SOUND CHECK.

BRIAN WILSON ``Smile'' (BriMel/Nonesuch) - Three and one half stars

In the booklet accompanying ``Smile,'' Wilson's resurrected rock opus, there is a picture of a display box containing curios and knickknacks - some cute, some fascinating. ``Smile'' is like those curios - as interesting as the individual pieces may be, they don't add up to the masterpiece that critics and fans believed the 37-year-old abandoned work to be.

Most people will be familiar with bits of ``Smile'' - the exhilarating ``Heroes and Villains,'' the intricate ``Surf's Up'' and the exquisite (and reworked) ``Good Vibrations.'' Strung together as one piece (Wilson once called it a ``teenage symphony to God''), ``Smile'' is a strangely whimsical tale of America, with songs of prayer and topics on Indians, Plymouth Rock and ``Mrs. O'Leary's Cow.'' Many of the lyrics are by the enigmatic Van Dyke Parks, clever with a pun but often simply puzzling.

Except for those previously noted, the rest of the songs don't have the easy pop sensibility Wilson is known for. Instead, there are intriguing interplays of melodies and harmonies with odd sounds from the barnyard and workshop, as well as chimes and electronic instruments.

With its complex harmonies and wit, though, ``Smile'' does show Wilson's musical brilliance. But you have to wonder, had he not been a Beach Boy and been formally trained, would Wilson have had a greater outlet for his creativity. But we know one thing for sure; we would have missed out on a lot of memorable pop tunes.

- R.L.

SENSES FAIL: ``Let It Enfold You'' (Drive-Thru/Vagrant) - Two and one half stars

This quintet of horror-loving Joisey boys cries bloody murder on its 13- track debut, which opens with a chain-saw-wielding power-punk thriller. Rapid-fire percussion and fast-paced guitar rock buzzes around singer Buddy Nielsen's punk sneer, which escalates to blood-curdling screams on ``The Irony of Dying on Your Birthday,'' a song that draws from the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell. OK, so this isn't the most sonically adventurous album in the world, but if you listen between the noise, you'll get it.

- Sandra Barrera

QUEEN LATIFAH ``The Dana Owens Album'' (Tommy Boy/Universal) - Three stars

It won't be a surprise to anyone who saw Queen Latifah, whose real name is Dana Owens, playing a lounge singer in the 1998 film ``Living Out Loud,'' or in her Oscar-nominated performance in the 2002 musical ``Chicago,'' that the former hip-hop artist can deftly handle a jazz ballad or blues rocker. She does that with surprising and pleasing ease on this album of what can loosely be described as standards.

Latifah roars on ``I Put a Spell on You'' and shows her vocal dexterity with Joe Zawinul's ``Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.'' She also does a smooth, lively duet with the Rev. Al Green on ``Simply Beautiful.''

While the arrangements and approach to these songs are fairly standard, Latifah's energy, natural style and poise in tackling such tunes as ``Lush Life'' makes you realize that you have to take her talents seriously. She even interjects some soul into ``California Dreaming.''

- Rob Lowman

TONY JOE WHITE: ``The Heroines'' (Sanctuary) - Three and one half stars

Yes, the ``Polk Salad Annie'' guy is still around - and still making swamp blues and Louisiana boogies that register a few degrees down the laid-back scale from J.J. Cale. Half the cuts on this album are duets with women he likes. That's Shelby Lynne on the leavin' song, Lucinda Williams doing the dirty song, Emmylou Harris on the spooky one, Jessi Colter on the classic country thang and TJ's daughter Michelle singing along to the song about Mexico. The ladies make their gracious, growling host - more a lowdown, cool presence than a crooner himself - sound good.

- Bob Strauss

MARK KNOPFLER: ``Shangri-La'' (Warner Bros.) - Three stars

This CD from the former frontman for Dire Straits haltingly begins like a train pulling away from the station with the sullen ``5:15 A.M.'' But soon it's nicely clackety clacking along, fueled by Knopfler's tasty guitar licks and familiar vocals. It then travels through a uneasy world populated by hustlers and pitchmen, an Elvis Presley condemned by his success who can never go ``Back to Tupelo,'' a Sonny Liston caught in the conspiracy of life.

There's also an ode to skiffleman Lonnie Donegan and a lovely ballad, ``All That Matters.'' A couple of numbers like ``Postcards From Paraguay'' move nicely along, but despite his underlying anger, Knopfler never gets up a head of steam. You just wish he would have stoked the engine a couple of times.

- R.L.

R.E.M.: ``Around the Sun'' (Warner Bros.) - Two and one half stars

The latest from these aging alt-rockers has the feel of the funk that descends after a relationship goes sour, ruminations on what went wrong and visits to places your ex frequented.

Not that you expect the remaining members of R.E.M. - vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills - to be a barrel of laughs, but songs like ``Shiny Happy People'' and ``Orange Crush'' at least showed a sense of humor. That's pretty scarce on this collection, which ranges from solemn ballads to moderate pop rock within the signature R.E.M. sounds of jangly guitar and Stipe's atmospheric vocals coupled with the band's increasingly sophisticated and occasionally experimental production.

What saves ``Around the Sun'' - somewhat - is R.E.M.'s ability to come up with the occasionally haunting moment (``Electron Blue'') and add edge to some of the songs (``Boy in the Well'').

The tunes aren't simply rooted in the personal, though. There are political concerns as well, as in ``Final Straw,'' a protest against the war in Iraq. But by the time you get to the final cut - the title song, ``Around the Sun'' - the band's dour, refined sound begins to wear thin.

- R.L.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1) Brian Wilson

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

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