Willie Nelson's new album Songbird - produced by Ryan Adams and featuring Ryan and his band The Cardinals - sounds a lot like... well... Willie Nelson being backed by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. The vibe is consistent & rootsy, and Nelson's voice never dissappoints.

Wrapping up a dizzying year of activity, Adams new album "29" was released the last week of 2005. It was his third (!) official release of the year, hot on the heels of Jacksonville City Nights and the double CD Cold Roses.

Cold Roses, the new double album from Ryan Adams, is probably very much the record that his hardcore fans have been waiting for him to make since his days with Whiskeytown. But since his 2000 collection of rustic Dylan-esque songs on Heartbreaker, alt-country rocker Ryan Adams made a nod towards his love for Morrissey and Brit-rock on 2003’s Rock N Roll and was followed by the dark double Love Is Hell (Parts 1 and 2). Now he returns with the 18 song Cold Roses. Writing for amazon.com, music critic Don McLeese sums up Roses succinctly: “This double-disc gem delineates the possibilities of alt-country in 2005 while transcending the limitations typically associated with the genre.”

She’s a little bit alternative country and a little bit blue-eyed soul. Singer-songwriter Tift Merritt’s sophomore album is a mix of guitar rockers, thoughtful ballads and soulful horn-driven soul songs. Producer George Drakoulis, whose work has benefited the likes of the Jayhawks, Black Crowes and Maria McKee lends an organic, live-in-the-studio feel to this rootsy and soulful collection of tunes which – coincidentally - features guest appearances from members of the Jayhawks, Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, pedal steel whiz Robert Randolph and Maria McKee herself.

Elvis Costello’s first album for the Lost Highway label is a roots-rock laden collection of songs inspired by the history and cultural import of the location where it was recorded – mostly in Oxford, Mississippi, but also in Clarksdale, Mississippi and Nashville. Costello - working with his band Steve Nieve on keyboards, bassist Davey Farragher and drummer Pete Thomas – touches down on gospel and soul, sweet ballads and rollicking rock.