On ‘Human,’ Rod Stewart Joins the Teen Pop Parade

On 1998’s “When We Were the New Boys,” Stewart bungee-jumped back to his youth, rocking and folk-rocking in effective tribute to his late Faces bandmate Ronnie Lane and, with an Oasis song, giving a nod to a new generation of kindred souls. On “Human” (due in stores Tuesday), he springs back to the present with the spirit of a young singer--a 2001 teen-pop singer. It’s a bit disconcerting to hear his always-wizened rasp plied in the kind of puppy-love R&B-lite; suited for ‘N Sync on the title track.

Is this one of Rod’s mod cons--the kind of crass pop contrivance he’s foisted periodically since “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Sure. But he manages to sell it with gusto and conviction. He’s not trying to keep pace with the kiddies, but to show them how it’s really done. He also had the taste not to pull a Britney or Christina in as a duet partner, but rather a Scottish newcomer named Helicopter Girl, whose purr is a perfect foil on the suave “Don’t Come Around Here.”

That song, along with Macy Gray’s “Smitten,” Curtis Mayfield’s “It Was Love That We Need” and Raul Malo’s retro-pop “To Be With You,” justifies Stewart’s vocal commitment. Unfortunately, the effort is not matched by much of the rest of the material, which, rather than transcending current formulas, simply wallows in them.

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