He's been away, but the most relaxed man in music has stirred himself to make a return. Leon Redbone never had any time for the present, and Any Time takes us back again to his private theatre of the past, where figures like the yodelling blackface minstrel Emmett Miller still stroll the boards, and the latest numbers are songs like "Sweet Lorraine", "In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree" and "Ain't Gonna Give You None Of My Jelly Roll". He doesn't so much sing them as confide them, in a husky near-whisper, like an old man sleepily reminiscing from his rocking chair. But in its lazy way the music swings, enthusiastically pushed by a jazzy pit orchestra. This album would provide a perfect accompaniment to long cool drinks on long summer evenings. Rather than wait for the last of these, you might want to settle for two out of three. --Tony Russell