The "Chinese Eyes" mentioned in the title of Pete Townshend’s latest solo album, “All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes,” refers to movie heroes — the squint-eyed, Clint Eastwood type.

Townshend’s eyes do seem a trifle worn after all those years with The Who. And if anyone knows about heroes, it’s Townshend, who has been an idol to those who remember rock anthems like “My Generation” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Those songs sparked the youth of the 1960s and early 1970s to question authority and anyone over 30. The Who held the flag while disenchanted kids everywhere rallied around it.

Most of the songs on “Chinese Eyes” exhibit that same anthem-like quality, only now they’re directed at the over-30 set. The same group that Townshend asked to “f-f-f-f-fade away” years ago has given him the comfort and solace he needed after his bouts with alcoholism and cynicism.

Townshend does not appreciate the aging process one bit. It’s affected his outlook on life and society. But it hasn’t affected his music, which still retains shimmering melodic qualities, or his lyrics, which are torn from pages of his own life, as in “Slit Skirts:”

“Jeannie never wears those slit skirts And I don’t ever wear no ripped shirts Can’t pretend that growing older never hurts . . . We have to be so drunk to try a new dance So afraid of every new romance”

These autobiographical images are wrapped around a melody that Bruce Springsteen would kill to have written: simple, hard-driving but littered with moments of tenderness. This song and “Somebody Saved Me” have beautiful storylines, and his music keeps you hanging on to every word.

Townshend does not forsake his roots, however. There are many Who-esque moments on cuts like “Uniforms” and “Stardom in Acton.” The former song features the same percolating synthesizers that Townshend put to good use on “Empty Glass,” his previous solo work. They brighten up this “message” song about conformity and the need to belong.

“Stardom” takes shots at the laid-back California lifestyle, which appears to be a new target for Townshend’s lyrical barbs. He sees an immature, petulant society in Hollywood that stifles originality and rewards mediocrity:

“Stardom — I want a hit Want my tan, want my cash, want my innocence Stardom — I want a script Want my band, want my stash, want omnipotence”

Not all the songs have the same cynical quality. “Face Dances Part Two,” the album’s single (with an accompanying Music Television video), depicts Townshend, like John Lennon, in a good mood when singing about family and home. The playful rhythms and visions of “stuttering kids” and “fluttering eyelids” should find a home on the Top 40, like “Let My Love Open the Door” from “Empty Glass.”

Townshend has allowed himself to solo more, as he used to do in early Who days. There’s a renewed energy in the guitar licks and feedback screams on “The Sea Refuses No River,” and in the soft acoustic sounds of “North Country Girl.”

“All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes” proves that Pete Townshend does not need The Who to make angry, biting commments on the world, or to produce intelligently crafted rock songs. He does need a target, however, and if getting old bothers him this much, he should be occupied for some time to come.

Comparisons to fine wine and cheese would be trite, and Townshend would probably bristle at the idea of cliches being used to describe his talent.

It matters not. He may not have “Chinese Eyes,” but he remains a hero to those who enjoy rock as it was and should be played.