SOUND CHECK.

STANLEY BROTHERS: ``An Evening Long Ago' (Columbia/DMZ/Legacy) - Three and one half stars

Talk about unearthed. This recording, made in 1956 after a busy day of radio shows, barn dancing and hog calling, finds Carter and Ralph Stanley sitting around a microphone and singing their favorite songs. The whole thing happened in one take, completely unrehearsed and the results are mesmerizing. It's not like the Stanleys needed to practice the material. The songs - old country and bluegrass numbers, folk ballads and traditional Celtic songs, along with a few original adaptations - had been with them their whole lives, and you can sense how much they love them through the sheer pleasure of their playing. Simplicity has rarely sounded this beautiful - or haunting.

- Glenn Whipp

TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: ``True Love'' (V2/BMG) - Two stars

Albums built on celebrity cameos are generally mediocre attempts to put the squeeze on fans. This set involving roots reggae greats Toots & the Maytals is less offensive than usual since the songs are so good they overshadow the straining egos. The best moment is ``54-46 Was My Number,'' where Jeff Beck adds snarling counterpoint to the classic penned by Toots Hibbert about his own prison ID. Also ringing true are readings of ``Never Grow Old'' with Terry Hall, U-Roy and the Skatalites, and a nice ``Take a Trip'' with Bunny Wailer. Eric Clapton's overdubs on the oft-covered ``Pressure Drop,'' meantime, are too polite, and drop-ins by No Doubt, Keith Richards and Ben Harper merely tolerable. Predictably, the hard-hitting Maytals originals, found on countless compilations, are unbeatable.

- Fred Shuster

LAURIE LEWIS & TOM ROZUM ``Guest House'' (HighTone) - Three and one half stars

Bay Area bluegrass legends Lewis and Rozum (she writes and fiddles, he mandolins, both sing) infuse a wide range of influences with an authentic, connecting mountain sound. There's a satiric salute to Woody Guthrie (``Willie Poor Boy''), a passionate one to Bill Monroe and wife (``O My Malissa''), some nicely covered chestnuts from different source genres and folk rants that are as cleverly conceived as they are morally righteous. Lots of dazzling acoustic virtuosity, too.

- Bob Strauss

OSCAR G: ``Live (at) Space'' (Star 69) - Three stars

Oscar G (for Gaetan) might best be called the Miami beat machine. The Cuban-American DJ, who also moonlights as half of both underground-house duos Funky Green Dogs and Murk, has been one of the leading catalysts in a sharp rise in dance-floor fanny bumping; one listen to this seamless two-disc compilation illustrates why. From the opening beats of ``High,'' Gaetan layers a series of infectious tribal tracks (``I Feel Love,'' ``Drums Control'' and ``Desert Rain'') that extend each other's rhythms. The DJ keeps the party going on the second disc, taking the energy to the next level with a killer selection of pulsating drums courtesy of ``Vital 3 (Pt. 1)'' and ``Rock.''

- Phillip Zonkel

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1) STANLEY BROTHER

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