The latest CD releases reviewed

HAL KETCHUM
One More Midnight Curb ***

Forthcoming visitor Hal Ketchum has been around the Nashville block a couple of times but it doesn't seem to dim his enthusiasm or blunt his edge. His albums always have something of interest in them, even if there is a fair bending of the knee to "music town's" love of a gauche lyric, a predictable melody and a good cause - the closing Medal of Honour pushes all three buttons. But there is nothing obvious about Poor Lila's Ghost, a 14-minute-plus folky epic which forms the centrepiece of the album. With lyrics written by the singer and music by producer guitarist Steve Sheehan, the song takes the singer on the sort of epic journey that's all too rarely heard on a country album. The rest of One More Midnight has its moments, notably Travelin Teardrop Blues and the brash opening title track. www.halketchum.com Joe Breen

RANDALL BRAMBLETT
Rich Someday New West ***

Randall Bramblett has the kind of southern US name you think you might know from way back. And certainly the music he plays sounds like you might know it, or something very like it, from way back. But neither is true. Bramblett is a hard-working session music from Georgia, adept on sax and keyboards, who has played with some greats, not least Stevie Winwood. In a way his own music echoes that of Winwood, Clapton, The Faces during the '70s, soulful blues and roadhouse rock. It is at its most intolerable when riffs dominate, as on the lumbering Queen of England, but Bramblett can write and play a decent tune and the first couple of tracks, including the ringing Where Are You Tonight and the final swish led by the sensitive Hate to See You Go are actually impressive in a dated kind of way. www.randallbramblett.com  Joe Breen