Josh Rouse, The Happiness Waltz **** 

Life  must seem to be pretty idyllic for Josh Rouse these days.

The gifted Nebraska born singer-songwriter relocated to sunny Spain in 2005, where he built  a  state of the art home studio so that he could indulge his passion for free-flowing melodic pop whenever the urge to indulge in some therapeutic music-making became too strong to resist.

The Happiness Waltz is Rouse's latest magnum opus,a pleasing throwback to seventies soft rock boasting easy on the ear creations such as A Lot Like Magic, Julie (Come Out of the Rain) and the deliciously melancholy title track.

Out now (Yep Roc YEP-2283 : £9)

McAuley Schenker Group, M.S.G. *** 

Former Grand Prix vocalist Robin McAuley was originally recruited by Michael Schenker in the mid eighties as a humble sideman, but the relationship between the two men blossomed so rapidly that Robin was soon sharing equal billing with the oddball German guitarist.

1992's M.S.G. was the final studio album that the duo recorded together,  as the onset of the grunge phenomenon put paid to their hopes of achieving rock stardom in the U.S.of A. despite the undoubted quality of radio friendly hard rock anthems such as  Eve, When I'm Gone and Lonely Nights.

Out now (Cherry Red HNECD003 : £12)

Big Country, The Journey ***

Big Country effectively ceased to exist as a performing unit when creative mainstay Stuart Adamson died in a Hawaii hotel room in 2001, but founder members Bruce Watson and Mark Brzezicki are  still striving manfully to keep the band's name alive.

The duo enlisted  former Alarm frontman Mike Peters to fill the gaping void left by Stuart's sad demise ,and Simple Minds' bassist Derek Forbes and Bruce's son Jamie also make telling contributions to a workmanlike set which comes closest to recapturing the distinctive Big Country sound on the rousing Return.

Released on April 8th (Cherry Red CDBRED 566 : £10.32)

Devon Allman,Turquoise **** 

The Allman Brothers Band were the leading lights of America's Southern Rock renaissance during  the early seventies, and their genetic inheritance lives on in the shape of this rather belated solo debut from singer/guitarist Devon Allman.

This soulful performer is the son of six-times married Allmans keyboard ace Gregg, and Turquoise builds on his recent work with blues-rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood ,serving up  a gritty cover of Tom Petty's Stop Draggin' My Heart Around alongside a nicely varied assortment of self-penned songs.

Out now (Ruf RUF 1186 : £9)

Lol Coxhill & Morgan Fisher, Slow Music ***

This fairly cerebral collaboration between free thinking sax  player Coxhill and master tape manipulator and former Mott the Hoople stalwart Morgan Fisher first saw the light of day in 1980,and found the two men making use of a series of innovative studio techniques to create  sound collages loosely based on pieces such as Handel's Largo and Lol's 1970 single, Pretty Little Girl.

The finished product has been cited as  a major influence by  electronic bands of the time such as Japan's Yellow Magic Orchestra, but its minimalist, ambient sound remains very much an acquired taste.

Out now (Cherry Red CDMRED 537 : £12)