Search - Various Artists :: Now That's What I Call Music! 16

A Summer Gem

M. D McGuire | Suburbia, U.S.A. | 08/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I have mentioned before,2004 has not been a great year for music. NOW 16 argues that it has been, through collecting some of trhe best singles of the year. The album flows from one song to another with perfect ease, so listenabliity is no problem. Here's the track breakdown:

(1) D12 "My Band" B+. I normally deplore D12, but this song is original, clever, fairly intelligent and, most of all, funny.

(2) OutKast "Hey Ya!" B-. Sure, it's entertaining and catchy with a great production, but there's not much beneath the surface.

(3) Beyonce "Naughty Girl" A-. This doesn't even sound like her, that's good though. As a single it's sexy, stylish and rather naughty.

(4) Nina Sky feat. Jabba "Move Ya Body" A-. The best dance song of the year. An 80s style dance track helped by the "dance hall flavor" and very catchy.

(5) Christina Milian "Dip It Low" B+. The 2nd best dance song of the year. This one works because of her sexy nature and killer insturmental arrangements.

(6) Black Eyed Peas "Hey Mama" B. The song recieved alot of praise, but I found it a disapointment after "Where Is The Love?" and "Shut Up". Good, could have been better.

(7) Beenie Man feat. Ms. Thing "Dude" A. He's like Sean Paul, but more laid back. That said, this is catchy, infectious and relaxing. One the year's best and most overlooked tracks.

(8) Petey Pablo "Freel-A-Leek" B+. Another rap song from '04 that is just cool and sounds great. The "radio station premise" is clever and the production is top notch.

(9) Juvenlie feat. Soulja Slim "Slow Motion" B-. I got excited when I saw Juvenlie on a NOW. This disapointed me though, it really wastes his talents. It's not good, but still memorable.

(10) JoJo "Leave (Get Out)" A. Not JoJo from K-Ci & JoJo, but a talented female R&B artist. As a first single, this is hard hitting, sad and a promising career start.

(11) Chingy feat. J/Weav "One Call Away" A-. Finally, Chingy sheds the sex image and creates a lighter, benevolent tune. Hands down his best single yet.

(12) Britney Spears "Everytime" A. Who'd have thought Britney could make a song this powerful, beautiful and touching? It sounds like Celine Dion quality. Hard to believe that this and "Toxic" are from the same album.

(13) Jessica Simpson "Take My Breath Away" B. An adequate remake, no more, no less. The other three singles off In This Skin are much better.

(14) Hoobastank "The Reason" A. The most hard hitting rock track of the year and Hoobastank's best ever. I'm captivated by every second of this song.

(15) Lenny Kravitz "Where Are We Runnin'?" B-. Not much to rave about in this standard material. At least Lenny can pull the song off with some style and grace.

(16) Yellowcard "Ocean Avenue" A-.I hope Yellowcard has more singles like this. The track has a catchy summer feel to it that is undeniably enjoyable. Hell, I feel tempted to write an additional verse myself!

(17) Three Days Grace "Just Like You" C. Worse than bad, it's just plain average. I can't even remember it afterwards.

(18) Switchfoot "Meant To Live" C. Same as #17.

(19) Los Lonely Boys "Heaven" B. Yet anothe retro style R&B track in '04. Well made and entertaining, just not on the top of my list.

(20) Gretchen Wilson "Redneck Woman" A-. I'm not a big fan of country, but this is just about perfect for the genre. Very catchy and entertaining.

Bottom Line:***1/2. NOW 16 is a perfectly crafted album and a nice little summer soundtrack. Maybe 2004 HAS been a good year in music.

NOTE: On a non-musical note, this album has the best and most creative cover art on any NOW.







"

The Songs are Actually Popular Right Now

yuanj1 | USA | 08/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like I always say, "Now" people always try to mix today's popular music with some old or unpopular music. "Now 16" includes more of today's popular music and summer tunes.



1)Chart-Toppers:

Even though the Now CD's say, "Includes 20 Chart-Topping Hits", it only actually includes a few actual chart-topping hits.

-Outkast "Hey Ya"

-Beyonce "Naughty Girl"

-Hoobastank "The Reason"



2)Teen Pop:

Teen pop is all over these days; which means "Now" includes a million of them.

-Christina Milian "Dip it Low"

-Jojo "Leave"

-Yellowcard "Ocean Avenue"

-Britney Spears "Everytime"

-Jessica Simpson "Take My Breath Away"



3) Rap/R&B/Hip-Hip:

I'm not a fan of rap but a fan of R&B and Hip-Hop. This Now gave a good amount of rap/r&b and hip-hop.

-D12 "My Band"

-Outkast "Hey Ya"

-Beyonce "Naughty Girl"

-Nina Sky "Move Ya Body"

-Beenie Man "Dude"

-Juvenile "Slow Motion"

-Petey Pablo "Freek-a-leek"

-Chingy "One Call Away"

-Black Eyed Peas "Hey Mama"



4)New Artists:

You know what they are.

-Nina Sky

-Christina Milian

-Jojo

-Yellowcard

-Three Days Grace

-Switchfoot

-Los Lonely Boys

-Gretchen Wilson



5)Rock:

Although Now's never include a lot of rock songs, they do tend to put some at the end of each album.

-Where Are We Runnin'? - Lenny Kravitz

-Ocean Avenue - Yellowcard

-Just Like You - Three Days Grace

-Meant To Live - Switchfoot

-Heaven - Los Lonely Boys



6)Unknown Songs:

For some reason, "Now's" tends to put some unknown songs on each album.

-Just Like You - Three Days Grace

-Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson



7)Out-of-Date Songs:

Like I say, Every Now includes out-of-date songs.They might be really good... but out-of -date.

-My Band - D12

-Hey Ya! - Outkast

-Naughty Girl - Beyonce

-Hey Mama - Black Eyed Peas

-One Call Away - Chingy

-Take My Breath Away - Jessica Simpson

-Where Are We Runnin'? - Lenny Kravitz



Overall, Now 16 is a good CD that includes many varieties of music and includes all of this Summer's good music. (and this springs good music)"

It was an okay album

Penny Lane | Virginia | 05/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The album wasn't as good as I hoped or as bad as I thought. Some songs I was suprised that I liked because they were rap songs which I hate with a passion. But I would recommend this album to people who have an eclectic taste in music.



Anway here is a rundown of what my ratings would be for each song.

1."My Band" by Eminem and D12-4/5

2."Hey Ya" by Outakst-5/5

3."Naughty Girl" by Beyonce-3/5

4."Move Ya Body" by Nina Sky-3/5

5."Pop That Thing" by Christina Millen-1/5

6."Hey Mama" by The Black Eyed Peas-5/5

7."Dude" by Beennie Man-1/5

8."Freak A Lick" by Petey Pablo-5/5

9."Slow Motion" by Juvenile-3/5

10."Leave" by JoJo-1/5

11."One Call Away" by Chingy-3/5

12."Everytime" by Britney Spears-5/5

13.Take My Breath Away" by Jessica Simpson-2/5

14."The Reason" by Hoobastank-5/5

15."Where Are We Running" by Lenny Kravitz-2/5

16.Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard-5/5

17."Just Like You" by Three Days Grace-4/5

18."Meant to Live" by Switchfoot-5/5

19"Heaven" by The Los Lonely Boys-3/5

20."Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson



Penny Lane"