The weeks before Thanksgiving are traditionally a busy time for the recording industry, as big stars race to get new albums out in time for the Christmas rush. But today's slate of new releases is so star-studded that industry pundits have already dubbed it "Super Tuesday." Among the biggest stars coming out today are Garth Brooks, whose "Double Live" recaps his 1997 Central Park concert; Jewel, who follows up her septuple-platinum debut with "Spirit"; and Mariah Carey, who celebrates her string of chart-topping hits with "#1's." Also out today is "My Love is Your Love," Whitney Houston's first non-soundtrack album in eight years. Copies of Houston's album were not available at press time; look for a review in tomorrow's Sun.

Garth Brooks

"Double Live" (Capitol 97424)

Sun score: ** 1/2

Garth Brooks is a genuine pop-culture phenomenon. And he should be -- he certainly works hard enough at it.

Not content with being the biggest star in country, Brooks wants to go down as the most popular recording artist in history. Already, sales of his album catalog are ap- proaching those of the Beatles, and with the release of "Double Live" (Capitol 97424, arriving in stores today), he comes one step closer to surpassing them.

For Brooks' fans, this is thrilling news. Country music may be celebrated as the sound of the American heartland, but it runs a poor second to rock and soul on the pop charts. So even though Brooks' albums routinely sell in the millions, his success has been discounted by much of the music press as "merely" a

country phenomenon.

The release of "Double Live" may change that. Recorded (for the most part) during Brooks' record-breaking 1997 concert in New York's Central Park, Brooks hopes that this double-CD set will sell a million copies in its first week of release, passing the 960,000 mark set by Pearl Jam's "Vitalogy" in 1994.

But as much as that sort of marketing ambition may help Brooks prove that he's under-valued as a pop star, such relentless focus on sales and chart records is enough to make you wonder: Garth, what about the music?

"Double Live" ought to be about the breadth and depth of Brooks' catalog. Its 25-song set list includes 17 country chart-toppers and ranges musically from the hoe-down energy of "Rodeo" and honky-tonk grit of "Friends In Low Places" to the pop passion of "Shameless" and the gospel- fueled uplift of "We Shall Be Free." It should, in short, incorporate everything that has made Brooks the success he is.

And yet, with few exceptions, the performances on "Double Live" rarely rise above the perfunctory. To his credit, the playing is remarkably clean, though how much of that is actual performance and how much was fixed in overdubs is anybody's guess (the album credits 23 musicians, somewhat more than were seen onstage).

Either way, the music evinces more polish than passion, as Brooks seems more interested in playing off the crowd's enthusiasm than in taking the music to another level.

There are exceptions, of course. "Long Neck Bottle" swings a little harder, thanks to guest Steve Wariner's acoustic guitar, and "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" takes on an almost Skynyrd-style ferocity as Brooks and his band push the tune to its limits.

But on the whole, "Double Live" stands mainly as a monument to Brooks' desire to be the biggest and best-selling country artist ever. Which is a shame, really. Because in his obsession to break as many records a possible, Brooks is slowly turning into the Michael Jackson of country music.

Worst of all, he seems to be doing so at the expense of his own creativity. When he was building his audience, Brooks released new albums on a regular basis. These days, though, he seems more interested in exploiting his catalog -- both through "Double Live" and "The Limited Series" boxed set -- than in broadening his repertoire. Here's hoping that next year, he spends less time chasing records and more time making them.

Sundial: To hear excerpts from Garth Brooks' new release, "Double Live," call Sundial at 410-783-1800 and enter the code 6196. For other local Sundial numbers, see the directory on Page 2B.

Jewel

"Spirit" (Atlantic 82950)

Sun score: *

Lord knows, Jewel means well.

Speaking about her new album, "Spirit" (Atlantic 82950, arriving in stores today), the 24-year old singer/songwriter told Billboard, "I wanted to write a record that was an antidote to all the things that made me worry in the world, so that it's comforting somehow."

There's no doubt that "Spirit" will do just that for those fans who looked to Jewel's first album, "Pieces of Me," for solace and insight. It's chockablock with sensitive, acoustic ballads, comforting songs about love and caring, injustice and cruelty, and the quest to become a more spiritually aware being.

Everyone else, "Spirit" will likely "comfort" into a coma.

Beautifully crafted and hopelessly shallow, "Spirit" is to folk music what greeting cards are to philosophy. Its songs sound deep and important and are sung with just enough quavering emotionality to assure us that Jewel means every word. If you didn't know enough English to understand what she was singing, you might mistake her work for songs of great importance.

Alas, it's too late to unlearn the language. So we have no choice but to listen, and cringe.

Here's Jewel, in "Deep Water," trying to be poetic: "When you're standing in deep water/And you're bailing yourself out with a straw." (No, dear, you bail with a bucket or ladle. With a straw, you just suck.)

