Portrait of the artist as a young rocker: Armed with bass guitar, harmonica and a raw musical energy fueled by a collection of Small Faces and Humble Pie Albums, John Waite hungered for success as a teenager.

"I'm just as good as I was at the age of 17 - only I'm a lot better now," laughs the British-born singer/songwriter. His seventh solo album, Figure In A Landscape, is a poignantly honest project, the kind of work that only an artist with a deep canvas collection could possibly paint.

"When you are young, you think you're on the top of your game," says Waite. "But wait until you've been in it for a while. That's when you really start to fire on all cylinders. Life experience is what counts. Until you've lived the life, it's very hard to come up with something that's going to last. Experience is everything."

The experience of rock 'n' roll glory came fast and furious for John Waite during the late 1970s. His band, The Babys, captured all the excitement of hitting it big in America: hit albums, hit singles, sellout concerts - non-stop on the airwaves and on the road.

Solo in the early '80s, John Waite's career ignited with the MTV/radio staple Change and then exploded with Missing You - a worldwide number one smash that has become a pop rock radio staple. This three-and-a-half minute musical moment captured every singer and tunesmith's holy grail.

Back in a band at the start of '90s, Waite experienced further No. 1 chart success (When I See You Smile), multi-million album sales and sellout concerts with Bad English. The group's first album captured that Big Time moment all over again; a second album sent Waite into retreat. Corporate mishandling of his subsequent solo work pushed him to rediscover himself.

"Getting back to basics was really my way of re-familiarizing myself with who I was. I decided not to be so dependent on record labels and realized that I could go out and play songs, write new material for myself and other people, and be fairly self-contained," he says. "I had an audience out there that would come and see me if I played."

Waite firmly believes that returning to the road was the key to refocusing his entire musical career. "Going back in a grass roots situation to pull off a real strong set in front of a thousand people without a current record helped me re-learn my craft - basically to forget everything else but the music. It's right back to being 17. And that's when you remember why you came. I got a refresher course in why I'm John Waite."

During his road trips, Waite connected with the Santa Monica based Gold Circle label, which precipitated his return to the recording studios. "Signing with a label to make this record is exactly where I wanted to be," he says. "Previously I got lost in the vast corporate machine. Gold Circle provides me with that personal touch, which is what I need at this stage of the game."

Figure In A Landscape represents a wonderful collection of material that John has written during the past few years with longtime collaborators like Anthony Krizan, Shayne Fontayne, Chuck Kentis, Glen Burtnick and Will Jennings. From uptempo rockers to heartfelt ballads, this enticing album has many moods.

"The songs are written at various times over the last four years, so the album captures a lot of different moments and emotions in my life - perhaps more than any other album I've made," says Waite. "It's a very colorful album and explains a lot about what's happened to me. I'm very proud of it and it has helped to focus on where I want to go in the future."

When not touring these past few years, John Waite has divided his time between living in New York, Los Angeles and his native England. "I think that restless quality, the whole traveling man element of my life is reflected in this record," says Waite. "For example, there is a distinct New York quality to some of the songs that really comes across - even though is was recorded in Los Angeles."

John Waite continues to relish life as a singer and songwriter. "I'm happier now than I've ever been," he says. "And, at the end of the day, the song is still everything to me. Fashion is just a transient thing. What I enjoy more than anything is experiencing life and capturing the moments in music."