SOUND CHECK; SPOTLIGHT ON ... BLOODHOUND GANG.

Bloodhound Gang/``Hooray for Boobies'' (Geffen)

Beastie Boys fans, as well as those who appreciate fifth-grade fun, will probably already be blasting this album by the wacky Bloodhound Gang, whose single and video, ``The Bad Touch'' (``the Discovery Channel song''), is zooming up the charts.

The fivesome's mildly amusing second effort, which has seen tremendous success in Europe, where it was released last year, forges a blend of rock, hip-hop, samples, '80s synths and insipid scatological lyrics that will appeal to younger listeners.

By his own admission, Bloodhound frontman Jimmy Pop sounds like ``a 7-year-old in a crash helmet having a temper tantrum through a Mister Microphone.'' And if songs like ``Yummy Down on This,'' ``I Hope You Die'' and ``A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When the Stripper Is Crying'' sound like your idea of a good time, ``Hooray for Boobies'' is right up your alley. Don't file under ``easy listening.'' Two and one half stars

- Fred Shuster

Ronny Jordan/``A Brighter Day'' (Blue Note)

British jazz-funk guitarist Jordan made some forays into acid-jazz on previous records but for his Blue Note debut explores such terrain as trip-hop and international rhythms. The best moment here is ``London Lowdown,'' a prime example of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop and funk that helped give birth to the acid-jazz movement in the early '90s.

In contrast, set-closer ``5/8 in Flow'' features acclaimed vibist Stefon Harris and drummer Jeff ``Tain'' Watts in a straight-ahead groove that shows the influence of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green. Three stars

- F.S.

Leif Ove Andsnes, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/``Britten, Shostakovich, Georges Enesco'' (EMI)

Sly and not so sly political subversiveness is the theme linking the 20th-century works on this disc featuring the young Norwegian pianist Andsnes.

Andsnes' reading of Britten's Piano Concerto, fittingly dramatic without leaping off the stage, discloses the sardonic humor and unsettling minor-key skirmishes of this biting piece, which was written by the pacifist Britten on the eve of World War II and concludes with a woozy ``March'' that parodies military brass bands. It's thoughtfully paired here with Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, a skittishly ironic piece that, although lacking in the composer's usual savagery, reportedly earned him a prize spot on Stalin's blacklist.

Recorded live by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Jarvi's well-disciplined baton, and capped with Enesco's alternately mournful and manic ``Legende'' for trumpet and piano, this disc affords a suitably bumpy ride to some of the century's darker corners. Three stars.

- Reed Johnson

Terry Callier/``Live at Mother Blues 1964'' (Premonition)

Folk-soul crooner Callier grew up with Curtis Mayfield in Chicago, cut his debut in '65 and retired in the mid-'80s. But in the early '90s, a strange thing happened. A pair of London acid-jazz DJs revived interest in Callier by spinning his records in popular clubs, drawing interest from the likes of Paul Weller and Beth Orton, with whom Callier collaborated on her two acclaimed solo albums.

This recently unearthed live gem from '64 finds the timeless singer- songwriter in a stripped-down mode, accompanied only by guitar and two acoustic basses. The eight folk songs here, including the great ``Work Song'' and the poignant ``Johnny Be Gay'' (recorded at a time when `gay'' meant ``lively''), work as a bare-bones platform for Callier's larger-than-life delivery. Three stars

- F.S.

Sergent Garcia/``Un Poquito Quema'o'' (Higher Octave World)

We've had a lot of great Afro-Cuban pop in the past year, and this bracing blend of reggae, rap, salsa and the Cuban son rhythm takes the sound to a new, exciting and most enjoyable level. ``Garcia'' (the liner notes, written in French, don't list his real name) uses a crack 10-piece band to create his

musical marriage, which, at times, sounds a little like rapper KRS-One rhyming over a Bob Marley groove. You have to hear it for yourself, and once you do, you'll be hooked. Three stars.

- Glenn Whipp

Lama Gyurme and Jean-Phillippe Rykiel/ ``Rain of Blessings: Vajra Chants'' (Real World)

This mix of a chanting Bhutanese Buddhist monk and a French New Age keyboardist provides yet another engaging example of the very cool collaborative concoctions from Peter Gabriel's Real World label. The lama provides surprisingly musical (by Western standards) versions of important Buddhist chants of healing and blessing. Behind him, Rykiel lays down often spacy, delicate washes of keyboard and piano.

Not everything works musically, such as ``Prayer to Sangye Menla,'' but the opening two tracks in particular - and much else besides - are stunningly spiritual and calmly beautiful. The liner notes also explain the religious context and meaning behind each chant.

By the way, the lama contributes to some of the best parts of the gorgeous soundtrack of Oscar-nominated Nepalese film ``Caravan'' (found through Virgin France under the film's French name, ``Himalaya: L'Enfance d'Un Chef''). Three stars

- David Bloom

Ruby Braff & Ellis Larkins/``Duets, Vol. 1 and 2'' (Vanguard)

Cornet and trumpet star Braff recorded three albums with pianist Ellis Larkins in 1956, and Vanguard has reissued these classic works on two separate CDs.

Larkins is a perfect accompanist for the expressive Braff, capable of remarkable subtlety and beauty on the ballads and gentle swing on the up- tempo numbers. These sessions are heavy on the former, and the two players demonstrate an inventive and engaging telepathy in their duets. Another couple of treasures from Vanguard's reissue series. Four stars

- G.W.

Johnny Hartman/``Songs From the Heart'' (Avenue Jazz)

Avenue has been mining the old Bethlehem catalog, reissuing many interesting, if not essential works by greats and near-greats of '50s bop, swing and mainstream jazz. Count this as one of the better nuggets dug out of the trove.

Hartman was a smooth-voiced baritone who here shows a taste for smoky ballads for late-night lovers. He works through a series of mostly standards, such as ``I Fall in Love Too Easily,'' ``Moonlight in Vermont'' and ``September Song,'' in gentle, lovely fashion, backed most notably by the sensitive trumpet of bopper Howard McGhee.

Hartman, who cut a gorgeous ballads album with John Coltrane, never found much fame during his life, though he continued to perform until his death in 1983. Avenue does the crooner's memory proud. Three stars

- D.B.

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(1) no caption (Bloodhound Gang)

(2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers)