For over a decade, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been among the country's sturdiest and most insouciant live rock & roll bands. Scruffy singer and harmonica player Kim Wilson and ace guitarist Jimmie Vaughan carved out spaces on the front of the stage, bouncing ragged riffs and scorching lead lines off each other and laughing over where the music landed. On 1986's Tuff Enuff, the hard work finally paid off: with Dave Edmunds at the helm, they came up with a hit album that provided a reasonable studio approximation of their sly stage show. Although Tuff Enuff didn't really expand on the T-birds' lanky live arrangements, it was heartening to see them reach a large audience without slicking up their sound.

What's bothersome, then, about their new Hot Number is the sense of déjà vu all through it: this record is nearly interchangeable with last year's model. The success of Tuff Enuff should have given the T-birds the freedom to stretch out; instead, they are repeating themselves. "Stand Back" is a dead ringer for both "Tuff Enuff" and "Wrap It Up," the two hits from the last album. Certainly artists as smart as the T-birds and Edmunds can find more striking material. It's also a bad sign that the strongest tune on Hot Number, "How Do You Spell Love," is a re-recording of an old T-bird standard that forces comparisons with its funnier (the answer is "M-O-N-E-Y") and more hardheaded original. The arrangements are terse and supportive, but they don't let Vaughan rave with his six strings, and the mix is heavy on keyboards and horns, diminishing the impact of Vaughan's few distinctive lead lines.

Even a disappointing Fabulous Thunderbirds album has its charms. Bassist Preston Hubbard and drummer Fran Christina lock in and kick even the most workaday songs into higher gears, and Wilson could sing the Tower Commission report and make it sound exciting. Recorded in Memphis, the album is clearly a product of that musically rich city, evident not only in the strident horns but especially in guest Chuck Leavell's careering barroom keyboards. With all they have going for them, it's easy to guess that the Thunderbirds will follow Hot Number with a less lackadaisical album. And if not, you can always see them live. (RS 506)

JIMMY GUTERMAN