MIDYEAR ALBUMS: AN AMERICAN LEAGUE OF STIMULATING LP’S

John Fogerty’s “Centerfield,” a triumphant return to form by one of America’s most accomplished rockers, and Lone Justice’s bountiful debut collection were the most stimulating LPs of the first half of 1985.

These and the other choices on today’s 10-best list underscore two encouraging trends about pop music at this point in the ‘80s. First, an increasing number of quality albums are finding their way onto the upper rungs of the national sales charts. This is far different from the mid and late ‘70s, when conservative radio programmers and passive fans shied away from anything with even a slightly maverick tone.

This turnaround is due to greater recognition by leading musicians of the value of accessibility in their music, and by more sophistication and activism among fans.

Two of the artists represented on today’s Top 10 (Fogerty and Prince), have already reached No. 1 on the national charts this year while a third (Sting) appears a cinch to do the same. Of the remaining seven artists, six have made it into the top 100. Even the Meat Puppets--whose LP didn’t crack the Top 200--have picked up an extraordinary amount of exposure on college radio and are finding an audience.

The second trend involves the artistic resurgence of American rock. Except for Sting, today’s list is entirely American. This enthusiasm for American artists isn’t meant to be a statement of national pride, but an acknowledgement of the massive reaction against the commercial calculation that has strangled too much British rock in recent years.

Here’s my list of the most noteworthy albums of the last six months. When two albums are tied, they are listed alphabetically.

1--John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” (Warner Bros.). After a decade on the sidelines, Fogerty returns to rock’s starting lineup with a solo album whose best moments reflect the compact songwriting and captivating singing that made Fogerty’s old band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of the half-dozen greatest groups in rock. The themes range from personal to political, but the heart of the LP is the rejoicing that comes from artistic vindication.

1--Lone Justice’s “Lone Justice” (Geffen). There has been so much praise for singer Maria McKee that it’s understandable how some people could suspect hype is involved and decide nobody could be that good. But those people most certainly haven’t heard this album. McKee, just 20, is a wonder who combines the innocence of mainline country with the spunk and desire of Joplinesque rock. While she’s the star, she also has some valuable mates in this outstanding L.A. quartet.

3--R.E.M.’s “Fables of the Reconstruction” (I.R.S.). Reluctant leader of the second wave of American post-punk bands, R.E.M. has stepped away somewhat from the moody, elusive textures of its first two albums to share more openly its haunting, often anxious vision about dealing with contemporary challenges and contradictions. Even more engrossing live.

4--The Blasters’ “Hard Line” (Slash/Warner Bros.). After seeing “NonFiction,” its finely designed 1983 look at working-class alienation, largely ignored by record buyers, the Blasters tried to make this album--which expands on the same theme--more acceptable. Besides covering a song written for them by John Cougar Mellencamp, the L.A. quintet took a more disciplined approach in the studio, ending up with more formal and comfortable arrangements. The move has caused grumbling by some Blasters fans, but the best of these tracks still exhibit the intensity and heart that have been this band’s hallmark.

5--Bob Dylan’s “Empire Burlesque” (Columbia). This is Dylan’s most assured and overtly commercial collection in years, a work that is being widely hailed as the songwriting master’s finest album since “Blood on the Tracks.” And there are moments here to rival anything you’ll hear this year. However, there is also a caution that reminds you more of the progressive Dylan than the radical one who was at work in the ‘60s and in such underregarded ‘70s and ‘80s jewels as “Street Legal,” “Slow Train Coming” and “Infidels.”

5--Sting’s “The Dream of the Blue Turtle” (A&M;). On leave from the Police, Sting has made an album that’s almost overpowering in both its musical and thematic ambition. Working with some highly regarded jazz musicians, including saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Sting explores matters of the heart and the state to see just how ego and greed can corrupt both relationships and nations. While moments are exquisite, he asserts such lofty ideals at times that he sounds out of touch, leaving himself a bit too much like a philosopher king in a gritty world of reality.

7--The Meat Puppets’ “Up on the Sun” (SST). After experimenting with hard-core and winsome brands of prairie punk on its first two albums, Phoenix’s Puppets give us a more focused and consistent work--one that balances the calming, spacious feel of their home desert turf with alluring, almost hypnotic tales about the search for values and purpose in this cynical age. Of all the new American bands now being heralded, this one may have the most magical and uncompromising vision.

8--Prince’s “Around the World in a Day” (Warner Bros.). This surprising, psychedelic-tinged album recalls “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in Prince’s willingness to play down many of his musical trademarks to move to a different, presumably higher artistic level. When released in April, this frequently warm, humorous and spiritually minded LP seemed so provocative it raised more questions than any of Prince’s other works. But the answers--in terms of musical staying power--haven’t been good. While admirable in its independence, “Around the World” does not offer the sure-footed authority of Prince’s “Dirty Mind,” “1999” and “Purple Rain” records.

9--Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents” (MCA). As with the Prince LP, there was something intriguing about Petty’s sudden change of direction. But it sounds increasingly as if the schizophrenic mix of Petty’s songs with Eurythmic Dave Stewart’s production stands too far apart from the Southern consciousness of songs like the elegant “The Best of Everything.” With more fully developed numbers in the latter style, Petty could have had his finest album yet.

10--Run-D.M.C.’s “King of Rock” (Profile). Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel toyed with a rock ‘n’ rap merger, but they went their separate ways and neither has lived up to the promise of “The Message” or “White Lines.” However, Run-D.M.C. has melded rock, rap, commentary and humor into an inspired and entertaining brew that may be too good-natured for its own good at times, but is generally a delight.