SOUND CHECK : COUNTRY.

Vince Gill/``High Lonesome Sound''

Vince Gill must be stopped before he makes everyone else in the country, pop and rock genres look bad. The guy has yet to make an even slightly unsatisfactory album.

``High Lonesome Sound'' (MCA), Gill's seventh effort, is just one more excellent disc, packed with outstanding original material, fine singing and masterful guitar picking (by Gill and Nashville studio aces Steuart Smith and Billy Joe Walker Jr.).

Gill, who will announce a summer concert date shortly, is a triple-threat artist. On the new album, produced with the usual sheen by contemporary country wizard Tony Brown, he's in terrific form, delivering the goods on such standouts as the rollicking roadhouse blues of ``One Dance With You,'' the syncopated Crescent City funk of ``Down to New Orleans,'' the sizzling guitar workout ``Tell Me Lover,'' as well as the gorgeous ballads ``Worlds Apart'' and ``You and You Alone.'' Recommended. Four Stars.

SOURCE: - Fred Shuster

POP Various/``Cowabunga! The Surf Box (1960-95)''

Blame ``Pulp Fiction'' for the sudden resurgence of interest in surf music, that reverb-drenched, three-chord, striped-shirt pop music that Jimi Hendrix promised would be banished forever.

Actually, as the four-disc ``Cowabunga! The Surf Box'' (Rhino) demonstrates, much of the good stuff in this field isn't as lightweight as it once seemed. In fact, the wet, hollow-toned instrumentals of surf pioneers Dick Dale & the Del-Tones, the Lively Ones and the Ventures owe much to '50s r&b, believe it or not.

The 82 tracks here span 35 years, covering the earliest surf tunes by the Chantays and the Surfaris right up to today's forward-thinking young surf-influenced outfits like the Bay Area's Mermen. The only quibble is the noninclusion of Davie Allen & the Arrows, a contemporary instrumental trio that perfectly fits the genre. But maybe Rhino is planning a ``biker rock'' box next.

In any case, ``Cowabunga!'' is a wonderfully comprehensive collection. Surf's up! Four Stars

SOURCE: -Fred Shuster

Brian Setzer Orchestra/``Guitar Slinger''

Say this for Brian Setzer: The former Stray Cat knows Louis Prima is just as cool as Eddie Cochran. Prima, a colorful bandleader and singer popular in the '40s and '50s, could perform with as much abandon as any rocker, and he's one of the inspirations for Setzer's brand of big-band rock 'n' roll.

``Guitar Slinger'' (Interscope) is Setzer's second album in this hybrid style, and while he won't make anyone forget Prima, the onetime rockabilly revivalist is learning to pull it off nicely. For one thing, he plays it like he means it - this is no smirky, David Lee Roth-style camp-fest. For another, his hot guitar work gives the brassy tunes, mostly originals this time, a contemporary vitality. Setzer should forget about crooning - the slow stuff here is the weakest. But there's no denying the fun of the up-tempo material. Three Stars

SOURCE: - Nick Cristiano

Hayden/``Everything I Long For''

In its opening verses, ``Skates,'' one of 14 songs on the debut of Canadian singer-songwriter Hayden, sounds like typical slow blues. Hayden spends a long time setting the scene, using his raw, sandpapery voice to summon what seems like a disproportionate amount of anguish. It's not until the closing chorus, some six minutes later, that we learn what's up: A man has vowed to skate along a frozen river until he finds the remains of his wife who drowned the previous summer.

Hayden, at 24 already a master of the narrative with a zinger at the end, gravitates toward the dark. ``Everything I Long For'' (Outpost) contains a disturbing song, ``When This Is Over,'' told from the perspective of Susan Smith's oldest son as his mother drives her car into the lake. That song may earn Hayden some notoriety, but the less sensational stuff merits close attention. Few songwriters have so fully captured the emotional trauma of trying to make contact with a stranger (the Neil Young-influenced ``Hardly'') or the joy of calling in sick to spend time with a lover (``We Don't Mind''). Four Stars

SOURCE: - Tom Moon

JAZZ Ahmad Jamal/``The Essence Part 1''

The Pittsburgh-born pianist has turned 65, but the only security he's qualifying for is Social, not musical. Jamal's spry romanticism remains a worthy purchase. Few pianists can emulate his dynamic shifts or the percussive bursts that spring from his fingers. Jamal is still full of surprises, such as the way he ends the minor-keyed tune ``Flight'' with a stunning major chord. It's also refreshing how his tunes have different sections, and not just the melody followed slavishly by the solos. Even putting aside technical aspects, Jamal's music is hugely enjoyable. You can dance to it or analyze it. Either way, it's a lark. Three Stars

SOURCE: - Karl Stark

Ed Wiley/``Until Sunrise''

This CD (Swing Records), originally recorded in 1993, boasts the big, succulent sound of Ed Wiley, a true Texas tenor born in Houston. Now a Doylestown, Pa., resident, Wiley exudes that Gene Ammons vibrato on ``My Foolish Heart,'' shows some good turns on tunes such as ``Jug Love,'' and has the good sense to engage producer Charles Fambrough and some great Philly sideman. Much of this CD would sound good blasting through the sound system in a large, leaded-gas-guzzling American car.

SOURCE: - Karl Stark

SOURCE: Compiled from staff and wire services.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) The Surfaris are among the groups featured on Rhino's ``Cowabunga

The Surf Box.''

(2) Vince Gill keeps the quality coming on his seventh album, ``High Lonesome Sound.''

(3) Guitarist Brian Setzer focuses on original tunes for his second big-band effort.