Daniel Lanois: Shine

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * *)

Former Brian Eno production understudy who came into his own on albums with the Neville Brothers, U2, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson and Peter Gabriel - and had some passable if unmemorable solo albums - breaks a long silence and here invites in Bono, Emmylou Harris, jazz drummer Brian Blade and others for another low-key solo outing which, as with his previous ones, invites comparisons with those with whom he has worked.

Lanois' albums have been scrupulously modest affairs - slight tunes, discreetly textured sounds - and this is no exception.

There are touches of early Eno (As Tears Roll By), Falling At Your Feet co-penned with Bono passes without effect, and the title track could have come from Paul Simon in the mid 70s.

The best tracks are the quietly charming passages of incidental instrumentals (the ethereal, Eno-like Transmitter, Matador and JJ Leaves LA).

Lanois will probably never get past the injurious comparisons or the weakness of his undistinguished voice, and the curious are referred to his loosely thematic 1989 debut, Arcadie, which increasingly seems his defining moment.

Label: Shock