Her music’s IQ is on the rise again

Liz Phair

“Somebody’s Miracle” (Capitol)

* * 1/2

PHAIR claims her last album, 2003’s “Liz Phair,” was just as vital to her as her biting, revolutionary “Exile in Guyville,” the 1993 collection that was a response to the macho swagger of the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street.”

But that 2003 CD was mostly a light, unchallenging album aimed strictly at pop radio. Her new one, in stores Tuesday, isn’t a miracle by a long shot, but the highlights show signs of a once-valuable artist trying to reset her creative compass.

Phair is still addressing the basic themes of the last album, looking at sex and relationships long after the youthful fireworks of “Exile,” but this time she sometimes brings intelligence and insight to the tunes, not just seductive melodies and cute vocals.

Phair planned this new, mostly pop CD as a response to Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” but wisely settled for simply a collection of songs about love and life.

Without the boundless musical imagination of Wonder, Phair is at her best here when she is at her most personal, as on the wistful reflection of the title tune and the sober self-inventory of the delicate “Table for One.” There just aren’t enough of those convincing, heartfelt moments.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.