Mr. Murphy Make$ Mu$ic : Stevie Ray Vaughn takes steps; plus Babyface, the B-52s : EDDIE MURPHY “So Happy.” Columbia ** 1/2: Albums are rated on a scale of one(poor) to five(a classic) stars

The first three letters in funk are F-U-N, and you’d think somebawdy like comic/actor Eddie Murphy would groove behind that concept better’n almost anyone. Spurred by the $ucce$$ of his Rick James-assisted ’86 hit “Party All the Time” and an unwillingness to deliver a stand-up comedy record, the multi-hyphenate Murphy rounded up three heavyweight producers (Narada Michael Walden, Nile Rodgers and Larry Blackmon) and sandwiched this slick disc between film projects.

The current single “Put Your Mouth On Me” is a tongue-in-chic rip-off of Prince’s “Kiss” that picks up XXX-tra points for the “Mr. Murphy” self-reference, the title track is a smashed psychedelic lollipop, and “Bubble Hill” boasts a hip-notic party vibe. The rest of the tracks wreak--not havoc, but of the unmistakable eau de clone. Murphy is better than your average shower singer, but he simply hasn’t got the vocal chops of a Luther Vandross or even that whiteboy in Simply Red.