Controlled Divinyls : CHECK LIST ****<i> Great Balls of Fire</i> ***<i> Good Vibrations</i> **<i> Maybe Baby</i> *<i> Running on Empty</i>

*** DIVINYLS. “Temperamental.” Chrysalis. Perhaps no female vocalist is better equipped to sing a remake of the 1963 hit “Hey Little Girl” than the Divinyls’ Christina Amphlett--a sexy, feisty, post-feminist firebrand whose toughness belies a vulnerable world-weariness (and man-weariness). If the original song was a simple break-up anthem full of contempt and little more, Amphlett’s phrasing on “Hey Little Boy “ is able to capture that, plus a coy sense of humor and experience missing from the original.

As a top-notch lyricist herself, Amphlett has always had a knack for knocking the wandering stray male in her life. The fact is, though, that “Temperamental” is the least temperamental of this Australian band’s three U.S. releases. With exceptions, Amphlett’s lyrics are less angry, dangerous, jarring. In addition, ace hard-pop producer Mike Chapman lends a candy coating to the guitar crunch, which makes some of the tracks agreeably radio-ready but removes the edge from others.

Still, when Amphlett sings, “When my back’s to the wall / I might do anything at all,” you believe that, cornered, she just might lose control. That she never quite does on this overly controlled album doesn’t nullify the considerable charms of its riff-’n’-melody combo specials or of Amphlett’s catchy defiance.