Afton Wolfe,"The Harvest" (Grandiflora Records)- This appealingly gruff Nashville performer may never become a household name but any artist who can happily claim to draw creative inspiration from such impeccable musical sources as Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and Leonard Cohen should certainly have much to offer to the discerning listener nonetheless. The former's influence looms large throughout "The Harvest," a splendid collection of grittily memorable songs penned by Afton Wolfe’s equally talented father-in-law, the veteran tunesmith L.H. Halliburton. "Mississippi" and the amiably melodic title track are the pick of an excellent bunch.

Gordon Lightfoot, “Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival,1976” (Floating World)- This impressive live set captures Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot’s performance at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer of 1976. This much loved and commercially succesful singer-songwriter regaled his Swiss audience with an enjoyable jaunt down memory lane as he breathed new life into the cream of his illustrious back catalogue, including “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” “If You Could Read My Mind” and his much covered 1964 composition, “Early Morning Rain.” Bob Dylan and The Band’s Robbie Robertson were both avid Lightfoot fans and if you’re able to lend an ear to this timeless package you could well be converted to his cause too.

Stray,”About Time” (Talking Elephant)- A veritable torrent of water has flowed beneath the proverbial bridge since Stray enjoyed their creative heyday in the early seventies but founder member Del Bromham is still striving manfully to keep the band’s name alive, and “About Time” finds the melodic hard rock outfit returning to the fray some thirteen years after the release of their last studio album, “Valhalla,” in 2010. The finished product strikes a fine balance between the best of psychedelia and progressive rock, with a generous helping of Hammond organ work courtesy of Simon Rinaldo lending added punch to the proceedings on stand-out tracks such as “Black Sun.”