JOHN COUGAR is one of those American stalwarts whose appeal rarely crosses the Atlantic. Once - and probably to his own annoyance - tagged as a Springsteen substitute for those periods when the Boss is in purdah, Mellencamp's brand of heartland folk-rock hasn't had enough dirt and dynamite to attract the grunge contingent or enough ethnic spice to capture that older audience who prefer their country-rock in the Texas mode.

Is the choice of Malcolm Burn as producer a ploy to find him an international audience? Certainly Human Wheels, both in its entirety and in the title track, can sound as if it was planned to infiltrate Dire Straits territory, though the gospel vocal parts on 'When Jesus Left Birmingham' have a trickery far beyond Mark Knopfler and Co.

Mellencamp still cares but sometimes too earnestly. 'Junior' is an underdog song that attempts but ultimately fails to capture the ironies with which Randy Newman invests his schmuck songs; 'Beige To Beige' is a grumpy decline of rock and western civilization as we know it complaint that's really his male menopause acting up; and the title track is sabotaged by a severe case of impenetrable "Windmills Of My Mind" lyrics.

That's the album's basic problem, since Mellencamp doesn't only desire to persuade us he still cares but also that he wears his art on his sleeve. Better are 'Case 795 (The Family)', a parable about the murderous intent that can still reside in that hallowed institution, the family, and 'Suzanne And The Jewels', a not entirely good-tempered reminiscence about a woman now exiled from his heart. As for 'Jesus Came To Birmingham', deservedly the opening track, it's a genuinely mysterious exploration of American belief-systems where the music really does come to terms with all the strange in salvation.

So, an uneven record since John Cougar Mellencamp doesn't always find the perfect pitch between art and commerce. Catch 'Jesus . . .' as a single and only then decide whether to proceed further.

• Bill Graham