SOUND CHECK : JAZZ.

Mel Torme/``The Mel Torme Collection''

While he's been around since the 1940s, Mel Torme has always been a cult phenomenon, an insiders' insider. Many more people know his name because sitcom star Harry Anderson threw it around on ``Night Court'' than have actually heard Torme sing.

Torme has always taken more chances than his peers, wailing high and wild like a jazz clarinetist, more readily embracing the new pop and rock sounds, and too often betting on the wrong compositional horse.

By separating the wheat from the chaff in his checkered career, this four-disc Rhino box set essentially revises Torme's life, letting us admire him only in his most glorious performances.

Presented in rough chronology, the package moves from his early 1940s submersion in the MelTones harmony group - backing up Bing Crosby on ``Day by Day'' - and then crooning with the Artie Shaw Orchestra.

The set eventually takes us through Torme's daring '80s forays, challenging the Chairman of the Board's supremacy with equally swinging treatments of ``Strangers in the Night'' and ``The Best Is Yet to Come,'' and also getting down with the young kids Was (Not Was) on the bizarre ``Zaz Turned Blue.'' Four Stars

?13- Jonathan Takiff

Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Patrice Rushen/``Haven't You Heard: The Best of Patrice Rushen''

This best-of disc on Rhino contains all of Patrice Rushen's hits from her Elektra years, including ``Hang It Up,'' ``Forget Me Nots,'' ``Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)'' and ``Get Off (You Fascinate Me).''

With 14 cuts, a compilation is bound to have some flab, and it's in the ``ups'': ``Givin' It Up Is Givin' Up,'' ``Look Up'' and ``Never Gonna Give You Up'' are among the weakest tunes. Three Stars

?13- Al Hunter Jr.

Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

rock

Bloodhound Gang/``One Fierce Beer Coaster''

``Crude, rude and socially unacceptable.'' That was an insult a friend of ours used to lob our way when, as juveniles, we'd talk pretty much the way the Bloodhound Gang does on its Geffen debut.

Funny stuff, too. ``Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your Brains Out)'' could be this year's ``Loser'' in that it takes a grim subject (in this case, suicide) and perversely pairs it with a jaunty, feel-good riff. These rowdy Philadelphians recall the Beastie Boys' best frat rock/hip-hop; paging through the coarse lyric sheet looking for pop-culture references is half the fun (unless you are offended by scatological humor).

Musically, Bloodhound Gang borrows equally from rock and hip-hop, turning out catchy material such as ``Fire Water Burn'' and a heavy metal cover of Run-D.M.C.'s ``It's Tricky,'' both of which pile on the guitars (acoustic and electric) and rhymed and rapped vocals.

Judging by some of this tasteless fare, is it any surprise Bloodhound Gang are on the same label that releases Beavis and Butt-head product? Three Stars

?13- Howard Cohen 

Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Local H/``As Good as Dead''

Though this album has been out for a few months, fans have suddenly picked up on the thrashy disc, pushing ``Bound for the Floor'' into the charts and giving life to the band's debut, ``As Good as Dead'' (Island).

The thrashing guitar, the raw scream, the edgy hooks and even the one-note guitar solo in ``Bound for the Floor'' are pure Kurt Cobain.

Recorded by singer-guitarist Scott Lucas with drummer Joe Daniels, Local H gives a clean, low-tech sound to well-written pop tunes. The sparse group makes for a sparse, but never thin sound on disc.

It's carbon-copy alternative rock, but it's remarkably inoffensive and fresh; even fans who hate the imitative sound of Bush and Silverchair might find something to like here. Full of fuzzy, distorted guitar and sharp vocals, ``As Good as Dead'' is a lot more upbeat than its title suggests.

Whether it's the full-on, near-hard-core thrash of ``I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are'' or the mournful, balladlike ``Eddie Vedder,'' the disc suggests Lucas has a lot more vision than most of the imitators. Three Stars

?13- Mark Brown

Orange County Register

rap

Chuck D./``Autobiography of Mistachuck''

Some call him a legend, others a has-been. So it goes for Chuck D., frontman for the seminal hip-hop group Public Enemy. On his first solo joint for Mercury, Chuck proves he still has some life left and plenty more to say.

Chuck aims criticism toward the African-American community on tracks like ``Free Big Willie.'' While his furious vocal delivery has mellowed, he comes out swingin' like the Chuck of old on the aptly titled ``Underdog.''

There also are some smooth musical moves, especially on ``The Pride'' and ``Generation Wrekkked.'' If you're looking for ``Yo! Bum Rush the Show,'' forget it. Try taking the man for what he is now. Two Stars

?13- Mike Floyd

Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

country

Terry Allen/``Human Remains''

Amid the teeming herd of West Texas singer-songwriters, few come as talented as Terry Allen. Perhaps the only thing his often-brilliant songs lacked previously is the right production.

``Human Remains'' (Sugar Hill) gets it right. Allen's inviting form of dementia and wild sense of humor finally has legs and style thanks to some great backup work from Lucinda Williams, Joe Ely and David Byrne. Even that raspy curmudgeon of a voice glimmers on such standouts as ``Gone to Texas'' and ``Buck Naked.''

Allen's songwriting skills have never been questioned. Now that he's put it all together, nothing else should be. Four Stars

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) A more mellow Chuck D. leaves Public Enemy behind on ``Autobiography of Mistachuck.''

(2) Explore the many moods of Mel Torme on a four-disc tribute from Rhino.

(3) Hear Patrice Rushen's memorable hits - and more - on a new ``best of'' disc.