Country JERRY LEE LEWIS I AM WHAT I AM MCA Jerry Lee Lewis is what he is. For better or worse. His latest release, "I Am What I Am," underlines that fact. A rose is a rose and Jerry Lee Lewis seems to be in full bloom late in his career, with hok-ey yet lovable tunes that are syrupy, but without the bitter saccharin aftertaste of his more forgettable work of the last decade. "I Am What I Am," the title tune, scolds the critics for their cool response to his recent efforts. Couched in a cam py ragtime arrangement, Lewis explains that he is what he Is, not what we want him to be, and to kindly buzz off. Lewis sings several breezy ballads like a man unschooled by death having had too many brushes himself. He has lost two sons, recently lost a wife under bizarre and unresolved circumstances and was given long odds of surviving a stomach ailment two years ago. His cool, relaxed country belies a man who has been to purgatory and back. When he sings the classic doo-wop ditty "Only You" or the incredibly sappy, "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover," Lewis no more resembles country's King of Pain than he does the man who, alongside Little Richard, perfected the one-foot-on-the-key board school of demon rock. Has Lewis mellowed? Not quite. "I Am What I Am" comes with a decent share of moderate rockers, yet remains tempered by those silky, satiny and oftentimes over-produced country ballads. Still, Lewis proves again to be ready, willing and able to shako, rattle andor roll on demand. -Todd Webb !