A one-man tribute album, John Wesley Harding's Trad Arr Jones pays generous homage to folksinger Nic Jones, who hasn't played in public since his involvement in a car accident in 1982. But between 1970 and 1980, Jones released several albums worth of his arrangements of traditional folk songs, hence the title of this collection. These records have long since fallen out of print, and Harding's performances strongly suggest what a shame that is. Not that Harding has anything to be ashamed of with his own interpretations. Having recently identified himself more closely with the English folk tradition, he's pretty well suited to sing these tales of doomed sea captains, doomed soldiers, and doomed lovers, with the occasional jaunty number thrown in for good measure. By covering the music of a man who made a career of covering others' music, it may look as if Harding has taken two steps back. But if his connection with the powerful roots music and recorded tradition of his country is as strong as Trad Arr Jones indicates, the result could ultimately be a great leap forward.