Paul Westerberg - Eventually • CDs • Vinyl Records • LPs • Music Albums

and the bruised resignation in Westerberg's voice, "These Are the Days" is the kind of sadness you can sink into, closer in construct and clarity to the bittersweet ideal of vintage Big Star than most anything in the old 'Mats canon. In "MamaDaddyDid," Westerberg hangs deep feelings of childhood rejection and stubborn emotional lockout on a slender melody and lacy strumming, but negotiates the balance between the sweet and steely to exquisite, discomfiting effect.

Older, wiser and sober, Westerberg has not entirely outgrown bar-band overkill. There are periodic outbursts of the old jump 'n' bite like "Century," which is the kind of beer-blast introspection that critics would fall all over if it was on a Wilco or Jayhawks album. And that's Tommy Stinson of the 'Mats on bass and flatulent trombone in the goofy, upbeat "Trumpet Clip." But muted volume suits much of the hurt and pathos here – like the dust-broom swish of the drums in "Hide n Seekin'" and the risky but moving mix of Elton John-ish sentimentality and harsh loss in "Good Day," a simple, sad song for the late Replacement Bob Stinson.

While hardly a return to the howling form of Westerberg's youth, this is a record of real poignance and often deep waters. He may be stuck in the same weird limbo as Elvis Costello – taken for granted as a crucial influence but generally considered past his prime – but Eventually proves that Westerberg deserves better. (RS 733)

DAVID FRICKE