Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

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Chely Wright is one of the most underappreciated country artists ever. Possessing very strong pipes (sort of a country Pat Benatar) and a lot of personality, she has undeservedly never risen above the second tier of country artists.

This collection captures all but one of the thirteen singles she charted between 1994 and 2002 (the omitted single being her first, "He's A Good Ole Boy"). Chely's first two albums WOMAN IN THE MOON in 1994 and RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT in 1996 were for Mercury subsidiary Polydor and - as shown on the enclosed singles "Till I Was Loved By You," "Sea of Cowboy Hats" and "Listenin' To The Radio" - their music was high octane honky-tonk, with lots of fiddles and steel guitars.

While fun, none of her Polydor singles reached the country top 40. The albums also sold poorly, so she moved to MCA Records in 1997 to work with producer/label President Tony Brown. The first couple of MCA singles "Shut Up And Drive" and "I Already Do" from the LET ME IN cd cut back on the instrumentation, allowing Chely's stellar voice to shine amid the sparse settings (they also finally brought her some top 20 success at radio). The follow-up cd, 1999's SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, was Chely's true commercial breakthrough, spawning the catchy number one title track and the midtempo top-tenner "It Was."

Those gems found Chely's music going in a more pop-oriented direction, an approach that was even more pronounced on 2001's NEVER LOVE YOU ENOUGH. It's two singles - the lush yet torchy title track and the rip-roaring "Jezebel" - surrounded Chely with loads of orchestration but stalled outside the top 20. This setback was surprising, since Martina McBride has been a staple in the country top 10 with loads of power ballads like the
former and Terri Clark has been quite successful of late with footstompers like the latter.

After the chart underperformance of those two engaging singles (which conclude this set), Chely Wright and MCA parted company. As of now, she hasn't signed a new deal, but she continues to write songs for others (one of her most recent compositions being Clay Walker's single "I Can't Sleep"). These Millennium Collections usually only scratch the surface of an artist's career, but this one serves as a great retrospective of what is hopefully just the first phase of Chely's recording career.

Great CD to add to your Chely Wright CD collection. AND an even better way to START your Chely Wright collection if you don't yet have one.
Great variety of sounds from all her CDs. But that awesome voice on all of them.
A must have CD. :)

Hey there all, want to listen to some great songs by a country artist, Chely Wright, then go ahead and purchase this CD you will be amazed at the talent Chely has. songs spanning from her ealier days to her current hits, a great collection for the diehard fan, and a great gift for those who have not been able to experience the very TALENTED Chely Wright.

This is a good collection for casual fans of Chely Wright. It brings together all of her big hits into one CD. Not much reason for her avid fans to own, other than having all of these songs on one cd. Her rise to fame wasn't always easy. She had a few flop albums before she had a few big hit singles. That came in 1997 with her LET ME IN album, when the first single "Shut Up & Drive" became an anthem of sorts and a hit for her at the same time. It's a very memorable song, like her other hits on this disc. I like the simplicity and the beauty and earnest of the ballad "I Already Do". "Just Another Heartache" is a fun uptempo song. She really hit it big in 1999 with the release of "Single White Female", and the album of the same name. Arguably her biggest hit. "It Was" is probably my favorite ballad she's ever recorded, there's a lot of passion and emotion throughout. She had some success with her latest disc NEVER LOVE YOU ENOUGH, the title track and "Jezebel" were hits. After that she left MCA though and now she's label-less at the moment. Listening to these songs, she should have no problem coming back and adding some new hits to her belt.

All of the "Greats" are on there!!! Chely is a great entertainer and does all she can for our troops!! GO CHELY!

This is a great cd for Chely Wright fans. It contains old favorites like "I Already Do" and "Shut Up & Drive" to the #1 hit "Single White Female" and so much more. Don't hesitate to own this cd, GET IT! You won't regret it.

This is must have for Chely die hards or someone who never owned a Chely CD but wanted a little taste of her first 5 albums.

The radio smashes Single White Female, It Was and Shut Up and Drive are all on here.

The real treasures are the lesser known singles such as I Already Do, The Love That We Lost and Jezebel.

Great collection from one of country music's most under rated stars.

I love this Chely Wright Collection!! Has all her great hits in a high quality package!! Sound is Excellent!!

Absolutley brilliant. One of the few albums I have brought that i like every track.

If you are a Chely Wright fan, this compilation album is for you. Singles such as "Til I was Loved by you," "Single While Female," "Sea of Cowboy Hats," and "The Love that We Lost" are all good choices for the album, and it perfectly showcases Chely's vocal talents. I thought it was good and really recommend it to anyone.