Here's Jewel, in "Kiss the Flame," trying to be a social commentator: "There are people selling thoughtlessness/With such casualty." (Go to the dictionary. Look up "casualty." Note that it has nothing to do with the word "casual.")

Here's Jewel, in "Do You," trying to be Bob Dylan-droll: "But you're never quite clear if their glares are sincere/Or really only just second hand." (It's hard to say which is worse -- the "really only," or the whole concept of second-hand glares.)

Here's Jewel, in "Hands," trying to be uplifting: "If I could tell the world just one thing/It would be that we're all OK." (Sorry, Jewel. I'm OK, you're trite.)

The pretentious banalities of the lyric sheet wouldn't be so bad were the music more enthralling. But it's not. "Hands" -- co-written with sometime Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard -- gets close to the easy-going groove of "You Were Meant for Me," but there's nothing on the album that even approaches the catchiness of "Who Will Save Your Soul." Otherwise, it sounds like open-mike night at the local coffee shop.

Bad as it is, though, it's unlikely "Spirit" will end up a total flop. After all, people bought her book of poetry, didn't they?

Sundial: To hear excerpts from Jewel's new release, "Spirit," call Sundial at 410-783-1800 and enter the code 6194. For other local

Sundial numbers, see the directory on Page 2B.

Mariah Carey

#1's (Columbia 69670)

Sun score: *** 1/2

Greatest hits collections generally entail a certain amount of bragging, but few have done so as succinctly as Mariah Carey does with "#1's" (Columbia 69670, arriving in stores today).

Its premise is simple: All 13 of Carey's chart-topping hits are included on the album. There are also four new songs, at least one of which -- a duet with Whitney Houston called "When You Believe" -- is likely to become yet another No. 1.

Compared with other contemporary divas, Carey's run at No. 1 is astonishing. Houston, for instance, has so far scored only 11 No. 1's, as has Madonna. Janet Jackson has seven to her credit, while Celine Dion has racked up only three.

Despite its title, "#1's" isn't just about numbers. What the album ultimately documents is the depth and diversity of Carey's career to date, a journey that has taken her from the dramatic power-balladry of "Hero" to the street-savvy funk of "Honey." In the process, it traces her evolution from vocal virtuoso (remember those freakish high notes at the end of "Vision of Love"?) to successful singer/songwriter, a path few pop divas have followed.

Like Madonna, Carey has consistently crafted her own hits. Indeed, apart from her cover of the Jackson Five oldie "I'll Be There," Carey shares the composer credit on all of her No. 1's.

But as consistent as her input has been, there's nothing especially predictable about Carey's sound. "Hero," for instance, a lavish, soul-stirring ballad, the sort of thing other singers would pay Diane Warren to write. Between its uplifting lyric and soaring chorus, it almost invites a certain amount of vocal excess. Close your eyes, and it's easy to imagine Houston cutting loose or Dion rattling rafters with the tune.

Carey, by contrast, treats the melody with restraint. Instead of pushing the song to a blustering, full-throated conclusion, the live version included on "#1's" lets the singer show some power on the bridge, but then pulls back, bringing things to a quietly dramatic conclusion. It's impressive, all right, but in a smart, soulful way.

That's not to say Carey doesn't occasionally strut her stuff. But even when she's making the most of her multi-octave range, as in the out-chorus to "Emotions," there's a playfulness to the way she hits those high notes that keeps it from sounding as if she's simply showing off.

That wit plays a large part in explaining how Carey managed to make the transition from sentimental balladeer to sassy soul singer. "Fantasy" is a case in point. The version included here isn't the original single edit, but the "Bad Boy" version featuring rapper ODB. Not only does this mix benefit from ODB's verbal irreverence, but it also finds Carey riffing on the song's sampled groove (which was taken from the Tom Tom Club hit "Genius of Love").

Best of all, "#1's" shows that Carey hasn't lost her ability to balance that soulful side with the occasional show-stopper.

If anything, the performance she gives with Whitney Houston on "When You Believe" (the theme from the animated feature "The Prince of Egypt") will leave some fans wishing she did more big-screen balladry. Even though the structure of the song is almost painfully predictable -- a slow, soulful exposition that inexorably builds to a stirring climax -- the execution is so flawless it's hard not to be drawn in.

What's most interesting about the track is the contrast between the two divas. Houston, as usual, is all silken tone and vocal control, and she rolls through the song with all the power of a well-tuned Ferrari. Carey, on the other hand, emphasizes color and emotion in her lines, drawing us into the drama implicit in the song. It's a perfect match, for their approaches are so complementary that neither upstages the other.

Contrast that with "Sweetheart," in which Carey's effortless JTC carnality makes Jermaine Dupri's sex-obsessed rap seem almost silly, and you'll have a good sense of why, when it comes to contemporary divahood, Carey deserves her No. 1.

Sundial: To hear excerpts from Mariah Carey's new release, "#1's," call 410-783-1800 and enter the code 6195.

Pub Date: 11/17/98