Album Briefs: Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent):

** 1/2 Tom Cochrane, “Mad Mad World,” Capitol. This solo debut by the former Red Rider front man swept Canada’s Juno Awards, and it’s easy to see why: Cochrane is a sharp pop craftsman and a likable singer who takes a sincere approach to intelligent themes. While “Mad Mad World” is better than any album Bryan Adams has done or probably ever will, it rates only as well-wrought heartland rock, lacking the distinctive spirit and viewpoint found among the Petty-Seger-Henley peerage it tries to emulate. Cochrane opens for the Smithereens on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Variety and on Thursday at the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim.