SOUND CHECK.

DANDY WARHOLS: ``Welcome to the Monkey House'' (Capitol) - three stars

For its sequel to 2000's groovy ``Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia,'' the Dandy Warhols pluck Nick Rhodes - yes, the well-coiffed Duran Duran heartthrob - to lend production support. Unsurprisingly, the Portland, Ore., quartet's fourth album, named after Kurt Vonnegut's witty short story collection, comes drenched in 1980s synth-pop. Duran-ies will appreciate the vocal blend of Simon Le Bon and Dandys frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor on ``Plan A,'' while other period influences - including the Cure - are equally easy to spot. For more proof, check out the long-legged stride of Love and Rockets on ``Rock Bottom'' and David Bowie's artful creepiness on ``I Am Sound.'' In stores Tuesday.

- Sandra Barrera

KENNY BURRELL: ``Blue Muse'' (Concord) - three and one half stars

At 72, Burrell continues to make first-rate jazz that is, if not revelatory, still capable of inspiration. The guitarist surprised many with his assured, relaxed singing on his fine ``Lucky So and So'' album two years ago and, pleased with the response, steps in front of the microphone again here on four cuts, including a beautiful tribute to his wife, Katherine, ``Then I Met You.'' Much of ``Blue Muse,'' in fact, is a tribute to loved ones: the lovely ``My Friend Ray'' is a nod to the late legend of the bass, Ray Brown, while the Burrell original ``On Wings of the Spirit,'' is dedicated to departed friends as well. Burrell celebrates his 25th anniversary teaching jazz at UCLA this year and his cool-toned guitar has never sounded better. He's one of the greats.

- Glenn Whipp

VARIOUS: ``Don Letts Presents the Mighty Trojan Sound'' (Trojan/Sanctuary) - four stars

In the midst of reggae's touring season, it doesn't hurt to have a top- notch anthology of the island music's golden age of the late 1960s to the mid-'70s. Compiled by Letts, the Rastafarian DJ credited with introducing Jamaican music to first-generation punk rockers at London's subterranean Roxy Club in 1977, the first half of this 43-track twin-disc set focuses on steely rock steady gems from greats John Holt, the Maytals and the Heptones, as well as brilliant obscurities such as Johnny Clarke's ``None Shall Escape the Judgment'' and Dennis Brown's paranoid ``Man Next Door.'' Disc two is equally enjoyable - 20 flinty instrumentals including classics ``The Liquidator'' and ``Return of Django.''

- Fred Shuster

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS: ``Decoration Day'' (New West) - three stars

Continuing the quixotic but fascinating effort, so magnificently achieved on their last album ``Southern Rock Opera,'' to infuse loud guitar music with real insight and sensitivity, Alabama's Truckers here take on such happy down-home subjects as sibling incest, marital betrayal, suicide and hating your no-good daddy. It's not quite up to ``Opera's'' high standards, but this one's country elements are lovely, the feedback is impressively ear-splitting, and it's still 100 times smarter than anything Skynyrd ever made. See them drive by live Saturday at West Hollywood's Troubadour.

- Bob Strauss

JOE LOVANO NONET: ``On This Day At the Vanguard'' (Blue Note) - three and one half stars

Tenor man Lovano returns to the New York's Vanguard and to the nonet that won him a Grammy for ``52nd Street Themes'' in 2000. Expectations should be high; Lovano and his group more than deliver. Opening with ``At the Vanguard,'' an original in the harmonic style of ``Stompin' at the Savoy,'' the band delivers an excellent seven-track set ranging from the fiery ``Focus'' to a beautiful closing take on Billy Strayhorn's ``My Little Brown Book.'' So many greats - including Lovano - have recorded at the Vanguard, but this session should be particularly meaningful to Coltrane lovers, as it includes his ballad ``After the Rain''

- G.W.

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Andre Csillag/WireImage.com

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