For a man renowned for his sartorial elegance and the most prudently maintained facial hair in rock, you'd expect One More Car, One More Rider-Eric Clapton's first live album since 1992's zeitgeist-capturing Unplugged set-to be full of well-tailored highlights from his biblically-proportioned (well, some people still call him "God") back-catalogue of bristly, well kempt blues. And of course you'd be absolutely right. Recorded in Los Angeles and Tokyo during his 2001 world tour (the simultaneously released DVD of the same name is taken exclusively from the Los Angeles show) and featuring the musical accompaniment of such luminary hired-hands as Andy Fairweather-Low and Billy Preston, it's an album that serves to satisfy both the Clapton purist (there's a four-song segue of tracks from Pilgrim, shorn of their original anodyne synthesizer embellishments) and the adult popsters who prefer their blues from the decanter rather than the bottle ("Tears In Heaven", a sublime "Bell Bottom Blues" and a rather poised, applause-ridden "Layla"). It's a shame that the solo-slot extemporisations of Reptile-Joe Pass meets George Benson meets Weather Report-arrive a little too early in the main course for the listener to prepare for full-on mastication. And there also remains a minority of people for whom "Wonderful Tonight" is the biggest pre-coital turn-off this side of farting in bed (or "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh). However, such pallid flaws are only trifling grievances for One More Car, One More Rider is an engaging live document that finds Clapton far from asleep at the wheel. -Kevin Maidment.

The late '70s found Bonnie Raitt casting about for a new musical direction. Ironically, she found it on 1982's Green Light by going back to the basics. The album finds her using her road musicians, the Bump Band (including former Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan) and handling most of the guitar chores herself, resulting in a confident, high-energy set. The hard-charging "Willy Wontcha" rocks with abandon, as do Raitt's covers of a pair of NRBQ tunes, "Me and the Boys" and "Green Lights. " There's also a Bob Dylan track, "Let's Keep It Between Us" and a little easy-in-the-islands charm, courtesy of Eddy Grant's "Baby Come Back. " -Daniel Durchholz.

Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they're putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn't mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres's laoud solo on "El Cuarto de Tula" is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from "Stormy Weather" and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it's called "world music. " -Rickey Wright.