ALBUM REVIEW / COMEDY : Shearer Is Right on the Mark With ‘O.J. on Trial’ : “O.J. ON TRIAL: THE EARLY YEARS” *** 1/2

It was only a matter of time before knock-off satirical CDs came from entrepreneurial America in its quest to make a tidy dollar off of the O.J. Simpson trial. Compared to two purportedly satirical efforts by Hollywood attorneys--Nick Turner’s “Songs From the Trial of the Century” (mainly lame, Weird Al Yankovic-style lyrics put to mainly public domain tunes) and Gilbert’s “100% Not Guilty” (elementary lyrics slapped over a disco beat)--Shearer’s effort is vastly more accomplished in terms of wit and intelligent social commentary.

Culled from material aired on Shearer’s radio series “Le Show,” which airs Sundays at 10 a.m. on KCRW-FM (89.9), “O.J. on Trial” doesn’t just take easy potshots at the trial’s principals (though that’s here, too). Some of the best moments are those that also explore the contemptible fatuousness of show business (Lance Ito hosting a Christmas special, a “behind-the-scenes” of the making of Fox’s cynical Simpson TV movie). And Shearer is always on the mark on the tracks in which he skewers the vague pretentiousness of certain National Public Radio reporters, whose sing-songy voices and reliance on unevocative sound effects scarcely conceal the fact that their stories don’t really say much.

Best of all is “John Tesh and Kato’s ‘Peter and the Wolf,’ ” a priceless parody of public TV and those Windham Hill recordings of celebrities performing children’s stories. It may be the funniest thing you’ll hear in connection to this trial--until you hear the prosecution and defense attorneys put their spin on whatever verdict the jury might reach.

* Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good, recommended), four stars (excellent).