Sharing a birthplace is no guarantee of being similarly endowed with talent, although there does seem to be something in the water in Knoxville. R B Morris followed Chet Atkins, Don Gibson, the Everly Brothers and a posse of other notables out of the town in East Tennessee, and while not as famous as his forebears, he can certainly claim to be keeping up the standards.

Morris falls into the same strain of singer-songwriter-guitarists as previous State Bar visitor Eric Taylor in that he can turn the homely downstairs room into a little part of his homeland just through his music. His songs, although often quietly delivered, crackle with character and atmosphere, ingredients that Hector Qirko, guitarist and occasional supporting singer, highlights with subtly phased-in touches or, where suitable, big rockin' bluesy licks.

The locations aren't exclusively American. The seedy side of Amsterdam and a European perspective feature alongside a historical tale of Quebec and the Plains of Abraham, complete with Qirko's scatted vocal and guitar accompaniment to Morris's almost spoken words. There's actual poetry too - from Morris's new book - and even a Christmas song manages to sound appropriate in early summer.

Where Morris is at his best, though, is in chronicling the exploits of moonshiners, small-town worthies, such as Roy, the Knoxville wino who knew Don Gibson before he was a star, and various road companions. Ridin' with O'Hanlon, about a real,live Irish buddy and former guitarist with Van Morrison, presents an exhausting picture, part Billy the Kid adventure, part modern-day musician's morality tale, and might be the greatest hit single that the Pogues never got round to making.