TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : ****Excellent ***Good **Fair *Poor : COMPACT DISCS

“The Don Gibson Collection.” Castle. Beware. In the enthusiasm of finally finding in CD the work of some long-admired but no longer commercially potent artist, it’s easy to overlook the fine print on the back of the package and think you have come across the original, prized recordings. This “Collection” is a case in point. Gibson was one of the most gifted singer-songwriters in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and a set of his RCA hits (including “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Oh Lonesome Me”) would deserve four stars. But these 24 tracks--licensed from Hickory Records--are rerecorded and almost invariably weaker versions of the hits. Wait for the originals. * 1/2