SUMMER ALBUM ROUNDUP : HOT & COOL SUMMER SOUNDS : * * * * <i> Great Balls of Fire</i> * * * <i> Good Vibrations</i> * * <i> Maybe Baby</i> * <i> Running on Empty : </i> : AEROSMITH: QUIRKY, SOFT

* * “PERMANENT VACATION.” Aerosmith. Geffen. No this isn’t a rap album. Working with Run-D.M.C last year on the superb reworking of Aerosmith’s old “Walk This Way” hasn’t turned Steve Tyler, Joe Perry and company into rappers, as some smart-alecks predicted. They’re desperate for a hit, but not that desperate.

“Permanent Vacation” is full of perky, somewhat quirky up-tempo pop-rock with all sorts of commercial trimmings tacked on. There is some inventiveness here too-- particularly on unorthodox songs like the title tune and “St. John”--but not enough to turn the tide. If this album had been done by Boston or Journey, critics might laud it as a step up. But for Aerosmith, it’s mostly a step in the wrong direction.

Once one of the all-time great muscular boogie bands, Aerosmith has gone soft--on records at least. Old Aerosmith albums bowled you over with their gut-level power rock. But all that rawness and freshness have been squeezed out of these tunes. They’re too fine-tuned, too generously coated with that studio sheen.

One of the group’s problems is that Tyler long ago became an ordinary singer. His screams don’t bore to your core as they did in the old days. Oh, he can still scream--as you readily hear on the run-of-the-mill version of the Beatles’ “I’m Down”-- but, as with many old-timers, you sense he doesn’t mean it. The thrill seems to be gone for him.

Perry isn’t the scintillating guitarist he once was either. His work here doesn’t reflect a decline in technical prowess, but it’s just the same old licks lightly touched up with a fresh coat of paint.

This album isn’t bad, just disappointing. If you’re young enough not to remember the old Aerosmith you may find some of it appealing.