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

Robert Plant, "Carry Fire" (Nonesuch / Warner Bros.) - Robert Plant may be in his late sixties now but the former Led Zeppelin frontman has never been content to rest on his laurels and settle for growing old gracefully, preferring instead to seek out new and challenging musical experiences and share them on record with his vast legion of devotees. The leonine vocalist's latest Nonesuch offering continues his rewarding collaboration with The Sensational Space Shifters as the musical soulmates serve up multi-textured gems such as "The May Queen," the enchanting, oud driven title track and a psychedelic revamp of Ersel Hickey's 1958 hit "Bluebirds Over The Mountain" featuring The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde.

Tony McPhee's Groundhogs, "Who Said Cherry Red?" (Talking Elephant)-This unusual 1996 offering is packaged as a live album but was apparently recorded by McPhee in his own basement, with the great man doubling on bass himself and a drum machine completing the rhythm section. The contents feature medleys of some of the more obscure moments from five of the first six Groundhogs albums complete with overdubbed crowd response, giving listeners an opportunity to sample the delights of rarely performed numbers such as "Sad is the Hunter" and "Status People" in the process.

Albert Castiglia, "Up All Night" (Ruf Records)- Visceral bluesman Albert Castiglia was born in New York City but moved to Florida as a five year old and has been based there ever since. His gritty, no holds barred take on the blues has seen the singer, songwriter and guitarist work with many of the leading lights of the genre over the years, and his latest Ruf Records recording is a muscular gem of the highest order, with "Quit Your Bitching,""Hoodoo On Me" and "95 South" emerging as stand-outs, the latter boasting some searing slide guitar work from the excellent Sonny Landreth.

James Warren, "Innocent Bystander" (Angel Air Records)- Warren's enduring passion for the infectious delights of pure melodic pop informed several excellent albums for The Korgis during the late seventies and early eighties ,along with a major singles success in the shape of the softly beguiling "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometimes." The former Stackridge stalwart's subsequent solo career has been a much more low-key affair but Warren's tuneful musical exploits always repay closer investigation nonetheless , and "Innocent Bystander" is thankfully no exception to the rule. "That's What You Do To Me" and "Have You Seen The Colours?" are the best of a catchy bunch.