Pete Townshend ALL THE BEST COWBOYS HAVE CHINESE EYES Atco Records

The unblinking face of Pete Townshend stares at us, in stark black-and-white, from the cover of his new solo album, “All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes.” The picture is a clue to the LP’s stance: forthright, confrontational, direct.

Aging rock king, social critic, unrivaled superstar, confessed alcoholic, pop survivor … Townshend is all this and more, and “Chinese Eyes” is his most personal album yet. It goes far beyond even the agonies dealt with on such records as “The Who By Numbers” and “Who Are You”; 10 of the 11 songs are written in the first person. Topics include infidelity, aging, boredom and other ills that have plagued him for years.

To be sure, much of his soul-searching emerges in the form of Gibran-like aphorisms: “No one respects the flame quite like the fool who’s badly burned” … “The sea refuses no river. Remember that when the beggar buys a round.” … “When we stand naked, then we all appear the same.” (Perhaps this is a result of his years of discipleship under Meher Baba.) Townshend’s message is so important to him that half the record’s opening cut, “Stop Hurting People,” is spoken rather than sung.

But the music on “Chinese Eyes” is hardly an afterthought. Like much of Townshend’s previous work, it is compelling mainline rock, driven by synthesizers but featuring his trademark guitar. (The guitar has brought him the very fame that entraps him, and the cover art shows it. In each picture, Townshend is shown using his instrument as protection; the rear photo is a behind-bars pose in which a double-necked guitar becomes a prison.)

This is a powerful record, but not a cheerful one, and Townshend’s singing and playing show it. His singing is strong, insistent; his guitar is strident but controlled. The synthesizers, programmed by John Lewis, and the tuned percussion, played by vibist Poli Palmer, are the perfect counterpoint to the commanding guitar. Townshend’s voice (which in his work with The Who has always compared unfavorably to Roger Daltrey’s) is great throughout.

As for the record’s title, nominations are now being accepted for guesses as to what it means.

HENRY McNULTY