The New York Times February 17, 1991, Sunday, Late Edition - Final POP VIEW; Grammys Still Try to Play It On the Safe Side By Stephen Holden Sinead O'Connor's recent announcement that she would not participate in the Grammy Awards this Wednesday is the latest brouhaha to erupt around an annual event that, after 33 years, is still struggling to gain the kind of respect the Oscars have enjoyed for decades. In a letter to Michael Greene, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Irish pop star wrote, "I don't want to be part of a world that measures artistic ability by material success." On "Entertainment Tonight," she called it "insulting" that the best records are considered the ones that sell the most. There's a lot of truth to Ms. O'Connor's assertions. This year's Grammy nominations in the four major categories -- album of the year, record of the year (best single), song of the year and best new artist -- acknowledge only blockbusters. The academy's taste for polished, middle-of-the-road studio fare over rawer, more directly expressive music continues to perpetuate a conservative bias that in past years has left major achievements by innovators like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and George Clinton largely unheralded. The Oscar race, as crass as it can be, doesn't usually equate quality with commercial success. One heard no speculation that such top box-office films of 1990 as "Home Alone" and "Pretty Woman" might be nominated for best picture. By contrast, M. C. Hammer, who had the biggest-selling pop album of 1990, has been nominated for best album and best single. M. C. Hammer's record might be compared in quality to an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. While a low-budget sleeper like "My Left Foot" can win an Oscar nomination for best picture, its pop-record equivalent, a 300,000-selling album by a critically acclaimed talent like John Hiatt, Rosanne Cash or the Neville Brothers, has never stood a chance of being nominated for best album. To its credit, the academy in recent years has made progress by filling in holes and responding to changes in a volatile field. On Wednesday, a lifetime achievement award is being given to Mr. Dylan, now 49. Two years ago, the organization introduced a rap category, which is being expanded from one to two awards. Last year, an award was inaugurated for best metal performance, finally giving recognition to a genre that has flourished since the early 1970's. The Grammys have also established a new category for best alternative-music performance to recognize pop albums that are considered too esoteric for mainstream radio. The academy recently enlarged its membership with younger musicians from all over the country, partly to counteract its one-time Los Angeles bias. Earlier this year, the Grammys took another step toward credibility when Milli Vanilli was stripped of its 1989 award as best new artist because the duo didn't sing on its debut album. The appointment of a critics' panel to recommend classical-music nominations was also crucial to the Grammys' integrity. For years, the disproportionate share of awards won by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra had aroused suspicions of bloc voting. With pop, one problem has always been the domination of the best-selling products of large record corporations. Four of this year's five candidates for album of the year -- M. C. Hammer's "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" (Capitol), Phil Collins's ". . . But Seriously" (Atlantic) and the eponymously titled debut albums of Mariah Carey (Columbia) and Wilson Phillips (SBK) -- have sold more than three million copies each. The fifth candidate, Quincy Jones's "Back on the Block" (Qwest), has sold close to two million copies. Ms. Carey and Wilson Phillips have also been nominated as best new artist, along with the Black Crowes (hard rock), the Kentucky Headhunters (country-rock) and Lisa Stansfield (pop-soul). Debut albums by the other three new-artist nominees have sold more than a million copies. M. C. Hammer's nine-million-selling album, which Ms. O'Connor cited to illustrate her point, is a peppy, well-produced affair that has plenty of energy but little of the passion and none of the politics that have made rap a social and cultural force. (The year's most critically lauded rap album, Public Enemy's "Fear of a Black Planet," received a single nomination for best rap performance by a duo or group.) The other four entries are equally mainstream. Mr. Collins's album is a staid, middle-of-the-road record whose outstanding cut, "Another Day in Paradise," examines homelessness in a tone of sad resignation. On her debut album, Ms. Carey unveils a remarkable pop-gospel voice, similar to Whitney Houston's, and a promising songwriting talent for tuneful if formulaic pop-soul ballads. Wilson Phillips, the trio that includes two daughters of the founding Beach Boy Brian Wilson and the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, carry on the glossy, harmonized pop tradition of their parents' groups but bring little personality to it. Their record has plenty of polish but no substance. "Back on the Block," the year's most nominated album (it has 11), is an ambitious all-star survey of American black music, from be-bop to rap, produced to the hilt by a pillar of the Hollywood music establishment. Like M. C. Hammer's record, its rap segments are strictly G-rated. One of the year's most critically praised album, Ms. O'Connor's "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" (Chrysalis/Ensign), which sold nearly three million copies, was overlooked for best album and inappropriately included in the new alternative-music category. Nominations for best single and best song include most of the same names as in the album category, among them Mr. Collins ("Another Day in Paradise"), M. C. Hammer ("U Can't Touch This"), Ms. Carey ("Vision of Love") and Wilson Phillips, ("Hold On"), plus Ms. O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" and Bette Midler's "From a Distance." But as predictable and conservative as the nominations are this year, the prestige of the Grammys continues to grow. Bonnie Raitt's album "Nick of Time," last year's dark horse, had sold 800,000 copies until winning three awards. "Nick of Time" quickly soared to No. 1 and reached the two million mark. It was the biggest sales impact the awards have ever had on a record. For the Grammys, it was a clear sign of increasing credibility. GRAPHIC: Photos: Candidates for album of the year include Phil Collins, right (Larry Busacca/Retna); Mariah Carey, above left (Kip Meyer/CBS Records), and the trio Wilson Phillips, top (SBK Records) -- After 33 years, the Grammy Awards are still struggling togain the same kind of respect the Academy Awards have enjoyed for decades.