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

Gregg Allman, "Southern Blood" (Rounder Records)- The final album from Southern Rock icon Gregg Allman was recorded in the space of just two weeks at the legendary Fame studios in Muscle Shoals, Albama in a valiant attempt to provide a fitting musical epitaph for a career which by then had spanned well over forty years. Allman's failing health obviously had an impact on the quality of the performances that were captured for posterity but "Southern Blood" remains utterly compelling nonetheless, serving up the great man's deeply engaged renditions of musical gems made famous by the likes of Little Feat, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne, whose mournful "Song For Adam" also features a guest appearance from Browne himself.

Willie Watson, "Folksinger Vol.2" (Acony Records)- Willie Watson has carved out a distinctive niche for himself in the Americana pantheon since his departure from the highly regarded Old Crow Medicine Show in 2011, and his second solo album is a typically beguiling and timeless affair. Watson has delved deeply into America's vast folk repertoire to unearth delightfully homespun ditties such as "Gallows Pole," "John Henry" and Blind Alfred Reed's "Always Lift Him Up," leaning heavily on the production expertise of the redoubtable David Rawlings of Gillian Welch fame. Welch herself lends a hand on drums on a fine version of the Memphis Jug Band's "On The Road Again" to set the seal on this richly rewarding roots music extravaganza.

Shawn Colvin, "A Few Small Repairs"(Columbia / Legacy Recordings)- This newly expanded version of Shawn Colvin's creative masterwork has been released to mark the twentieth anniversary of its initial release, regaling listeners with the delights of seven hitherto unreleased live bonus tracks in the process. These feature refreshingly spontaneous re-vamps of some of the album's stand-out tracks culled from radio sessions and concert recordings , most notably "The Facts About Jimmy," "Get Out Of This House" and the searingly direct "Sunny Came Home."

"Roll Over Beethoven" (Union Square)- The powers that be at Union Square Music have rounded up many of the usual suspects in order to populate this sixty track celebration of the power and urgency of late fifties and early sixties pop and rock'n'roll. The contents of this enjoyable 3 CD set won't spring too many surprises on the well informed punter, but the presence of classic contributions from the likes of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Eddie Cochran should ensure healthy sales figures for this infectious exercise in musical nostalgia nonetheless.