* * * * <i> Great Balls of Fire</i> * * * <i> Good Vibrations</i> * * <i> Maybe Baby</i> * <i> Running on Empty : </i> : STRONG STEPHANIE

* * 1/2 “IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN.” Stephanie Mills. MCA. Having experimented briefly in the past with pop-flavored material, Mills returns to the sound she delivers best: unadulterated soul. Strong cuts range from the opening “I Feel Good All Over” to the closing “Can’t Change My Ways,” in which she admonishes a reins-tugging beau by snapping, “Friday night I can’t go out / If I do, I hear your mouth.” In between is light filler, save for the title cut (a soaring update of the 1970 Gladys Knight & the Pips soul classic) and the faintly funky “(You’re Puttin’) a Rush on Me.” These kinds of pop tunes, which a Whitney Houston or Diana Ross can get away with, are a waste of Mills’ skills. For Mills, the more soulful the better.