The latest reviews from Kevin Bryan.

Patty Griffin, "Servant of Love" (Thirty Tigers / PGM)- Patty Griffin is frequently hailed as one of the prime practitioners of Americana  but this uniquely talented performer's tenth album ranges much further and wider in its quest for musical inspiration, and has obviously been influenced by the time that she spent working with her former romantic partner  Robert Plant in the  Band of Joy. Echoes of jazz and North African music permeate prime cuts such as "Good And Gone" and "Noble Ground," and the finished product must rank as Patty's most challenging and experimental offering to date. 

Hatfield and the North, "Access All Areas" (Edsel Records)- The short-lived  outfit which took its  name from a motorway road sign  emerged  from the fertile Canterbury music scene of the late sixties and early seventies which also spawned luminaries such as  Kevin Ayers, Soft Machine and Gong. The band recorded a couple of albums for the Virgin label before giving up the ghost in 1975 but they were tempted to re-form for this one-off TV show in 1990, as founder members Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair and Pip Pyle joined  forces with Pyle's then girlfriend Sophia Domancich on keyboards  for a  feast of mildly cerebral improvisation which bore only a passing resemblance to the whimsical prog-rock  sound of their creative heyday.

One the Juggler, "Nearly A Sin" (Angel Air Records)-Angel Air's latest CD re-issue revives the long unavailable 1984 debut album from South London rockers One the Juggler, newly remastered by the band themselves and boasting no less than nine highly sought after bonus tracks. The bulk of this deliciously  dated  set was penned by singer-guitarist Rokko Lee, including their minor hit single, "Passion Killer" and an assortment  of moderately arresting ditties clearly influenced by the likes of  The Velvet Underground, David Bowie  and their much better known contemporaries the Psychedelic Furs. 

Colin Blunstone, "Planes & Never Even Thought" (Cherry Red Records)-Colin  Blunstone's plaintive and breathy vocals graced a string of critically acclaimed  recordings by The Zombies during the late sixties, and the Hatfield born singer was still in  fairly fine fettle when these two sadly overlooked albums were captured for posterity a decade or so later. "Planes" was a particularly fine piece of work,  with his old friend  Rod Argent and a select  coterie of top notch session men  supplying the instrumental backdrop for some  splendid exercises in melodic soft rock such as Kiki Dee's "Loving and Free" and a newly minted version of The Zombies' classic "(Care Of) Cell 44."