Brooks Williams – Baby O! (Red Guitar Blue Music) Rated one of the top 100 acoustic guitarists in the world, Brooks Williams is equally adept at writing songs, and the majority of the material on Baby O! is self-composed. There’s always been an element of blues picking in Williams’ music, but his latest takes it to a new level. Recorded in Bristol and mixed in Sheffield, with British musicians (though not in a British blues style), Williams takes the opportunity to explore the early blues ramblings of the Delta. Son House and Mississippi John Hurt are both covered, but Williams’ own songs impress equally. “Frank Delandry” might be a classic story-song, but the driving rhythm and death motif places it directly in the blues tradition. My favourite, “Walk You Off My Mind” is the perfect merging of resonator guitar, Williams weathered growl and a hard-done-by lyric. www.myspace.com/redguitarbluemusic Rob F. Next