SOUND CHECK.

PAUL MCCARTNEY: ``Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'' (Capitol) - Three stars

For his most satisfying effort since side one of ``Band on the Run,'' McCartney stows the overblown strings-laden trifles that make his post-Beatles output so easy to ignore. Here, working with producer Nigel Godrich, the Radiohead and Beck collaborator (for whatever that's worth), it's back to basics - which doesn't mean Chuck Berry-inspired rockers.

The seductive new disc instead resembles one of McCartney's earliest solo albums, handcrafted and tumbledown, with Paul playing all the instruments on many of the 13 tracks. But, thankfully, Sir Plucky is hiding in the shadows.

This is the brooding Paul, and a welcome tension is evident in the album's most strikingly introspective moments, ``At the Mercy'' and ``Riding to Vanity Fair,'' both downbeat, gray and approaching bitterness. In the world of ``Chaos and Creation,'' silly love songs and ebony-and-ivory platitudes are kept in the cupboard.

The mood is not totally overcast. Pretty melodies, never really remarkable, and Beatles references abound - ``English Tea'' brings to mind ``Martha My Dear'' and the marvelous ``Jenny Wren'' could be an alt version of ``Blackbird.'' Nice balance to an unexpected album.

- Fred Shuster

ROLLING STONES: ``A Bigger Bang'' (Virgin) - Two stars

The party line on every Stones album since 1978 is ``it's a return to form - their best since `Some Girls!' '' Then a week later, the used bins are overflowing and you never hear about it again. Like those now-forgotten discs, ``A Bigger Bang'' has a moment or two. Opener ``Rough Justice'' is the best of it, a beautifully ragged formula of edge-of-disaster drums, inane lyrics and rhythm guitar that makes you want to reach for an adult beverage. Little else has legs, partly because the material is mediocre and partly because the entire enterprise is just tiresome.

- F.S.

TIM RIES: ``The Rolling Stones Project'' (Concord) - Three and one half stars

Saxophonist Ries, who has played with the Stones on tour since 1999, has produced a fabulously entertaining jazz set of Jagger-Richards songs that delivers plenty of satisfaction whether you get your Charlies from Parker or Watts. Keef, Ron Wood and Watts are among the big-name guests, but the standout is Norah Jones' stunning reading of ``Wild Horses,'' accompanied by Ries and guitarist Bill Frisell, offering a bigger bang than anything on the new Stones album.

- Glenn Whipp

JAMES McMURTRY: ``Childish Things'' (Compadre) - Three and one half stars

It's no mystery why McMurtry is one of Texas' most effective musical storytellers; it's in the genes inherited from his dad, ``Lonesome Dove'' author Larry McMurtry. A talk-singer with a sure sense of detail and a blistering back-up band, McMurtry's casts a typically jaundiced eye on family, nostalgia and - unusual for him - America, in the snarling tour of 21st-century problems ``We Can't Make It Here.'' That one's been called ``brave'' and sounds like everything Steve Earle's protested for the last five years, but for the most part this latest album is a rambling, raucous celebration of rock and wordcraft.

- Bob Strauss

VARIOUS: ``Sounds Eclectico'' (Nacional) - Four stars

The latest in this long-running series goes for Latin musicians as diverse as their dialects. From Sidestepper's hypnotic Colombian-influenced electronic groove ``Deja'' to Cuban diva Omara Portuondo's stunning bolero ``No Me Vayas a Enganar,'' the set of live cuts really works. Other goodies include Oscar-winning Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, who offers his gorgeous ``El Pianista del Gueto Varsovia,'' based on ``The Pianist,'' Wladyslaw Szpilman's autobiography. Colombian group Aterciopelados also brings a winner with ``Baracunatana,'' before Los Lobos hits a grand slam with ``Carabina 30-30.''

- Sandra Barrera

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Photo:

(1) no caption (Paul McCartney)

Jo Hale/Getty Images

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