Stewart’s ‘Human’ mid-tempo pop pleaser

Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, the first Thursday of every month, veteran NEWS entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle reviews new rock, pop, alternative, country, folk or blues albums. Different NEWS writers contribute reviews from other musical genres.

“Human” (Atlantic) – Rod Stewart

His first release for Atlantic finds Stewart settling comfortably into life as a VH1 staple. As “Human” shows, he’s hardly a diehard rocker anymore, but that doesn’t mean that Rod doesn’t know a good mid-tempo hook when he hears it.

Stewart and Executive Producer Rob Dickins, who also worked with him on 1998’s “When We Were the New Boys,” have brought together a mix of talent young and old on “Human.” After all, everyone wants to work with pop royalty.

The producers include Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling (the team behind Cher’s career-resuscitating “Believe”), Christopher Neil (Celine Dion, Mike + the Mechanics), and Dennis Charles (Eternal, Cleopatra). A clutch of top studio musicians are joined by Slash and Mark Knopfler guesting on guitar and Scottish singer Helicopter Girl, who duets with Rod on “Don’t Come Around Here.”

Does this make “Human” a career makeover a la Madonna on “Music”? No, no rap or electronica for the former Faces frontman. Like his fellow expatriate Brit, Elton John, Stewart knows who he is, and what he isn’t. He’s content to be a superlative song stylist of romantic R&B-laced pop.

“Human” isn’t likely to grab that many new fans for Stewart in that vital 18-to-36 demographic. But he still delivers for his longtime fans, who find themselves wanting MOR.

“Electric Pocket Radio” (Ultimatum) – The Incredible Moses Leroy

Ron Fountenberry is, I think we can all agree, not a name that would stand out, or even sit comfortably in the annals of popular music. Of course, The Incredible Moses Leroy is quite another matter – a name collapsing with the weight of star quality. That Fountenberry realizes this is testament to the man’s pop sensibilities. But those sensibilities run far deeper than just coming up with a cool name (which was originally his grandfather’s, incidentally).

Propped behind tinted glasses, under electroshock hair, Fountenberry’s alter-ego looks ready made to be inserted into a crowd of photographers and weeping fans. And like the super heroes he admired as a child, when Fountenberry comes out of the phone booth, he develops magical powers. He becomes a master of the goofy pop hook. Drift nets wave in his wake as he assiduously trawls happy moments from the history of music, slaps on a Casio pre-packaged cut-price rhythm track, and distributes cheeky grins all around. Hurrah!

Eclectic is as important a word here as electric, as Fountenberry genre hops with the carefree ease of, say, Ween. But whereas Ween assimilate only to subvert, Fountenberry is a far more wide-eyed tourist, laying out his finds with nary an ounce of cynicism.

His approach and music are infectious, and if Electric Pocket Radio may not be destined to be the greatest album of this century, it certainly could be one of the more fun musical extravaganzas you hear this year. (By Adam Corrigan)

“Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water” (Flip/Interscope) – Limp Bizkit

Limp Bizkit’s latest isn’t better than their last, but it is as equally creative and innovative as their previous albums. It does have more of a combination of hardcore and mellow sounds.

One of the better tracks, “hot dog,” features our favorite, evil four-letter word. Once the listener gets past the shock of hearing it repeatedly, he or she will realize this is a great song that will never get airplay. The word is used in a poetic form, and with the constant repetition, the listener realizes it’s just a sound that is used in a way that could be non-offensive to some.

The version of “rollin'” played on the radio, called “rollin’ (air raid vehicle),” is not a censored version, but is a more hardcore and traditional sound for Limp Bizkit, that leans more to metal and rap mixed. A second version, a remix, “rollin’ (urban assault vehicle),” is much more rap oriented. In fact, it doesn’t even sound like the first.

“Rollin’ (urban assault vehicle)” features some of the more popular rap artists, such as DMX, Method Man and Red Man. They dominate with their very strong and aggressive styles, which makes this track the best on the album.

“My generation” probably will be the anthem of the New Generation, those of us who are the kids of the baby boomers. The song says that our generation is tired of being dumped on and blamed for everything that is going on. And it says we are all screwed up because the world is screwed up, and we are not going to take it. While the song has great rhythm and melody and a chorus that’s easy to sing along with, this isn’t a very original idea for a song, as one generation always represses the next, therefore passing on the idea.

These songs are the album’s most significant; they really stand out and are ones that you remember. But there isn’t a bad song on this album. (By Patrick Sarto)

“Love Letters” (WB) – Leslie Satcher

This Texas native knows how to pen a country song. More than 80 of her tunes have been recorded, including hits by Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and Pam Tillis.

Now, after making her mark as a songwriter, Satcher is fulfilling her original dream of becoming a country singer. On her debut album “Love Letters,” she shows she can perform a song as well as, if not better than, she can write one.

Naturally, Satcher wrote all the songs on her release except for a gripping cover of Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” It helps to have that sure source of fine material; also, she and Producer Luke Wooten have done an admirable job in picking songs that complement her plaintive soprano.

The Satcher that ventures fourth on “Love Letters” is older and wiser than many of the pretty young things in Nashville. This woman has seen a lot, and she’s willing to be the voice of experience. The standout cuts are “Love Letters From Old Mexico” (where she’s backed by Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss) and the playful “A Man With Eighteen Wheels.”

If country-music listeners appreciate a well-written tune, then Leslie Satcher should receive the overdue acclaim she so richly deserves.