Boxer, Below The Belt *** 

Boxer was formed by vocalist Mike Patto and mercurial guitarist Ollie Halsall a couple of years after they'd worked together in the criminally under-rated Patto ,and this slick British rock band's  energised debut set first saw the light of day in 1975.

Below The Belt sadly  attracted far more attention for its notoriously sexist sleeve design than the compelling  musical content  lurking inside, and the album failed to make a significant impact on the record-buying public despite the presence of  fine tracks such as  Shooting Star, All The Time In The World  and More Than Meets The Eye.

The finished product is now available in CD form for the first time since the mid nineties, digitally re-mastered and boasting a bonus track in the shape of Don't Wait, which was originally the B-side of Boxer's first single.


Out now (Esoteric ECLEC 2341 : £9.00)


Jim Croce, Live-The Final Tour *** 

This rather macabre  offering  chronicles  Jim Croce's final gig in September 1973, just a few short hours before the engaging  singer-songwriter and his musical sidekick Maury Muehleisen lost their lives in a plane crash.

The contents were captured for posterity by a fan in the audience at the Louisiana concert,  featuring  Croce crowd-pleasers such as Operator and You Don't Mess Around With Jim alongside a hitherto unrecorded cover of The Coasters' Shopping For Clothes and a generous helping of the amusing  between songs patter which was always  such an integral  feature of the Philadelphia born balladeer's live shows.


Out now (Edsel EDSS 1036)


Scots in the Spanish Civil War : No Pasaran! ****

The hundreds of brave Scots who travelled to Spain in 1936 to join the International Brigades in their  ultimately vain struggle to defeat the forces of fascism receive a well deserved musical tribute here in the shape of this fine Greentrax anthology.

Dick Gaughan's inspirational version of Ewan MacColl's Jamie Foyers is the pick of a diverse and compelling package which also boasts telling contributions from the likes of The McCalmans, Robin Laing and Chilean balladeer Carlos Arredonodo.


Out now (Greentrax CDTRAX 3639 : £12.00)


Nelson Freire, Brasileiro **** 

The latest keyboard recital from  classical pianist Nelson Freire concentrates on the rich musical legacy of his Brazilian homeland.

The vast majority of the pieces are relatively brief composition for solo piano, including sixteen extracts from the repertoire of the great Heitor Villa-Lobos, most notably the Carnaval des Criancas, which depicts  some of the colourful characters that he  would have come across at the vibrant Rio carnivals of his youth.

Many of the lesser known works featured here also repay closer investigation, many of them heavily influenced by French composers such as Debussy and Ravel.


Out now (Decca 478 3533 : £10.92)

Adele & Glenn, Carrington Street ****

Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson served as the rhythm section for Robert Forster's reformed Go-Betweens between 2000 and 2006, and the gifted Aussie duo have now joined forces once again to assemble this quite splendid collection.

Their easy on the ear approach to music-making is reflected in prime cuts such as I Dreamt I Was A Sparrow, Remembering Names and Auntie Nelly, all of them delivered with a beguiling grace and lightness of touch that's becoming all too rare these days.


Out now (Glitterhouse GRCD 764 : £10.00)