**1/2 TAL BACHMAN

(Columbia)

Add this 23-year-old's name to the lengthening list of pop progeny following in their parents' footsteps with mixed results. On this occasionally engaging major-label debut, the son of former Guess Who/BTO dude Randy Bachman reveals he's a chip off the old block when it comes to the big hook. The opening "Darker Side of Blue" builds dramatically before crashing into an infectious, payoff chorus. And the album's best cut, the vaguely La's-like "She's So High," is a sparkling model of pop composition and execution.

The problem lies in veteran Bryan Adams/Bon Jovi producer Bob Rock's typically ham-fisted sonic treatments, which flatten out any edges the material might otherwise have had and gives even the disc's better moments ("You Don't Know What It's Like"; "I Am Free") a sterile, oddly muted '80s sheen. Nevertheless, Bachman's often strong, rangy songwriting -- not to mention his taste for florid, though effective, orchestral arrangements -- shines through on tender tracks like the McCartney-esque "You Love Me (Like Nobody Loves Me)" and the Lennon-inspired "Beside You." Meanwhile, the moody, piano-driven ballad "I Wonder" evokes Buckley and Wainwright -- Jeff and Rufus, that is.

-- Jonathan Perry