RECORDINGS AT A GLANCE

*Paula Abdul Shut Up and Dance (Virgin; all formats) Remixes make her hits much more trashy-and much more fun. B- (Greg Sandow) *Joan Armatrading Hearts and Flowers (A&M; all formats) Routine insights into love, delivered with unconvincing husky fervor. C (GS)

*The Beach Boys Surfin' Safari & Surfin' USA; Surfer Girl & Shut Down Volume 2; Pet Sounds (Capitol; CD) Reissues of four early albums, combined two to a disc. Plus the long-awaited CD debut of the Boys' masterpiece. B+; A+ (GS)

*Bootsy's Rubber Band Jungle Bass (4th & Broadway/Island; EP; all formats) Enjoyable bass-heavy stew from Bootsy Collins, one of funk's founding fathers. B (GS)

*David Bowie Changesbowie; The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (Rykodisc; all formats) Reissues-with new bonus tracks-of Bowie's classic greatest hits collection, Changesonebowie, and a key early album. A; B (GS)

*Marianne Faithfull Blazing Away (Island; all formats) One new studio track plus live recordings of songs from her repertoire performed at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. Searing, but so brutally monochromatic that their impact weakens as the album proceeds. B- (GS)

*Michael Franks Blue Pacific (Reprise; all formats) Tenth album of light, jazzy pop from a master-sad to say-of better-than-average background music. C+ (GS)

*The Gear Daddies Let's Go Scare Al (PolyGram; CD, T) Small-city life, compassionately observed in homespun countrified rock. A- (GS)

*M.C. Hammer Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (Capitol; all formats) Award-winning rapper hits hard at community problems. A- (GS)

*Roy Hargrove Diamond in the Rough (Novus; all formats) Blues, bop, ballads, and more by an uncommonly gifted 20-year-old trumpeter. B+ (Gary Giddins)

*Jesus Jones Liquidizer (SBK; all formats) Sharp young British band assaults the ear with a wall of pulsing rhythm, mixing styles ranging from metal to hip-hop. B+ (GS)

*Kennedy Rose Hai-Ku (Pangaea; all formats) Evocative acoustic-pop songs of love, lust, and loneliness. A (Alanna Nash)

*Loketo Soukous Trouble (Shanachie; CD, T) Afro-pop band from Zaire with a name that means ''move your hips''-and you will. B (GS)

*Madonna I'm Breathless: Music From and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy (Sire/Warner; all formats) Brilliant re-creation of '30s and '40s musical styles, spiced with coy sexiness. A (GS)

*Milli Vanilli The Remix Album (Arista; all formats) Mostly perfunctory versions of familiar pop megahits. C- (GS)

*Charles Mingus Epitaph (Columbia; 2CD, 2T) The two-hour posthumous opus of a great composer. A (GG)

*Modern English Pillow Lips (TVT; all formats) Adorable postmodern pop; includes a remake of the group's 1983 song ''I Melt With You.'' B+ (GS)

*John Andrew Parks John Andrew Parks (Capitol; all formats, bonus track on CD, T) New artist who sounds like a thoughtful, high-tech cowboy. Pleasant listening. B (GS)

*The Pointer Sisters Right Rhythm (Motown; all formats, bonus track on CD, T) Established group gets back on spiffy (though familiar) track. B (GS)

*The Pretenders packed! (Sire/Warner; all formats) Chrissie Hynde has new musicians again and sounds depressed; a quieter, more glum album than Get Close. B- (GS)

*Revenge One True Passion (Capitol; all formats, bonus track on CD) Troubling, dark electronic pop from new band headed by New Order bassist Peter Hook. B+ (GS) + *The Sex Pistols Live at Chelmsford Top Security Prison (Restless; all formats) Dim-sounding music; priceless anarchic chatter. B- (GS)

*Shenandoah Extra Mile (Columbia; CD, T) Intelligent ballads and jaunty rhythm numbers; nicely crafted but unflinchingly commercial. B (AN)

*Soul II Soul Vol. II 1990 A New Decade (Virgin; all formats) Deeply satisfying second album by last year's British dance sensation. A (GS)

*Tanya Tucker Tennessee Woman (Capitol; CD, T) Bland ballads and pallid country-pop from one of country's most distinctive voices. C+ (AN)

*Various Artists Have a Nice Day (Vols. 1-10) (Rhino; CD, T, bonus tracks on CD) Ten zany volumes of '70s pop trash. B (GS)

*Buckwheat Zydeco Where There's Smoke There's Fire (Island; all formats) Lively Cajun beat, with lots of accordion; includes a fetching cover of ''Route 66.'' B+ (GS)

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