties pop icon Del Shannon was very much a peripheral figure as far as the masses were concerned by the time that he came to record "The Dublin Sessions" in 1977, and they've only now seen the light of day after languishing on a dusty shelf for the past four decades. Instrumental support was supplied by Smackee, an obscure Coventry outfit who served as Shannon's touring band whenever he visited the U.K. during this period, and the workmanlike contents blended self-penned Shannon songs with covers of golden oldies such as Ketty Lester's "Love Letters" and Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman."

Esther Phillips, "A Beautiful Friendship : The Kudu Anthology 1971-1976" (Cherry Red)- This impressive 2 CD set focusses attention on the most creatively rewarding period in the late Esther Phillips lengthy career, drawing on the best of the material that she recorded for Creed Taylor's Kudu label during the seventies. Esther's sassy 1975 hit, "What A Diff'rence A Day Makes" is given a welcome airing, and the distinctive vocalist also breathes new life into slickly produced covers of everything from Bill Withers' "Use Me" to Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)."

Lal & Mike Waterson, "Bright Phoebus" (Domino)- This darkly memorable offering attracted a good deal of critical flak from folk purists when it was first released in 1972, many of them dismayed by Lal and Mike's decision to concentrate on freshly minted material rather than the standard traditional fare which had dominated their previous exploits with The Watersons. "Bright Phoebus" is now universally acknowledged as an eclectic gem of the highest order, with luminaries such as Martin Carthy and Richard Thompson on hand to provide the instrumental backdrop as the late lamented duo serve up newly remastered versions of stand-outs such as "The Scarecrow," "Never The Same"and the bucolic title track for your delectation.