SOUND CHECK.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY: ``Now What'' (Capitol) - Two and one half stars

The sophomore effort from the King's daughter picks up where her low-impact modern adult-contemporary debut left off. This time, Presley enlisted the help of mercenary composer Linda Perry for six of the 11 listed tracks (the 12th is a revamped version of the Ramones' ``Here Today, Gone Tomorrow'' featuring Sex Pistols guitarist/local radio host Steve Jones) in a concise and sometimes stirring pop-rock set aimed at critics, naysayers and anybody else who might've crossed her.

The 37-year-old Presley admits she'll never be as royal as dad, a sentiment emphasized in ``I'll Figure It Out,'' ``Turbulence'' and the title track, but her first-person accounts lend conviction to often generic material. If you're not already a fan, return to sender.

- Ryan Ritchie

WILL SMITH: ``Lost and Found'' (Interscope) - Three stars

As a top-grossing actor, this all-around nice guy doesn't have to make records. But on his entertaining ninth album, refreshingly designed for an all-ages audience, the affable ``Men in Black'' star still gets a kick from hip-hop. Laced with useful dance-oriented beats, memorable choruses and just-right cameos from Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg, ``Lost and Found'' is the kind of non-moronic rap product that's become endangered - good, clean, old-school fun. Best moments include the irresistible party anthem ``Switch'' and ``If You Can't Dance,'' a fond tip of the backward cap to the golden DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince era. Elsewhere, on the amusing ``Mr. Niceguy,'' Smith slams a well-known Big Apple broadcast gossip who ``better leave me alone, before I buy your radio station and send you home.'' With $20 mil a picture, it's not an idle threat.

- Fred Shuster

GREG TROOPER: ``Make It Through This World'' (Sugar Hill) - Three and one half stars

Folk-rocker Trooper takes a triumphal turn toward blue-eyed soul with this melodious, kickin' new album. Produced by Southern studio legend Dan Penn (who wrote ``Dark End of the Street,'' for pity's sake), ``Make It'' layers on the electric keyboards and rhythm sections. But Trooper's songwriting trademarks - lyrical playfulness, emotionally enveloping narratives - never get overwhelmed by the stronger sound. Few match Trooper's ability to tweak cliched expressions of love and loss into refreshing new insights, and his gruff yet somehow precise voice still makes it sound like he means every word.

- Bob Strauss

JOE WILLIAMS WITH BEN WEBSTER: ``Havin' a Good Time'' (Hyena) - Three and one half stars

Here's the story: Williams, the great, honey-smooth singer, arrives with his trio at a Providence nightclub on a snowy night in 1964 and finds Webster sitting in a corner, saxophone in hand. Webster asks if he can sit in. The results - a once-in-a-lifetime pairing of Williams and Webster - had gathered dust for 40 years until Williams' estate discovered a reel-to-reel tape.

Now, thanks to invaluable archivist and producer Joel Dorn, we can listen to the pairing of two of jazz's most personable, warm and beloved figures. The set, performed for just a few lucky people, swings between blues and ballads, the highlight being a spontaneous version of ``That's All,'' with Webster's gorgeous sax piercing your heart in a way only he could.

- Glenn Whipp

VARIOUS: ``World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's a Real Thing'' (Luaka Bop/BMG) - Three and one half stars

We already knew about Os Mutantes, Brazil's seriously warped psych pioneers of the late '60s. But we had no idea a lysergic spell was also cast in polyrhythmic West Africa. This shimmering set reveals early-'70s Afro-funk under the influence in jarring tracks from the likes of Gambia's Super Eagles, whose explosive noise combines keyboards, sitar sounds and early pedal effects, giving the disc its title track.

Transcendentally great.

- F.S.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Lisa Marie Presley)

Jim Cooper/Associated Press

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