Ralph McLean - Country

Chris Smither - Leave the Light On (Signature Sounds)

This is Chris Smither's 12th album in a career that has stretched over two decades. If you're familiar with his work you'll know what to expect. If not then you're in for real treat.

For my money no one does country blues like Chris and this is a prefect example of the man at his very best. So laid back he sounds like he's actually lying down most of the time he consistantly plucks the kind of smart little riffs from his trusty acoustic guitar that most players would kill for.

He's much more than just a hyper cool country blues musician though. On tracks like Origin Of Species he shows his taste for smart and witty lyrics too and any man who's got the nerve to take on Dylan's epic Visions Of Johanna as a waltz in 6/8 time is certainly not lacking in confidence either.

Other stand-out tracks like Open Up show that Chris continues to do it his own way and while he may never set the world alight commercially speaking he can be proud that his work just sounds better with every single passing year.