PRIME-TIME TUNES

By GINIA BELLAFANTE

OVER AND OVER AGAIN, ROCK critics have made the point that the angst-drenched songs of Nirvana and Pearl Jam are generational anthems for the under-30 set. But how true is it, considering that more 25-year-olds can probably recite the lyrics to the theme songs from Green Acres or Gilligan's Island than they can to, say, Kurt Cobain's Rape Me? Upbeat TV tunes are the hymns of the young in part because of good memory, in part because of Nick at Night, and very occasionally because of a sound-track album. From Henry Mancini's jazzy music for Peter Gunn through LPs for such '60s hits as Batman and Mission Impossible, TV sound tracks have been largely curiosities. And some have been pretty curious: Who could possibly forget Meet the Brady Bunch, the 1972 record in which the TV step-siblings delivered their version of American Pie?

But as TV has got hipper, so has its songbook. Television is taking a cue from the movies, releasing sound tracks for hit shows as a way of cross-promoting both the show and the musicians whose work is featured on it. Typically, these CDs include a version or two of the show's theme song along with a selection of pop numbers heard at some point on the series. CDs for the hit Fox shows Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place feature such musicians as Vanessa Williams, Annie Lennox and the alternative-rock favorite Urge Overkill. A 1994 CD spun off from the sitcom Coach contains, incongruously enough, music by James Brown and Marvin Gaye. The sound track for the Fox drama New York Undercover, released last month, features Gladys Knight as well as popular hip-hop performer Mary J. Blige.

The latest to hit stores is the Friends CD. The NBC sitcom's theme song, I'll Be There for You--a hit single that received endless mtv airplay and launched the career of its performers, The Rembrandts--appears in two versions on the record. The rest of the collection showcases songs from such artists as the Pretenders, Hootie & the Blowfish, k.d. lang, R.E.M. and Lou Reed, all of whom will be heard on the show this season. Compiled in part by Friends executive producer Kevin Bright, a music buff with an 8,000-volume record collection, the CD reflects the sitcom's young, urban sensibility. "What I didn't want to do was just put out a bunch of songs haphazardly thrown together behind a brand name known as Friends," says Bright.

TV sound tracks have had a mixed sales record. A 1985 Miami Vice album sold more than 4 million copies, and the 1992 CD for Beverly Hills, 90210 topped 500,000. But a 90210 sequel last year did poorly, as did a 1993 Melrose Place CD, despite the show's huge following. The Friends CD so far looks like one of the winners. The album debuted at No. 46 on the Billboard charts earlier this month, and in its first weeks, record stores were ordering new shipments faster than CDs from such hot acts as Green Day and Alanis Morrisette.

Established groups are increasingly looking to sound tracks as an outlet for material that has otherwise been ignored or unreleased. For example, the Pretenders' version of Angel of the Morning, featured on the Friends sound track, was originally released as a bonus track of a CD single; lead singer Chrissie Hynde was looking for a sound track on which to place it. Paul Westerberg, former lead singer of the Replacements, recorded Sunshine years ago, but it was never released until it became part of the Friends sound track. Stain Yer Blood was another Westerberg track salvaged from an unused studio session for the Friends CD. "He wanted to get it out because he loved the song, but he didn't necessarily want to put it on his new album," says Reprise Records president Howie Klein.

Ultimately, lesser-known acts may benefit even more from TV sound tracks because the CDs provide them with a wider audience than they might otherwise receive. Following their appearance on the 90210 compilation, the R. and B. group Jade saw sales of their own CD climb 23%. Letters to Cleo was a largely unknown band when its cut Here & Now appeared on the Melrose Place sound track. The exposure helped the band sell 100,000 copies of its first CD, Aurora Gory Alice.

The TV show itself does not always get the same promotional boost. A few years ago, The Heights, a blue-collar Melrose Place on Fox, fell quickly even though it launched a hit single, How Do You Talk to an Angel? Last year's high school drama My So-Called Life boasted not only glowing reviews but also a winning sound track featuring hot alternative bands like Frente! and the Afghan Whigs. None of it mattered though--ABC canceled the show last spring. Fans can now and then console themselves with cable reruns--but at least they'll always have the record.

--Reported by Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles

With reporting by Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles