Kevin Bryan reviews this week's latest album releases, from Aussie band The Church to 70s glam rockers T.Rex.

The Church: Deep in the Shallows - The Classic Singles Collection ****

EXISTENTIAL Aussie rockers The Church could never have been described as a singles band, but they've certainly released some superb offerings within this format since they first made an impact on the worldwide rock fraternity with The Unguarded Moment long ago in 1981.

This anthology traces the band's lengthy career from their early years to the present day.

The marriage of frontman Steve Kilbey's enigmatic voice and lyrics and the jangling Byrds-like guitar work of Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper is, as ever, a joy to behold as the quartet launch into gems from their illustrious back catalogue such as Constant in Opal, Ripple and Under The Milky Way, before closing with two fine efforts from 2009, Panagaea and Operetta.

Out now (Second Motion CD-SMR-022: £19.99)

Let Me Tell You About The Blues - Texas ***

THE fourth chapter in this excellent series of anthologies explores the work of a broad array of largely forgotten performers who recorded in Texas between 1926 and 1957.

The contributions from the 20s and 30s frequently blur the distinctions between blues and jazz with highly listenable results and the hisses, crackles and pops which were such an integral feature of the audio experience in those far off days lend a little added period charm to low fidelity gems such as Willie Reed's Texas Blues, Hattie Burleson's Jim Nappy and Blind Lemon Jefferson's Jack O'Diamond Blues, the latter track featuring the legendary bluesman's only recorded use of slide guitar.

Out now (Fantastic Voyage FVTD 047: £7.99)

Joan Sutherland: Operatic Arias ****

ALSO referred to as The Legendary Debut Recital, this expanded 1959 recording features the great Australian soprano in excerpts from some of the operatic roles which would later bring her worldwide fame.

The Mad Scene from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor is a particularly impressive showcase for Sutherland's phenomenal technique and the CD also finds Joan applying her unique vocal range and power to arias from Handel's Alcina and two of Verdi's lesser known operas, Ernani and I Vespri Siciliani.

Out now (Regis RRC 1364: £7)

T.Rex: Classics ***

THIS cheaply priced collection brings together the last five albums that Marc Bolan released before his untimely death in a car accident in September 1977.

Bolan's creative powers were in a state of slow but steady decline when these recordings first saw the light of day during the middle and late 70s, but he remained a charismatic and distinctive performer nonetheless and Tanx and Zinc Alloy in particular still repay closer listening almost 40 years after they were first released.

Out now (Edsel EDSF 6002: £7.93)

Paul Badura-Skoda/Thomas Albertus Irnberger: Mozart - Violin Sonatas Vol.3 ****

THREE of Mozart's finest sonatas are given an airing in this splendid new Gramola recording.

Pianist Badura-Skoda and violinist Irnberger are in masterly form as they strive to achieve the genuine musical dialogue between their two contributions that Mozart had intended, with the duo performing on authentic period instruments fashioned by Austrian craftsmen that the composer himself had held in very high regard during his own lifetime.

Out now (Gramola 98904: £13.99)

We Are Only Riders: The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project ****

THIS musical labour of love serves as a genuinely heartfelt tribute to the memory of the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce.

The former Gun Club frontman's friends and admirers joined forces to reshape the unfinished material that Pierce had left behind in the archives into something resembling a fully fledged album and We Are Only Riders is the result.

The sterling efforts of Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch, Mark Lanegan and Debbie Harry all helped to ensure the success of this rough hewn slice of vintage Americana, with Cave's Ramblin' Mind and Harry's Lucky Jim emerging as the best of the bunch.

Out now (Glitterhouse GRCD 702: £9.93)