A brilliant singer with a gift for writing great melodies, and an intelligent, evocative lyricist, nearly all of his albums find him displaying these talents in equal measure. The frontman and co-founder of X has returned to his solo roots with his newest album, The Westerner, an uncommonly strong set of songs that that ranks with his finest work. It confirms that at the age of 63, he hasn’t run out of ideas and is not afraid to challenge himself.