On his first solo LP, 1983's 'Beatitude,' Ric Ocasek rounded up some of the offbeat rockers whose records he'd produced and came up with a set of arty oddities. The record felt surprisingly tentative and uneven – the work of an ambitious bandleader uncertain about which direction to take on his own. Beatitude was met by a collective shrug from the record-buying public, and perhaps that's why This Side of Paradise follows a very commercial path indeed.

Not that it's bad. "Keep On Laughin'," "True to You" and "Mystery" all blip along with the computerized momentum of the Cars' catchiest tracks. And why not? All the band's members, save drummer David Robinson, appear in their usual roles. But where the Cars push their love songs through cynical twists and sharp turns, Ocasek gets stuck in romantic glop. "Emotion in Motion," the first single, moves so slowly that you can't help but notice how corny the lyrics are. (If Billy Squier beats you to a title, it's a sign of something.) The similarly paced "True Love" is better by far. Greg Hawkes's beautiful keyboard figure contrasts dramatically with a calculated blast of anarchy from guitarist Steve Stevens, heightening (despite the banal chorus) the sort of weird, techno-emotional lyrics you'd expect from Ocasek: "Even with all your wires touching/You never did complain." That explains those headaches!

At times, Ocasek is frustratingly obvious. For example, the none-too-subtle paranoia of "Coming for You" is further underlined by a cascade of ominous-sounding ooze from Stevens's guitar, and the nonsensical images of alienation in the title track are echoed by the lonely clank of synthesized drums. It's downright puzzling that Ocasek would hire Tom Verlaine to play guitar on his album and then bury him (in "P.F.J."). Has Ric Ocasek completely lost his nerve? In 1980, he described his musical mission thusly: "I'm a test pilot for mass hysteria." By simplifying the Cars' winning, quirky formulas to a radio-correct equation in 1986, Ocasek's become another bombardier for mass hypnosis. Paradise sounds fine, but the minute it stops spinning you will remember ... nothing. (RS 487)

MARK COLEMAN