Search - Various :: The Best Of NOW That's What I Call Music - 10th Anniversary Edition

Maybe not "The Best"...but pretty good

Philip Masiakowski | Milwaukee, WI USA | 11/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a long-time now fan, I was confused by reading the tracklisting for a CD called "The Best of Now" that featured 12 songs that never appeared on a "Now" album before (or never appeared in this version). I was equally surprised to see two of the artists' names: "Maroon 5" and "Amy Winehouse," who never even appeared with any song on a Now album before.



That being said, I enjoyed the collection. Three of the first four tracks--"I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, "Umbrella" by Rihanna, and "Stronger" by Kanye West--are probably my favorites by their respective artists, even though they were all missed by the Now series originally. I was also pleased to find Now showing respect to past superstars--the Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake (from N'Sync) are pop icons and pioneers of the Now series. For this same reason, I was a bit surprised at the choice to put on Christina Aguilera without Britney Spears, despite the fact that Britney has appeared over 10 times in the Now series vs. Christina's 1 appearance. (I'm not really a Britney fan, but hey...if you're gonna admit to having missed "Umbrella" and "Stronger," why not slap "Gimme More" on here?)



Pretty much all of the songs selected were major for their genre. There is no doubting the R&B presence of Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys, particularly with the choice of "We Belong Together" and "Fallin'." There is no doubting the alternative rock presence of Lenny Kravitz and Maroon 5 and their respective hits, "American Woman" and "This Love." (Though I would have preferred "Fly Away" by the former.) And as mentioned, "SexyBack" and "I Want It That Way" are equally impressive--though from two totally different styles of pop.



However...



No offense to Ja Rule (I like several songs of his), but I preferred the original version of "I'm Real" by Jennifer Lopez to the remix. And "Beautiful"? Christina Aguilera has done other songs that showcase her vocals much better. Would've been nice to see "Fighter" or "Ain't No Other Man" instead.



With the inclusion of "Get the Party Started" by P!nk (the official version, not the remix that appeared before in the series), "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira, "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse, "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, and "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback, this completes a fairly obvious selection. To round it out, they add "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray, "Clocks" by Coldplay, and "Beautiful Day" by U2.



As with all the Now albums--but especially with a package of hits that has been around this long--you already know how you feel about this CD. Read over the tracks and decide for yourself how you would rate the songs. But for the actual decision-making and selection that "Now" made, I give it a 4 out of 5."

What Anniversary Edition?

Yianni Yiannakis | Cyprus | 01/04/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This review starts with a complaint, why is it an Anniversary Edition when it's only 1 cd? There goes the 1st star, 10 years and 20 tracks is all they can come up with.



Next, tracks chosen - Pop, Rock, Ballads, R&B, Rap - no dance tracks are worthy of this compilation? 2 stars now gone.



A few 2008 tracks just to make it sell, well at least there ok but overall a very poorly thought out special edition which is not really worth the money. 2 stars left just...



Not the best of Anniversary Albums but definitely nowhere good enough for me to make me buy it."

Great lets me and the grandkids dance like nobodys looking

L. Hudson | Canada | 03/18/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Grea music, the grandkids like to blast it and dance till we're silly arund the living room."