ROGER McGUINN “Back From Rio” <i> Arista</i> ***

McGuinn’s first album in more than a decade flies about five miles high, out of a possible eight. For fans of the revered Rickenbacker sound, that may be enough. “Rio” has both the good grace and misfortune to follow hot on the nostalgic heels of the excellent Byrds box-set retrospective; with those accomplishments again fresh in mind, McGuinn’s likable comeback inevitably suffers by comparison, yet travels a long way on his integrity and our good will.

The three best tracks involve famous outside writers: Jules Shear’s mutedly optimistic love song “If We Never Meet Again” easily translates to the trusty 12-string approach. In “King of the Hill,” McGuinn at last duets (and co-writes) to good effect with one-time slavish devotee Tom Petty. Most significantly, he does a new, tailor-made Elvis Costello song--”You Bowed Down,” a characteristic Costello excoriating of an ex who’s sold out to the in crowd--echoing the bitter majesty of the Byrds doing Dylan.

Sonically, the album does little to update McGuinn’s sound, which is good and bad--the players seem right (including most of the Heartbreakers), but the super-dry mix and laissez faire self-production lack real oomph. So do some of McGuinn’s self-penned songs. Welcome back, Jim, and here’s to increased altitude next flight.