Triple Jump

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

One of the hottest groups in R. and B. right now is the vocal trio TLC. The letters stand for the members' nicknames Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas but there are a lot of other things the name could refer to. Tender Loving Care, of course, is one possibility, and the group's enormously charming new CD, CrazySexyCool, is full of songs about women in search of love, caring and tenderness. Given the well- publicized travails of the group, however Lopes is facing charges that she burned down her boyfriend's house, and Thomas is searching for her biological father TLC could also be the initials for Tabloids Lotsa Copy!

Happily, Watkins, Lopes and Thomas have been doing more than getting in the gossip columns lately; they've also been getting better. Their 1992 debut album, Ooooooohhh ... on the TLC Tip, sold almost 3 million copies, but it was instantly forgettable. CrazySexyCool features slinky singing, bouncy beats and grabby rap interludes, and the vocals are stronger and the melodies more piquant than those on the first album. Several songs stand out, including Creep, a funky, slightly jazzy dance number, and the delicately saucy Red Light Special, a love song written by the ubiquitous Babyface (who has composed recent hits for Boyz II Men and Madonna too).

The trio also laments inner-city despair on the ballad Waterfalls ("My only bleedin' hope/ Is for the folk who can't cope"). But the secret of TLC's success isn't social commentary. It may not fit the initials, but what TLC really stands for is pure, funky fun. And CrazySexyCool delivers.