If it's dark and raining on Tuesday, I welcome you to dig deep into the Blues and huddle up to some misery-sharing company in three excellent new CDs that continue the lonesome Soul tradition. Greg Brown's The Evening Call is a sinewy, wandering philosopher's masterpiece, a slow-motion, storytelling Americana diary that waltzes to the same witty, pensive, poetic beat of Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Todd Snider. Politically charged in the sense of Folk music's soft-spoken yet poignant "everyman" quality, this is Tom Joad's road trip CD for the new millennium. With memorable, cinematic lyrical twists around every guitar bend, this hypnotic Red Hose Records release brings to mind the Latin Playboys backing Utah Phillips, kicking up the sand of concrete urban gutters instead of hobo encampments. ...

Looking, instead, to bang your head to the electrified, knife-edged funk of get-down shredder Blues? Hands down, I think Kelly Richey would have kicked the snot out of both Steve Vai and the "Karate Kid" if she could've stepped into the film Crossroads. Next week brings the local guitarist's new CD, Speechless, a fitting title for an instrumental stunner that hovers and dives under the blistering influence of Roy Buchanan, Joe Walsh and Warren Haynes. Taking a breather in the acoustic "Only the Bird Knows" and the British Invasion-tinged "Stand Alone," this incense-and-black-light-basement smoker can be found on the Sweet Lucy Records imprint. ...

Next stop is Down Under, for Australia's Fiona Boyes, the first woman to win the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge. With a handful of solo albums under her belt and some with her previous group, The Mojos, the new Yellow Dog Records CD, Lucky 13, features guests Marcia Ball and Bob Margolin.

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno counts on 30 Seconds to Mars Friday and Five For Fighting Monday. The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Dashboard Confessional Thursday and Yellowcard Monday. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson boasts Tally Hall Wednesday, Michael Franti Thursday, Natasha Bedingfield Friday and Cheyenne Kimball Monday. Last Call with Carson Daly howls at the moon with Wolfmother Thursday and Seether Friday. And The Henry Rollins Show presents an intimate session with Ani DiFranco Saturday on the Independent Film Channel.

New Releases Coming Tuesday
Accepted - original motion picture soundtrack (Shout Factory) with selections from Weezer, The Hives, Le Tigre, The Pixies and Ryan Adams, plus the film's collegiate cast band, The Ringers, turning in "Keepin' Your Head Up" for extra credit; Blood Meridian - Kick Up the Dust (V2) new from Matthew Camirand of Black Mountain; Breaking Benjamin - Phobia (Hollywood); The Damned - Fiendish Shadows (Cleopatra) re-issue of live recordings from 1985 and 1986, featuring a cover of Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life"; The Daughters - Hell Songs (Hydra Head); Davison/Coleman - Forward Motion (DHW) a customer favorite at Borders Books from their hundreds of in-store concerts nationwide; Ani DiFranco - Reprieve (Righteous Babe) recorded in New Orleans under the undeniable influence of Hurricane Katrina, which forced the singer to abandon her home studio as the waters rose; DJ Krush - Stepping Stones (Red Ink) with guests Zap Mama, Mos Def, Company Flow and The Roots, this new album is released in three separate editions, with the two-CD "Self-Remixed Best Of," plus single disc "Lyricism" and "Soundscapes" versions; Deryl Dodd - Full Circle (Dualtone) boot-scootin' honky-tonkin' boogie and sad barroom Blues from the hot-shot Texan who paid his dues as Martina McBride's touring guitarist; Forget Cassettes - Salt (Theory 8); Matthew Friedberger - Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School (859 Recordings) two-CD solo set from half of The Fiery Furnaces, featuring one disc of quirky, funky Pop and a second CD of experimental guitar and sampled treatments; Gin Blossoms - Major Lodge Victory (Hybrid) featuring the first single, "Learning the Hard Way"; Green Day - Can You Rock? Sing and Play the Songs of Green Day (School of Rock) budding six-string punters can get their learn on with this CD, featuring five songs stripped down in various configurations so you play or sing along; Heartless Bastards - All This Time (Fat Possum) majestic, wall-of-sound jangle with a melodious sweetness from this hot Cincinnati trio, soothing the tumbling, driving buzz with violin and viola in "I Swallowed a Dragonfly"; Hello Goodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! (Drive-Thru) touring this past year with Panic! At the Disco and All American Rejects; Kaki King - Until We Felt Red (Velour); Left Alone - Dead American Radio (Hellcat) with guest Patricia Day of the Horrorpops; Moshav - Misplaced (Jewish Music Group) featuring a cover of Tom Waits' "Jockey Full of Bourbon"; Jim Noir - Tower of Love (Barsuk/Atlantic); Judith Owen - Here (Courgette) eight original tablespoons of sweeping, honey-sweet, pensive Pop perfection from this masterful vocalist, capturing the pin-drop stillness in the air on must-hear interpretations of Ray Davies' "I Go to Sleep," and -- dig this -- Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger"; The Sadies - The Sadies in Concert: Volume 1 (Yep Roc) featuring a cover of Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam," this two-CD live album was recorded earlier this year by Steve Albini and is packed with guests Jon Spencer, Kelly Hogan, Neko Case, The Jayhawks' Gary Louris, The Band's Garth Hudson, Blue Rodeo's Greg Keeler and the Mekons' Jon Langford; Sebadoh - III (Domino) expanded CD reissue with a bonus disc of four-track cassette recordings and new liner notes featuring the band's history by Jason Loewenstein; Tegan & Sara - It's Not Fun: Don't Do It (Vapor/Sanctuary) live concert DVD with bonus videos, a behind-the-scenes tour documentary and photo gallery; Velvet - Juggernaut (Double Decker Bus) produced by Athens, Ga., wunderkind Mitch Easter.