Three star

THIS country and western crooner has the perfect voice for the genre of music he writes and performs.

I'm not a great fan of this type of music but there's enough good songs and variation here to make for a good album.

Charlie apparently has a huge fan base and is a multi-award winner who tours the concert halls and packs them wherever he plays.

He has also played country and western Mecca the Grand Ole Opry and toured Australia.

The 17-track album, recorded in Worcestershire, consists mostly of solid laid-back tunes, like Not The Only Thing Blue, I Wish It Was Me and the fantastic, emotion-filled My Father Used To Sing.

Charlie uses simple storytelling to convey great meaning - words echoed by Nashville producer Jim Rooney - and picks up the pace with foot-tapping tracks like Who Can Blame Him, Passing Through and Long And Heavy Chain.

The only downside is the fairly poppy, sax-laden It's So Good To See You which has its roots planted a bit too far back in the 80s.

MC