Album: Peter Case, Wig! (Yep Roc)

Recuperating from open-heart surgery, the folk-blues singer Peter Case found himself lured back to rock'n'roll while preparing reissues of albums by his early bands, The Plimsouls and The Nerves. As soon as he was fit enough, Case called in the Memphis garage guitar legend Ron Franklin and X's drummer DJ Bonebrake for a comeback show and, virtually within a week, recorded this great album of raw, roaring rhythm-and-blues rockers.

It's a masterclass in potent simplicity, with tracks like "House Rent Jump" and "New Old Blue Car" displaying an assurance most bands would kill for, the secret ingredient being the undertow of swing that gives the grooves their irresistible momentum. Case's touch throughout is infectious, particularly when punctuating Franklin's spindly guitar lines with chunky blues-harp blasts on "Dig What You're Putting Down".

DOWNLOAD THIS Dig What You're Putting Down; Banks of the River