NEW RELEASES

CARLY SIMON: Songs From The Trees (Elektra)

LIKE Elvis Costello’s Unfaithful Music, this album is a companion piece to Simon’s memoirs. It traces her path from acoustic roots in Greenwich Village to Seventies stardom, with a tangled love life the inspiration for many of her best songs. Highlights include You’re So Vain, now confirmed to have been written partly about Warren Beatty, and the lively Mockingbird, sung with ex-husband James Taylor. The unreleased track Showdown, from 1978, is a bonus. ★★★★✩

BERT JANSCH: Moonshine (Earth)

BERT Jansch died four years ago, but his legacy is being celebrated by a string of re-issues. The latest one revolves around the folk singer’s eighth solo album. First out in 1973, just after he left Pentangle, it mixes traditionals with brooding originals. Ralph McTell plays harmonica on Night Time Blues. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, a duet with Mary Hopkin, shows just why he was once dubbed the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar. ★★★✩✩

SHAWN COLVIN: Uncovered (Fantasy)

HARD-BITTEN laments and bruised ballads dominate this soulful covers collection from American singer Colvin. She tackles several big songs with classy elegance, shining on Paul Simon’s American Tune and Bruce Springsteen’s Tougher Than The Rest. Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street lacks its usual vigour without the signature sax solo of Raphael Ravenscroft, but Colvin brings passion and heft to the Sixties R&B standard Gimme A Little Sign. ★★★★✩

A.T.