Vic Damone, “Spotlight on . . . Vic Damone,” Capitol. ***

Always the silky crooner, Damone had a way with a ballad, but usually sounded stiff and dry on up-tempo songs. On this early-’60s collection, he does his usual smooth job on ballads like “Laura” and “Poinciana” but, surprisingly, really shines on the up-tempo material, particularly “Change Partners” and the album’s best track--”Little Girl,” backed by Billy May’s orchestra.

* Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (e x cellent).