CDs

Claire Lynch, Love Light

Bluegrass singer-songwriter Claire Lynch has been plying the sort of acoustic country popularized by Alison Krauss for more than two decades. But where Krauss’ band Union Station specializes in a stony-faced intensity, Lynch’s Front Porch String Band wraps her luminous alto in a sunny swing. Jim Hurst is one of Nashville’s freshest guitar voices, incorporating flatpicking fire, country fingerstyle flash, and exuberant swing into his crisp acoustic solos and fills. Mandolinist Larry Lynch and bassist Missy Raines ably follow wherever Claire’s muse leads them, through bluesy swing ("Jealousy"), pop country ("I Don’t Have to Dream"), and elegiac bluegrass ("Keep My Love There"). Lynch’s Love Light is ablaze and thankfully shows no signs of dimming. (Rounder)

—Scott Nygaard

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Steve Forbert, Evergreen Boy

Ol’ Jackrabbit Slim’s debut release on the indie Koch label bears the unmistakable stamp of its origins. Recorded in Memphis with legendary producer Jim Dickinson, Evergreen Boy features several tracks with percolating organ and punchy bursts of brass supporting Forbert’s trademark sandpaper vocals, wheezy harmonica riffs, and lilting folk-rock melodies. Though lower key and more front-porch wistful than the Mississippi native’s underrated roots-rock gems on Geffen Records a decade ago, Evergreen Boy shows plenty of spark on tunes like "Something’s Got a Hold On Me," "Rose Marie," "Now You Come Back," and the title cut. (Koch)

—Mike Thomas

Various artists, Cape Verde

This compilation of 12 tracks from a cluster of islands in the Atlantic between Africa and South America leaps from the speakers with the first guitar riff. Recent years have seen Cesaria Evora, the grand dame of Cape Verde song, gain deserved global fame. But this CD shows just how deep the pool of Cape Verde talent is, as well as how many different styles are popping out. In addition to mornas (kin to Portuguese fado), there are coladeiras, close cousins to samba. The blend of Brazilian, Portuguese, and African elements fuels this emotional tradition. The best tracks are by newcomers to American ears. Guitarist Tito Paris injects stinging, delicious licks on several tracks, Maria Alice sings with immense joy, and guitarist/singer Djurumani’s final track cooks like the best music coming out of Cuba. (Putumayo)

—Danny Carnahan

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Melissa Ferrick, Freedom

On her fourth CD, Melissa Ferrick demonstrates an ability to nail the nuance of a conflicted feeling with one well-sung word. The 29-year-old songwriter coproduced (with bassist Marika Tjelios), recorded, and mixed Freedom on a digital four-track, resulting in an endearing, low-budget sound that aptly suits the singer’s confessional bent and honest turn-of-phrase. All that’s heard is Ferrick’s fierce acoustic guitar playing and croaky vocals, Tjelios’ understated bass, and some well-placed drum loops. Ferrick has reigned as a queen of the anti–love song ever since her 1993 debut Massive Blur, and Freedom is full of her trademark tales of failed romances. (What Are Records?)

—Karen Iris Tucker

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Al Petteway and Amy White, Racing Hearts

On this debut duo recording, Al Petteway’s well-known fingerstyle guitar work dovetails perfectly with partner Amy White’s mandolin, guitar, and piano in sprightly original compositions and a few traditional tracks. "Playground" recalls the duets of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, while "Desert Dance" positively blooms with western American exuberance. Petteway and White mix up the textures nicely, continually providing pleasing rhythmic and counter-rhythmic surprises, and their sparkling interconnection make this CD a particular treat. (Fairewood)

—Danny Carnahan

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Hui Aloha

This slack-key band—Dennis Kamakahi and George Kuo (guitars), David Kamakahi (ukulele), and Martin Pahinui (bass)—captures both the classic and the contemporary sides of Hawaiian acoustic music. Dennis Kamakahi contributes four originals, including the country-flavored "Steal Away" and "Waip’i." There are also echoes of the Sons of Hawaii ("Panini Pua Kea") and Gabby Pahinui ("Pu’u Anahulu," with a Gabby-esque vocal by Martin), plus Sonny Chillingworth’s "Whee Ha Swing" and Queen Lili’uokalani’s lovely "Sanoe." Even the instrumentation mixes the traditional with the innovative: Kuo plays a double-neck six- and 12-string, sometimes in two different tunings, and on most tracks Dennis Kamakahi plays a Baby Taylor. (Dancing Cat/Windham Hill)

—Russell Letson

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Anisa Angarola, Puertas de Madrid: Works by Torroba and Turina

Guitarist Anisa Angarola offers a selection of well-known and obscure works by Joaquin Turina and Federico Moreno Torroba. Turina, along with such early–20th-century Spanish composers as Miguel Llobet and Francisco Tárrega, created a neoclassical guitar repertoire with an unmistakably Spanish flavor by borrowing harmonies and rhythms from Spanish folk music and flamenco. Angarola’s playing reveals a deep understanding of the way in which these composers balanced elements of light and shade, texture, and color. Torroba’s Sonatina and Turina’s Sonata are beautifully played, and Torroba’s collection of seven short pieces, Puertas de Madrid, reveals the effect French impressionist composers like Ravel and Debussy had on this generation of Spanish composers. (Lissadell)

—Stephen Dick

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VIDEOS

Various artists, On the Road Again: Down Home Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and More.

On the Road Again is the video record of a 1963 journey to search for early blues, jazz, and gospel music. The acoustic guitarists the film crew found include Mance Lipscomb, Lightning Hopkins, and B.K. Turner, known in the ’30s as the Black Ace and filmed playing a square-neck National Tricone with a medicine bottle. In Nashville the crew filmed the Blind James Campbell String Band, one of the last surviving black old-time groups. All the performers were captured on the street corners and in the barrooms and living rooms where they actually played. This is an extraordinary document that captures a generation of musicians just before they passed away. (Shanachie)

—Michael Simmons

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Chet Atkins, Get Started on Guitar

On this unusual play-along video, Chet Atkins and two teenage sidekicks offer nontechnical instruction for beginning guitar players. It’s like a favorite uncle giving you an informal lesson in a big, warm country kitchen. Old tunes like "Greensleeves," "On Top of Old Smokey," "Jambalaya," and "Yesterday" are used to demonstrate country, blues, pop, and folk music in various keys. The accompanying booklet contains basic information about what is being played. Combine it with what you see on the screen and you will learn chords, scales, picking patterns, banjo rolls, and skills that range from the simplistic to classic Atkins-style licks. (Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop)

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SOURCES

Fairewood, PO Box 11077, Takoma Park, MD 20913; (301) 270-3538; www.fairewood.com.

Lissadell, PO Box 579, Carlsbad, CA 92018; www.lissadellmusic.com.

Rounder, 1 Camp St., Cambridge, MA 02140; www.rounder.com.

What Are Records?, 2401 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304; (303) 440-0666; www.war.com.