Virtually all of them marvelous, the 18 tunes on Horsebreaker Star make it clear: Grant McLennan is one of today's best songwriters. McLennan emerged from Australia in the '80s with the Go-Betweens, and his literate pop early on provoked the Dylan comparisons that dog nearly any minstrel who has a way with words. He's master equally of the imagistic chorus ("This is the time, yeah, when the bees don't sting/The pay is cut, rain falls down like string") and the sure-fire chorus ("How's a girl gonna sing all her songs when the world's gone wild?"). He's also an effortless melodist who can both rock ("Put You Down") and break your heart ("No Peace in the Palace"). (RS 702)

PAUL EVANS