At the risk of sounding familiar, Totally Hot is an abysmal, by-the-numbers affair probably whipped up by some leading exponents of the New Hollywood music scene to capitalize on Olivia Newton-John's less-than-incandescent performance in the film version of Grease.

While the queen of cotton-candy soul peers out in desperado drag from the album's inner sleeve, song titles like "Never Enough," "Totally Hot" and "Gimme Some Lovin'" (unfortunately, this is the Steve Winwood tune) promise the kind of down-and-dirty grit that Newton-John is scarcely equipped to deliver. The title track certainly elevates funk to new levels of weightlessness. And "A Little More Love," the one number that could conceivably arouse any interest, merely serves to showcase the singer's newly acquired rock squawk in the upper registers.

Hey, even the Aphex Aural Exciter has its limits. (RS 291)

J.C. COSTA