The Williamsburg Affair (52 Shakes, 2010)

Recorded in 1995 and unreleased until late last year, this fine collection from Greg Trooper is designed to hold over fans until Trooper releases a new disc sometime in 2010.

The vault has not been unkind to "The Williamsburg Affair," which brought together Trooper with producer Eric "Roscoe" Ambel and backing players including Joe Flood and Dan Zanes. The sincere but loose vibe of these 11 songs is still very much engaging. Ambel and Trooper finished the album after Trooper recently moved back to New York from Nashville.

Paradise, one of several songs that also are on Trooper's Buddy Miller-produced "Popular Demons," appears here in a gloriously ragged roadhouse-like version. Stronger All the Time, meanwhile, perhaps best exemplifies Trooper's patented and pleasing country-soul approach. Other standouts include the Pat McLaughlin co-write You Will Be Missed and a more than worthy cover of Neil Young's Wrecking Ball with great guitar work courtesy of Abel Domingues.