The Day After Yesterday
Onetime working-class dog Rick Springfield has kept his nose to the grindstone since his early-80s "Jessie's Girl"/"General Hospital"/Tiger Beat-centerfold heyday. It seems as though he's realized he's making as big of a dent in the national consciousness as former co-stars Luke and Laura. ThusThe Day After Yesterday,a disc of covers that, despite Springfield's raspy best efforts, communicates a certain last-ditch desperation. "I wanted to see if it would be easier and less painful doing a CD of songs I hadn't written ... and it was," Springfield writes in the album's liner notes. The trouble is, that ease devolved audibly into disillusionment: his song choices couldn't be less interesting and his delivery lacks soul, if not grit. Longtime fans, however, may want to soldier on. Springfield's reading of  Foreigner's "Waiting for a Girl Like You" may be snoozy, but the original wasn't exactly a thrill ride either.  The same goes for Human League's pleasantly humdrum "Human." In a split second of boldness, Springfield closes the disc with a palatable, clear-eyed cover of "Imagine." It's a song about possibilities, and mixed with a healthy shot of inspiration, its message should serve the artist better next go-round.--Tammy La Gorce