Mirwais (finally!) takes a backseat to someone else on the following track; no surprise there, as it’s Madonna herself who takes control of “Paradise (Not For Me)”, which also appears on her album Music. La Ciccone’s smooth vocals transform the track into something resembling a fine wine, smooth, fiery, and romantic. Unfortunately, this vintage is a little too bland considering the famous source. While nothing particularly groundbreaking, it does at least show that Mirwais can do better work behind the scenes.

Just when one is about ready to turn this disc into a drink coaster, along comes the finest track in the entire album, “Never Young Again.” Rising from the sludge of bad electronica like a Yamaha phoenix, “Never Young Again” is about movement, anticipation, and energy that’s barely held in check. Strings lend a brief, ethereal quality to the music, while youthful energy pulsates, then pauses briefly before resuming again, this time with an almost melancholy maturity subtly supplanting its earlier exuberance.

Some artists were meant to be stars, conquering the music world with either their charisma or flare (think Madonna), their unique sound (think Rolling Stones), or a combination of both (the king of pop, Michael Jackson). Mirwais fails to fall into any of these categories, despite his best attempts; he even sports some bizarre wire facial ornament on the cover of the album. If he’s attempting to make a statement, he fails, unless the statement is “I’m a Borg.” And someone please tell him to keep that jacket closed, for goodness’ sake. To his credit, Mirwais tries his best on this album, but all his effort only hammers home the point that his talents are better suited to production than Production.