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*** Mark Kozelek

ROCK & ROLL SINGER

(Badman Recordings)

Mark Kozelek might be his generation's finest crooner of '70s schmaltz. As the leader of the San Francisco mope-rock outfit Red House Painters, he peppered a succession of maudlin releases with defiant renditions of innocuous classic-rock anthems -- Kiss's "Shock Me," the Cars' "All Mixed Up," and Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs" were among the chestnuts treated to his inimitable combination of brooding vocals and painfully slow tempos. Rock & Roll Singer, Kozelek's debut solo EP, may represent the first time anyone has interpreted the nature pop of John Denver (around whom Kozelek recently organized a dignified tribute release) and the cock rock of AC/DC with equal adulation. Kozelek transforms "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me," one of the disc's three Bon Scott-era AC/DC covers, into a vulnerable plea with his moving falsetto. And he rounds out Rock & Roll Singer with three solid if similarly styled originals to remind anyone who cares that he's still a skilled songwriter in his own right.

-- Patrick Bryant