Kevin Bryan delivers his verdict on some of this week's CD releases Gretchen Peters,"The Night You Wrote That Song : The Songs of Mickey Newbury" (Scarlet Letter Records)- Nashville tunesmith Mickey Newbury may not have enjoyed too much in the way of commercial success as a solo performer during his lengthy career, but his subtly expressive creations still repay closer investigation almost two decades after the Texas born singer-songwriter's untimely death. Fellow songwriter Gretchen Peters pays homage to Newbury's illustrious musical legacy here with an album featuring stripped down versions of a dozen of the great man's finest compositions , including the haunting "San Francisco Mabel Joy" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)," which gave Kenny Rogers an early taste of chart success when it soared into the higher reaches of the U.S.charts in 1968.

Steve Earle & The Dukes,"Ghosts of West Virginia" (New West Records)- This perenially listenable and thought provoking performer continues to rail against social injustice with power and passion as he delivers this heartfelt tribute to the coal miners of West Virginia.Many of the state's blue collar voters may not share Earle's avowedly green and left wing political views but he was obviously deeply affected by the events surrounding the eminently avoidable Upper Big Branch explosion in 2010 which took the lives of 29 miners, and this tragic event is commemorated here via compelling tracks such as "Devil Put The Coal in the Ground" and "It's About Blood."

The Haar,"The Haar" (Nimbus Alliance)- This newly formed folk outfit take their name from the haar,the cold sea fog which often shrouds the east coasts of England and Scotland as it swirls in from the North Sea during the spring and summer months. The three musicians and vocalist Molly Donnery had never actually played together as a band before the time came to record their debut set, with recently recruited accordion ace Murray Grainger completing a line-up which revels in creating an aura of genuine spontaneity as they immerse themselves in the evocative charms of stand-out tracks such as "The Green Fields of Canada," "My Lagan Love" and the eight minute long Irish epic," Siuil A Run."