*** FISH TREES WATER BLUES

(Bullseye Blues)

The blues have turned green on this solid compilation to benefit the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. Earthjustice uses the courts to protect rivers, fish, and forests; and an array of artists use this opportunity to show their roots -- from John Lee Hooker and Mavis Staples to Branford Marsalis and Ani DiFranco.

No upbeat celebrations of springtime or a coastside sunrise here, but there are several thought-provoking, not-too-preacherly songs of doom and gloom: DiFranco's folkie rap "Fuel," Keb Mo's "Victims of Comfort," Loudon Wainwright III's "A Hard Day on the Planet." Other cuts -- Ratdog's cover of "Take Me to the River" and a live recording of Robert Cray's "The Forecast Calls for Pain" -- have only superficial links to the eco theme. But that's just as well -- it would have been a bit much to bend the blues out of its personal character by demanding each tune be tied to environmental politics. True to forms as recognizable as Plymouth Rock, J.J. Cale mumbles, Roomful of Blues blast their horns, Tracy Nelson shows off startling vocal power on Memphis Slim's "Mother Earth," and Etta James proves again she is a premier interpreter of pop material on the Eagles' "Take It to the Limit." Some cuts are new, some previously released, but there's not a clinker in the bunch.

-- Bill Kisliuk