*** Towa Tei

SOUND MUSEUM

(Elektra)

Former Deee-Lite trickster Towa Tei packs his second solo album with sufficient diversity to make the United Colors of Benetton look positively monochromatic. Despite the lofty title, there's nothing musty or didactic about this charming object lesson in how different grooves -- from house to hip-hop, from bossa nova to bubblegum -- can yield a disc that's more than the sum of its variegated parts. The glittering array of guest stars, including rapper Biz Markie, poet Ken Nordine, and international pop tart Kylie Minogue, cavort through the frisky tracks like the cast of a demented variety show. A few offerings prove less tasty than they promise on paper (a samba cover of Hall & Oates's "Private Eyes"), but Sound Museum is essentially light and refreshing, just far enough left of center to appeal to a wide range of palates.

-- Kurt B. Reighley