Grandpa Boy
Mono
Vagrant Records

Paul Westerberg appears conflicted about what to do at this stage of his career. As much as the singer/songwriter/guitarist made noticeable and deliberate strides during the 1990s to leave behind the rowdy Replacements sound, it seems he can't resist the urge to revisit his down 'n' dirty musical past — hence his releases under the Grandpaboy/Grandpa Boy moniker and not his own name.

After the breakup of The Replacements in 1991, Westerberg officially launched a solo career, scoring the music for the 1992 movie Singles and contributing the songs "Dyslexic Heart" and "Waiting for Somebody" to its soundtrack. He followed that with the solid 1993 album 14 Songs, a nondescript yet fitting title for a diverse collection that mixed rough rockers with semi-smooth ballads. The two subsequent Westerberg albums (each with their share of highlights) were a bit mellower, and that perturbed a number of longtime Replacements fans who didn't want their cynical and literate hero to age gracefully.

Those folks ought to enjoy Mono, which, like the self-titled 1997 Grandpaboy EP, is much more Replacements-esque than his "proper" solo discs. Mono, named for its retro recording and production values, begins with three rhythm-guitar workouts — "High Time," "Anything But That" and "Let's Not Belong Together" — that would make Keith Richards crack a wicked, envious smile. The fourth track, "Silent Film Star," is the album's best, featuring some trademark Westerberg wordplay and a hooky chorus.

Westerberg kicks it up a notch on the Chuck Berry-inspired "Knock It Right Out" before settling into 14 Songs territory on "2 Days 'Til Tomorrow." The remaining five tunes are moderately paced rockers, the best of which is "AAA," the closing track.

It's anybody's guess as to why Westerberg hides behind the Grandpa Boy name. Hey, there's nothing wrong with having an alter-ego side project. But Westerberg takes concealing his identity to the extreme, unlike The Traveling Wilburys, for example. Now, there was a group that probably would have welcomed a bit of anonymity to see if the music could hold its own. However, Bob Dylan (who initially went by the name Lucky, then Boo), George Harrison (Nelson/Spike) and their other "brothers" were photographed for the band's two albums and talked about their work publicly.

As for Westerberg, he isn't pictured on Mono (although the odd-looking person on the cover could be him), and he's been fairly quiet about the album, which was released with little fanfare. It's as though he doesn't take the Grandpa Boy material all that seriously, sort of treating it like a one-night stand instead of a long-term romance.

But in the end, Mono is a fun fling — make that a very fun fling, with no strings attached. And he's more than welcome to rekindle the relationship whenever he so desires.

— Chris M. Junior (chrisjr@mindspring.com)