In the great pantheon of British and Irish singer-songwriters, there is a lot of congestion in the above-average-but-not-great space, including James Blunt, Tom McRae and Luka Bloom. If you said, 'Who?' at that last name, Ian Knapp may be a step too far for you. Acoustic guitar of the Irish folk variety underpins an impassioned delivery of sometimes average and too obvious lyrics most of the way through the album - like Blunt and McRae, it's fine but not special. However, occasionally, as on Jumping the Wall, Knapp uses an electric base to great effect, with a rock-punk run through a song reminiscent of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire. Elsewhere, as on the title song, this electrified instrumentation takes him nicely close to college-rock icons The Connells. One to watch, as there are signs that more is to come.

ACE rating 7/10

If the cynics among you are wondering why release an acoustic version of a breakthrough album ten years on, one might imagine that the mediocrity of everything else that Morissette has done since has yielded a real need for a new kick into life (and sales; 30 million of the original was a significant achievement). However, I still remember the first time I played the original, and what a shockingly great album it was, never mind that it was a debut. Whatever the real reasons for this re-recording (and let's not trust Morissette's rationalisation on the CD booklet), this unplugged version does breathe new life into familiar songs. Her voice is older now, but I would suggest that the rawness of that original stood the songs in better stead, and there seems to be a bit too much acting going on to revisit the emotions. The songs are still fantastic, but this is a little too coffee table to add anything to the debut.

ACE rating 6/10

Erm. This is nice. Sweet. Alright in a nice kind of way. Unchallenging in a Radio 2 fashion. Somehow, The Magic Numbers have built up a word of mouth following, presumably among people who aren't exactly over-exposed to some of the great music around. They are on the large-ish side (a feature which gets mentioned in every review, although somewhat irrelevant unless desperate comparisons to the infinitely superior Mamas and Papas are sought), and make quite nice, melodic, sweet harmony-based music reminiscent of 60s and 70s California, as the Cosmic Rough Riders did somewhat better a few years back. A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, but mostly just easy pop, this debut album should, if the world were a fair place, remain unloved behind the Go Team! on the CD shelves. Isn't there enough 'alright' around already?

ACE rating 5/10