Paul Westerberg
Stereo
Vagrant Records

If recording a song is all about capturing a particular moment, Paul Westerberg obviously recorded some of Stereo's tunes during rather unsteady moments, as the album includes plenty of technical glitches and shaky performances. Take those elements, toss in Westerberg's knack for crafting sharp lyrics, and the result is another typically rough-edged album by a veteran singer-songwriter who continues to view life through the eyes of an observant outsider.

The makers and devotees of Pro Tools, an audio software system that lets users fix bum notes and execute other editing functions, would cringe while listening to the pitch-flawed Stereo. But as longtime Westerberg worshippers know, imperfection is a constant factor in just about everything he's done — including his revered Replacements catalog — and it's one of his most endearing qualities as a musician.

Stereo's assorted flubs pair up well with the at-home, middle-of-the-night recording conditions Westerberg describes in the album's liner notes. And as with previous efforts, he sometimes makes the bumps and bruises work to his advantage. "Dirt to Mud," the disc's second song, abruptly ends around the 2:39 mark — most likely what Westerberg refers to in the liner notes as an instance in which the tape ran out during recording. The sudden stop is appropriate given the gloomy vibe of the song, in which he sings in the bridge, "And they say a man in pain/ he will prepare to die/ They say a man who hurts/won't even try."

"Don't Want Never" also cuts off unexpectedly, but unlike "Dirt to Mud," it feels incomplete. The rest of Stereo, a mostly drum-free and relatively subdued affair, finds Westerberg giving voice to characters who are confused and distressed ("Got You Down"), isolated and stressed ("No Place for You") and just plain disappointed ("Let the Bad Times Roll").

Statistical and archival buffs, take note: Stereo's 10th track, credited as "Mr. Rabbit," actually is a short, untitled interlude. The real "Mr. Rabbit" is the 11th track. "Let the Bad Times Roll" follows at No. 12, and about 11 seconds after "Call That Gone?" (the 13th track) is over, there's a clamorous cover of Flesh for Lulu's "Postcards From Paradise." Stereo includes another unadvertised bonus — a copy of Mono, the rollicking Westerberg album released earlier this year under the Grandpa Boy moniker.

Westerberg always has been about intellect and emotion in his work, not precise execution, so Stereo sits very comfortably next to his previous albums. The only difference here is that it takes a little extra polishing of his musical gems — i.e., careful and repeated listening — for them to shine.

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