SOUND CHECK.

STEELY DAN/``TWO AGAINST NATURE'' (Giant/Reprise)

In Steely Dan's universe, time moves at a snail's pace, but their sound remains as sharp and engaging as it did on ``Gaucho,'' the tightly wound duo's last studio outing nearly 20 years ago. Mixing pop hooks with jazz harmonies and sly, cryptic lyrics, the instantly recognizable Dan still fashions music that arguably deserves its own category. Too edgy for smooth-jazz radio and too sophisticated for most pop and rock stations, Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen seem destined to reach a loyal following that includes adult rock radio, critics and a bunch of unusually patient fans. Too bad for everyone else because ``Two Against Nature'' is a superb record, immaculately crafted and a perfect fit next to such gleaming Dan highlights as the timeless ``Aja'' and ``The Royal Scam.'' There's no museumlike quality here. The songs, including an infectious, radio-ready ``Cousin Dupree,'' the darkly poignant ``What a Shame About Me'' and the top-notch groove of the title track, are fresh and exciting, making for delicious repeat listening. ``Two Against Nature'' starts the year on a joyous note. Four stars

- Fred Shuster

SMASHING PUMPKINS/``MACHINA/the machines of God'' (Virgin)

Almost two years ago, the Pumpkins released the electronica-tinged ``Adore,'' a dour collection that suggested rock auteur Billy Corgan had hit a creative wall. For the band's hideously titled fifth effort, Corgan attempts to balance his pretentious ballad leanings with his pretentious metal fixation with often unlistenable results. It's not just Corgan's strangled I'm-so-scary delivery that grates this time. On such plainly unappealing tracks as the winsome ``Heavy Metal Machine'' and the 10-minute ``Glass and the Ghost Children,'' you hear the self indulgent blather of someone who's been told he's an Artist so much he actually believes it. It's a shame because Corgan has created some memorable music, chiefly on the band's 1993 breakthrough, ``Siamese Dream,'' which remains the Pumpkins' only essential disc. One and one half stars

- F.S.

YO LA TENGO/``AND THEN NOTHING TURNED ITSELF INSIDE-OUT'' (Matador)

Yo La Tengo's hushed, gently melodic music stems from the musical and marital union of drummer Georgia Hubley and guitarist Ira Kaplan, who have taken the Velvet Underground's inspiration to gorgeous heights of indie-pop minimalism. On the guitar band's recommended 10th album, the group's moody sound and textures are expanded. Frequent listenings turn up new spices simmering alongside pulsing beats, the strum of an acoustic guitar, nearly whispered vocals, washes of organ and shimmering vibraphone. The band appears March 13 at the El Rey Theatre. Three and one half stars

- F.S.

VARIOUS/``ORGAN-IZED'' (High Street)

This 13-track compilation proves that the Hammond B3 organ is alive and well. Indeed, organ-led jazz has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance these days, and ``Organ-ized'' features some of the instrument's young lions (Larry Goldings, Joey DeFrancesco) along with the grand master himself, Jimmy Smith. There is a bit of sameness to some of the modern- style selections, but the album includes enough variety (fusion, blues, r&b) to keep any party movin' and groovin'. Three stars

- Glenn Whipp

SHEILA CHANDRA/``QUIET'' (Narada World)

Chandra - a fiercely independent singer of Indian descent, who melds her otherworldly vocal talents, East-meets-West sensibilities and minimalist accompaniment in often startling intersections of atmospheric sound - here reissues one of her oldest solo recordings, from 1984. This is, indeed, ``quiet'' stuff, wordless waves of vocalizing laid over spare Western and Indian instrumentation, hypnotic in an understated way, but without the driving bliss-trance sounds of more traditional South Asian artists. She covers some of the same interesting if geographically indefinable territory as Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard, with roughly the same admirably high success rate. More recently, Chandra's work has been combined with more explicitly dance-oriented sounds by others, a fusion that promises fruitful new avenues for the work of this distinctive artist. Three stars

- David Bloom

LAMBERT/``POMONALF''; ``TIRESIAS'' (Hyperion)

The Englishman Constant Lambert (1905-51) was a busy conductor, especially of ballet, but also a gifted composer and writer of music. These two mythologically based ballet scores, from the beginning and end of his too-short career, are both engaging and sophisticated.

``Pomonalf,'' for a 1921 ballet by Bronislava Nijinska, sounds like a suave English gloss on neoclassical-period Stravinsky - except that it predates the Stravinsky scores it most evokes (``Apollon musagete'' and ``Danses concertantes''). Completed just before Lambert's death, ``Tiresias'' is more astringent and elusive, befitting the Frederick Ashton ballet's tale of a man turned into a woman and back again. But, with occasional hints of ``The Firebird'' and ``The Rite of Spring,'' this too is eloquently wrought.

Both scores are played with great vitality and care by the Leeds-based English Northern Philharmonia, and Hyperion's clear, spacious sonics are ideal. Three and one half stars

- Scott Cantrell

Dallas Morning News

AC/DC/``STIFF UPPER LIP'' (Elektra)

What a bind AC/DC is in. After a five-year hiatus, the band is set to release its first studio album since 1995's platinum-selling ``Ballbreaker.'' But a lot has changed since then. AC/DC's brand of hugely powerful guitar chords and memorable melodies seldom cracks the charts nowadays.

Yet once again, AC/DC has refused to change - ``Stiff Upper Lip'' is uncompromisingly AC/DC. There are two kinds of listeners: those who love AC/DC and those who hate them. The former will love ``Stiff,'' an album that finds the band churning one meaty, grinding tune after the other, with Brian Johnson's vocals sounding a bit strained at times, but convincing (although unintelligible).

The cover track is the first single. It's a thumping, immediately catchy tune, which gains stature from guitarist Angus Young's superb riffs, a reminder of how good a rock guitar can sound.

``Stiff'' falters midway - you won't find much nuance here - but the songwriting is consistently good, even at its most drawn-out, as is the case with ``Come Out And Get It.'' The final tune, ``Give It Up,'' says it all, blending pure fun with sheer force. Three stars

- Leila Cobo

Miami Herald

THERAPY?/``SUICIDE PACT - YOU FIRST'' (Arc 21)

So you say there have been no real hard-rock records since Guns `N Roses self-destructed, Metallica cut their hair and hip-hop rhythms started encroaching on rock CDs?

You'll happily note Ireland's heaviest headbangers are in good form on this aggressive retro metal CD, and you won't have to endure canned hip-hop drum tracks or the politicizing of a Rage Against the Machine. Still lyrically dark and musically aggressive, Therapy? nonetheless has a new sense of levity (``He's Not That Kind of Girl'') and the ability to do a ballad without going soft (``Six Mile Water''). Three stars

- Howard Cohen 

Miami Herald

GREG OSBY/``THE INVISIBLE HAND'' (Blue Note)

Alto saxophonist-clarinetist Osby is joined by guitarist Jim Hall and pianist Andrew Hill, two elder statesman of jazz who have never played together, as well as younger musicians like flute and tenor sax man Gary Thomas, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Teri Lyne Carrington for his 14th Blue Note session.

Good work. An enigmatic and lean collection of expertly produced after- hours jazz, with no traces of the hip-hop Osby once folded into his music, and with Hall's economical leads shadowing the melody (note the right channel on ``Ashes'') standing out. Not a wasted note.

- H.C.

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Photo: no caption (Steely Dan)