As pop stars go, John Power has led a charmed life. A Liverpool city council scheme for wannabe musicians led him to play bass for pop's iconic under-achievers, the La's. Hurled onto the rocks of Lee Mavers' troubled creativity, in 1992 Power formed Cast, who, although one of the most workmanlike of Britpop bands, were also one of the most successful.

After Cast's inglorious demise in 2002, came Power's equally forgettable solo album, Happening For Love, but his brief reunion with Mavers in 2005 not only enshrined Power's credibility, but made him fall back in love with music. His latest album, Willow She Weeps, turns away from his pop and indie past to embrace the powerful country blues of Captain Beefheart while reconstructing Power as a classic singer-songerwriter.

Playing an acoustic guitar with formidable force, Power loses himself in the churning groove of Give It To Me, accompanied by Jay on bass and slide guitar, and Steve Pilgrim on drums. Though Power looks like he's just been dragged from the American backwoods, curls skimming his shoulders, beard hiding his chin, he appears more at ease with himself than ever before.

He says he's "never been a good communicator between songs". But Power can sum up the charm of Small Farm as "a working-class dream, a bit of land" and mean it, and sing the Bible-referencing Old Red Sea and God-fearing Mariner without preaching.

Imparting the secrets of life and love he has fought to discover, Power has a new Neil Diamond-like gravitas to his voice. "Keep your back to 'em Pete!" he tells the stage-shy tour manager - who plays bass on the last song - laughing with the confidence of someone who has exposed his heart and found himself.