Singer-songwriter Lloyd Cole returns to his roots

Collected Recordings 1983-1989, a six-disc box set of his pre-solo work with the pop band whose irresistible and bittersweet hits included “Perfect Skin,” “Brand New Friend” and “Jennifer She Said.”

[...] Cole is paying tribute to his past in a series of live solo shows, including a stop at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall on Thursday, June 9.

Cole plans to perform “Downtown,” from his 1990 self-titled solo album, and “Mr. Malcontent,” from the Commotions’ 1986 album “Mainstream,” for the first time in at least 10 years.

After the breakup of his band, which produced three acclaimed records — “Rattlesnakes” (1984), “Easy Pieces” (1985) and “Mainstream” (1987) — Cole has been a prolific solo artist, releasing more than a dozen albums, while raising two sons in western Massachusetts with his wife.

For one of his more recent albums, “Standards” (2014), Cole reunited with drummer Fred Maher and bassist Matthew Sweet, the rhythm section for Cole’s first two solo albums.

The subject matter of the songs shows a sensibility true to the album’s title, which evokes an established classic.

The music video for the track features Cole’s son William, who seems to portray a younger version of Cole.

There is another album somewhere down the line, a continuation of his venture into electronic music, and a performance at Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s concert hall, in March 2017.