Still Paul Westerberg:
still in love with nobody
$$$$ (out of a possible five)

The following adjectives are not ones we thought Paul Westerberg might live to receive: mature, older, wiser, mellower, poppier.

Just don't necessarily add "happier."

Much has been made of Paul's mellowing on his new CD "Suicaine Gratification." True, the days of sloppy, guitar-raging, angry two-minute screamers are probably behind Paul. And, if all of his CDs are this good, I don't really have a problem with it.

The album opener, "It's A Wonderful Lie," shows that it's all still there: cleverness, wordplay, tough-in-cheek bluntness. "Don't pin your hopes/don't pin your dreams/on misanthropes and guys like me/wearing too much makeup/not near enough clothes/it's a wonderful lie/I still get by on those."

Of all the remarkable traits of Paul's writing, perhaps my favorite is his long-time ability to take one phrase, at the end of his song, which takes the apparent meaning of the tune and stands it on its head. For most of the song "Whatever Makes You Happy," the listener can assume it's a long song ("whatever makes you are happy/is exactly how you will stay/whatever makes you happy/is OK") until you get to the end, as the line "whatever makes you happy/I'm pretty sure/it isn't me" makes you realize this isn't an upbeat song after all.

Sure, there are some actual love-type ballads here, most notably "Born For Me," featuring guest vocals by Shawn Colvin. and you'll find plenty of wistful, hindsight-gazing songs like "Bookmark." but more common are tracks like "Best Thing That Never Happened" ("I was the last thing/you ever wanted/and the best thing you ever had"). Make no mistake, there's still plenty of darkness and brooding here to make much of this album classic Westerberg.

In addition to Colvin, the list of guest musicians includes co-producer Don Was, Benmont Tench (the Heartbreakers), Jim Keltner (who hasn't he played for?), Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, and pedal steel whiz Greg Leisz. But, then again, who wouldn't want to play on a Paul Westerberg project?

"Suicaine Gratification" is probably his best solo piece. More importantly, its laid-back (but not toothless) brand of pop could actually please all kinds of people who probably couldn't tell The Replacements from The Residents from The Refreshments. Yes, it's time to move on, and Paul Westerberg is doing so quite nicely.