MONOLITHIC MONEY

“CAN’T HOLD BACK.” Eddie Money. Columbia. How is that Ronnie Spector, whose voice shot through Phil Spector’s massive wall-of-sound production in the early ‘60s, seems overwhelmed in her cameo appearance on “Take Me Home Tonight”? Her plaintive singing is as sensual and unmistakable as ever, but where Phil Spector built his wall with style and grace, Money has erected a monolithic barrier. In what’s supposed to be a comeback after a three-year layoff, Money seems tentative and lacking in self-confidence. His voice sounds fairly strong, and the best songs are the ones he co-wrote, especially the Jersey-sounding rocker, “We Should Be Sleeping.” But the album is padded out with four dull songs by other writers, and Money and co-producer Richie Zito have buried everything under characterless production. Money can be forgiven for doing himself a disservice, but not for burying Ronnie in the process.