SOUND CHECK.

Hole/``Celebrity Skin'' (Geffen)

Bet you thought the Go-Go's were just a bad memory. Guess again. The '80s new-wave girl group, plus Echo & the Bunnymen and other well-coifed shadows from MTV's skinny-tie past, is just one of many points of retro-reference for actress-model-whatever Courtney Love and company in Hole's latest effort, which kicks off with a soaring pop-metal riff and the self-referential plea, ``Oh, make me over.'' Love, as usual, is best addressing her own myth, which she does throughout this only occasionally satisfying album. Unfortunately, ``Celebrity Skin'' never quite matches the heights of Hole's previous disc, ``Live Through This,'' which boasted material far superior to such tepid fare as ``Malibu'' (naturally including a cameo from Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go's) and ``Playing Your Song.'' And for all the commotion surrounding old flame Billy Pumpkin's contributions to a handful of tracks, it doesn't really add up to much more than a heap of refried cool beans. Two Stars

- Fred Shuster

Los Super Seven/``Los Super Seven'' (RCA)

This is a Mex-American supergroup: David Hildago and Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos), conjunto king Flaco Jimenez, fellow Texas Tornado Freddy Fender, Texas stalwart Joe Ely and others performing mostly trad tunes. Only two of the 13 songs were written in the '90s, but they've been arranged and updated, and now cool like a plate of ceviche and warm like a shot of reposado. Selected for their resonance with the performers, here are songs of desire, adulation and reclamation that bob and weave, trot and gallop. At under 45 minutes, though, the album is not up to contemporary standards in length. But this music was in your 'hood long before you were, and instead of closing the window, give it a good listen. Three Stars

- James Hames 

Jennifer Kimball/``Veering From the Wave'' (Imaginary Road)

Kimball left her musical partner Jonatha Brooke and the group they formed together called the Story four years ago. On her first solo effort, Kimball affirms it was her vocal prowess that gave the duo its harmonic lift. Brooke was the primary songwriter then, but Kimball expresses herself here with lamentations of ache and jeremiads of loss, with a speck of hope on the side. The hooky ``Kissing in the Car'' has already made the KPCC-FM (89.3) playlist. Another goodie, ``(This is) My New Vow,'' hauntingly documents a broken marriage. ``Gagna's Song'' features Robert Fripp-inspired guitar work. In weighing the Brooke-less Kimball and the Kimball-less Brooke, you realize each without the other has its positive points. They share musicians, and have offered thanks to each other in liner notes, but still (nostalgia for the Story aside) each is only a little better than half as good. Kimball plays the Troubadour on Sept. 26. Two Stars

- James Hames

Bela Bartok/``Bluebeard's Castle'' (Deutsche Grammophon)

Bartok's lone venture into opera has fared exceptionally well on record, partly because it's tailor-made for the medium: It's an hour in length, it requires just two singers, and its simple narrative is barely compromised without visuals. But it also has been blessed with fine performances: Conductor Adam Fisher with Eva Marton (Judith) and Samuel Ramey (Duke) come to mind, as do readings led by Kertesz, Haitink and an earlier performance by Pierre Boulez. Here, Boulez takes another crack at this dark and mysterious score, and his approach is vivid and precise, etching a clearly articulated path for his singers. It's an intriguing pair: Laszlo Polgar's superb musicianship prevents his silky bass from being overpowered by Jessye Norman's full-throated soprano. Three Stars

- Mark Stryker

Detroit Free Press 

Otis Redding/``Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology'' (Rhino)

For the sake of history, this wonderful two-disc collection includes Redding's first semi-hit with the Pinetoppers, an adequate cover of early idol Little Richard's ``Shout Bamalama.'' But the story really begins with his impeccable first single for Volt, ``These Arms of Mine,'' and somehow keeps getting stronger and better. There is the series of heartbreaking ballads: ``Pain in My Heart,'' ``That's How Strong My Love Is'' and the breathtaking ``I've Been Loving You Too Long.'' There are mythic soul shakers: ``Respect,'' ``Mr. Pitiful'' and Redding's outrageous reworking of the standard ``Try a Little Tenderness.'' It all culminates in the tragically prophetic ``Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay.'' Also included is a sampling of Redding's brilliant showmanship during a live set at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. If Rhino really wants to do the world a service, a complete Redding live compilation would be an excellent start. Four Stars

- Terry Lawson

Detroit Free Press

The Pixies/``At the BBC'' (Elektra)

``At the BBC'' is a nice addendum to the two-disc ``Death to the Pixies'' retrospective released earlier this year, filling in some of the cracks and turning up some rare gems: a deliciously tortured version of the Beatles' ``Honey Pie,'' a queer little UFO tale called ``Manta Ray,'' and a pixilated version of ``Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song),'' from the David Lynch film ``Eraserhead.'' If nothing else, the recent slew of live Pixies material proves that the band's beguiling atmospherics and whiplash dynamics were not the results of studio trickery. Three and One Half Stars

- Jonathan Valania

Philadelphia Inquirer

Various/``Tammy Wynette Remembered'' (Asylum)

This disc features a female-heavy collection of some of country's best singers and some of the pairings of singers and songs are impeccable. Trisha Yearwood's take on `` 'Til I Get It Right'' is stunning, and Rosanne Cash's ``D-I-V-O-R-C-E'' is eerily appropriate. Wynonna growls her way through a threatening ``Woman to Woman,'' and K.T. Oslin's ``Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad'' is feisty to perfection. There are also a couple of near-misses: Melissa Ethridge's ``Apartment 9'' is no improvement over the original, and the usually reliable Lorrie Morgan is left adrift by the string accompaniment to ``You and Me.'' George Jones weighs in with an emotional ``Take Me to Your World,'' and in one of the unlikeliest of pairings, Wynette makes her final recording with head Beach Boy Brian Wilson on his plaintive ``In My Room.'' This is a great collection of tunes that almost hits a bull's-eye. But in the end, your money and time are better spent on a collection of Wynette's greatest hits performed the way they should be: by her. Three Stars

- James M. Tarbox

St. Paul Pioneer Press 

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/``John Tavener: `The Protecting Veil' ''

Tavener's ``Song for Athene'' was chosen for performance at the funeral of Princess Diana. The principal work on this disc, ``The Protecting Veil,'' takes its name from a miracle said to have taken place in Constantinople in 902, when the Virgin Mary appeared to shelter a Christian congregation from Saracen attack. It's possible to listen to this work for solo cello and string orchestra without knowing its background, but it is so steeped in Orthodox tradition that to approach it purely as music is to miss something essential. Yo-Yo Ma has made the virtuoso, declamatory cello part his own, and the Baltimore Symphony's string section, conducted by David Zinman, provides a powerful backdrop. ``Wake Up and Die,'' here recorded for the first time, is shorter and more overtly dramatic, with a rocketing cello phrase returning again and again to lend unity to the piece. The orchestra's cello section stands as a foil to the soloist's ruminations, and once again Zinman shapes the score with loving care. Three Stars

- Michael Fleming

St. Paul Pioneer Press

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Photo

Photo: Cesar Rosas, left, and Flaco Jimenez polish off old tunes and give them '90s arrangements on the supergroup Los Super Seven's self-titled CD.