Wanderlust (Bonus Track Version)

iTunes Review

The former Bush lead singer delivers his first solo album with the same grim demeanor that befits a spokesman from the ‘90s grunge era. Metallica producer Bob Rock gives the entire album a loud, polished shine — guitars purr, drums detonate like canons, and the vocals are layered and processed until they’re supernatural. “Can’t Stop the World” was the theme song for Drive, a short-lived FOX network program. “Forever May You Run,” co-written with professional songwriter Linda Perry, is adult-oriented rock circa 2008. His marriage to Gwen Stefani is chartered in the ups and downs of the sympathetic “The Skin I’m In” and “This is Happiness” and the more emotionally unsure “Drive.” Rossdale isn’t one for deep probing; his anti-war tune, “Frontline,” barely grazes the surface. But for sleek radio pop with a few vague detours with Shirley Manson of Garbage backing up “The Trouble I’m In,” co-writes with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart for “Another Night in the Hills” and “Beauty in the Beast” and Rossdale’s vocoder experiment on the album’s closer “This Place Is On Fire,” Wanderlust isn’t a glimpse at an aimless soul, but rather a focused pop star’s attempt to find his voice in the shadow of his very successful wife.