Kevin Bryan delivers his verdict on some of this week’s CD releases Mark Harrison,”The Road To Liberty” (Self Released)- This quite exceptional 2 CD set marks the welcome return to recording activity of critically acclaimed British folk-blues ace Mark Harrison. This unique character’s memorable musings on the human condition have carried him through six highly listenable albums since he made his recording debut a decade or so ago with “Watching The Parade” and “The Road To Liberty” represents an excellent addition to this highly impressive body of work. Mark and his trusty National and 12 string guitars weave a fascinating narrative spell as he goes about his business with style,humour and grace, aided and abetted by talented double bassist Charles Benfield and percussion specialist Ben Welburn.

“Matchbox Bluesmaster Series-Set 6” (Matchbox)- The latest addition to this invaluable series of historic blues recordings focusses attention on a generous helping of peerless performances from the twenties and thirties. The sound quality is understandably a good deal less than pristine but that if anything adds to the period charm of these choice extracts from the 78 rpm repertoires of much loved performers from the inter war period such as Roosevelt Sykes, Memphis Jug Band and Mississippi Sheiks to name but a few.

David Ferguson,”Nashville No More” (Fat Possum Records)- The first album that Award winning Nashville recording engineer and studio owner David Ferguson has released under his own name during the course of a career which now extends over more than forty years is a star studded affair featuring contributions from illustrious sidemen such as lap steel guitar ace Jerry Douglas and the multi talented Tim O’Brien. They provide the ideal musical backdrop for Ferguson’s richly resonant vocals as he tackles a selection of his favourite songs for your listening pleasure, including Ian Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds,” Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain” and Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More.”