New on CD

'October Road'

James Taylor has his nerve.

You'd like to give him a really, really hard time for taking five years since the Grammy Award-winning "Hour Glass" to put out an album. But then he releases "October Road," and you understand why the man waits, and what kind of perfectionism is required to create a record this exquisite.

It's the best work the quintessential singer-songwriter has ever done, better even than 1997's "Hour Glass." It's musically and lyrically the most even, conceptually the most consistently inspired album. The producer, Russ Titelman, worked with Taylor on two of his 1970s classics, "Gorilla" and "In The Pocket."

Among the favorites here are the nostalgic "September Grass"; the cheery ode to the promise of love to come, "Whenever You're Ready"; or "Belfast to Boston," a moving plea for peace in Northern Ireland (and everywhere else on this fractious planet).

'So, It's Like That'

Joe Bonamassa is a 25-year-old guitar slinger from Utica, N.Y., who plays blues rock with a passion and panache reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He's been touted as a future star since he was 12, when he shared a stage with B.B. King.

"So, It's Like That" is worthy of such hype. Bonamassa's second solo release features fast and fancy fretwork that's so fluid it doesn't seem showy. He complements his smoking guitar with smoky vocals and writes real songs, not just finger exercises for electric guitar.

Several of the 14 cuts have pop sweetening that distinguishes Bonamassa from his obvious influences. But there are also hints of Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Thorogood and especially Vaughan. Such bracing tunes as the 10 1/2-minute guitar jam "Pain and Sorrow" are straight from the Stevie Ray songbook, as are many of Bonamassa's best licks.

So we've heard a lot of this before, but it's been a long time, and it still sounds great.

'Roots of Our Nature'

It's been more than 10 years since guitarist Roy Rogers and harmonica man Norton Buffalo released a duet recording, but time hasn't dulled the spark between them. That should come as no surprise as both are seasoned professionals. Buffalo has logged more than two decades touring with the Steve Miller Band, and Rogers is an alumnus of John Lee Hooker's band and a Grammy-winning producer.

"Roots of Our Nature" finds the two renewing a friendship of musical styles close enough to be back-porch neighbors. And that's how the disc feels - two buddies in a conversation about life and living. These two just happen to converse through acoustic blues and roots music. The writing is as simple and direct as Rogers' slide guitar, and Buffalo's harp performances are virtuoso. That's a deceptively simple combination.

--From wire reports