Customer Reviews

Now That's What I Call Music! 5

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

NOW 3 had a bunch of songs and bands that I never heard of, and NOW 4 was heavily on the pop side with very little rock (thanks for at least putting "All the small things" in there). NOW 2 was a little too much on rock in my opinion. That being said, NOW 5 has a great balance of pop (N'sync, 98 degrees, ect.)and rock (three doors down, nine days). The only thing I would do to this CD was give it a couple of rap songs (incomplete instead of thong song?????). But, since i know that the CD is aimed toward kids as well as adults, I can live with what they give us. I woudl also like to say that if I could, I would rate this CD a 4.5, not just a 4.OVERALL: NOW 5 is a good CD with a nice balance of pop and rock and is worth your money. Go buy it.

The idea of putting out a mix of music by great artists is of course a good one. However, this CD faces the same problem as many of the other NOW collections. By the time the CD is available in the stores, many of the "hip" songs are extremely overplayed. Either I own them on their original CD's, or I am so sick of them I can't handle hearing them one more time! This may not apply to everyone, but I've had this problem every time I've bought a NOW CD, even when I've done it right when they come out. This isn't a problem that can easily be solved, because obviously it takes a while to put a CD like this together, but before you buy this CD because it has has popular music, I would recommend looking at the list of songs and asking yourself how many you already have on other CD's and how many of the other ones you still WANT on CD!

I was actually surprised to see *Nsync on this compilation because they were on the Totally Hits Series before. But "It's Gonna Be Me" is a great way to start off the CD. I was happy to see Britney Spears' "Lucky", Destiny's Child's "Jumpin' Jumpin'", BBMak's "Back Here", Jessica Simpson's "I Think I'm In Love", and Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" on this CD as well. There are some really good songs on here that are worth getting NOW! 5 for. The ones I just listed are the best in my mind. It's also great to see one of music's greatest Pop/R&B singers on NOW! 5: Janet Jackson and her song "Doesn't Really Matter". The song kicks butt and you can't help dancing to it. I am sorry to say that there are two songs on this CD that are tired and somewhat annoying to me: Nine Days "Story Of A Girl" and 3 Doors Down "Kryptonite". But given the fact that there are songs I don't particularly care for, Now! 5 still gets 5 stars because of the variety of music it provides us with; ranging from Pop to R&B to Hip-Hop to Rock.

Most of these songs are (or were) WAY overplayed on the radio and having them on CD to listen to whenever I want is sort of a guilty pleasure, especially the tracks by Aaron Carter, NSYNC and Britney Spears. I hope that no one that I work with ever finds out I own this CD - I would be lashed 1000 times with a wet noodle.

My favorite songs are "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi, "Incomplete" by Sisqo, "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days, "Jumpin' Jumpin'" by Destiny's Child and "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down.

I do not like Jessica Simpson's blantant sampling rip-off and sugar coating of John Mellancamp's "Jack and Diane" and calling it "I Think I'm In Love With You". GAG!

This is a great collection for anyone with eclectic music styles like I have, it runs the gamut from bubblegum (Britney) to alternative (Nine Days) to R&B (Mya). The only question I have is where is the Christina Aguilera?

In my opinion, NOW 5 is the best one of the series...and I've listened to a bunch of them. It's my favorite because the year 2000 had some great music. These songs are from Summer 2000 mostly and they bring back a lot of great memories for me. I love it. My favorite tracks include Lucky, Wonderful, Una Noche, and It's My Life. Listen and see for yourself!

Now 5! Is really good. Though the songs are kind of old, this is still an awesome Cd to listen to. Here is the list of tracks: (1.) It's Gonna Be Me by *N Sync - I don't like this song at all. (0/10 stars) (2.) Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche) by 98 Degrees - great, cool song with a Latin feel to it! I love this song and 98 Degrees has got some good, solid vocals. (10/10 stars) (3.) Jumpin' Jumpin' by Destiny's Child - I used to not like this song so much because it got overplayed. Don't get me wrong - I love Destiny's Child - but this is just not one of their better songs. (9/10 stars) (4.) Don't Think I'm Not by Kandi - a really good song by an R&B artist I never even heard of until I heard this song. Really good. (9/10 stars) (5.) I Think I'm In Love With You by Jessica Simpson - one of her better songs off of her 'Sweet Kisses' album. Very uptempo with good lyrics and vocals. (10/10 stars) (6.) Faded by SoulDecision - I like this song a lot! It's very good and SoulDecision is a great, underrated boyband. (10/10 stars) (7.) Shake It Fast by Mystikal - I don't like this song at all. (0/10 stars) (8.) Case Of The Ex by Mya - Mya's best! I'm a big fan of Mya and I think her music is great. (10/10 stars) (9.) Aaron's Party (Come Get It) by Aaron Carter - this song is really cool. It just didn't get the radio exposer it should have gotten. That's the only reason that most people probably didn't like it. (10/10 stars) (10.) Lucky by Britney Spears - not Britney's best. Even though I like Britney Spears, this song is a little boring. (7/10 stars) (11.) Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely by Backstreet Boys - the best ballad on the entire Cd! Strong lyrics and vocals. This song is the best and never gets old! (10/10 stars) (12.) Incomplete by Sisqo - I like Sisqo a lot but this is not his best song and wasn't even a very big hit. It would have been better to put The Thong Song on here. (8/10 stars) (13.) I Wanna Be With You by Mandy Moore - though I don't really think of Mandy as one of my favorite artists, this is definitely one of her best songs. (9/10 stars) (14.) Doesn't Really Matter by Janet Jackson - one of my favorite Janet songs! It can be found on the Nutty Professor II soundtrack and her new album, All For You. This song is wonderful. (10/10 stars) (15.) Back Here by BBMak - a great song by a cool boy band. These guys write all their own music and play instruments. Awesome. (10/10 stars) (16.) Absolutely (The Story Of A Girl) by Nine Days - I'm not normally into rock music, but this is a pretty good song. (9/10 stars) (17.) Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down - best rock song on this whole Cd. Has not gotten boring. (10/10 stars) (18.) Wonderful by Everclear - I don't normally like Everclear but this is a pretty good song. (8/10 stars) (19.) It's My Life by Bon Jovi - best Bon Jovi song after Thank You For Loving Me. This song is great and I love the beat. (10/10 stars)

So as you can see, this has something for everybody: pop, R&B, hip-hop, rap, and even rock. It has everything from boy bands to teen pop soloists to rock bands. I recommend you buy this Cd, although I definitely recommend that you skip the *N Sync song and go right to track #2. Almost every song from track #2 on is worth listening to. Buy this Cd if you haven't yet already!

This series is a great one for people like me. I'm middle-aged and I absolutely refuse to listen to commercial radio (because of the ridiculously narrow, repeated playlists and the commercials). Still, I don't want to be completely out of touch with new pop, so these discs give me what's happening and most popular at the moment in a nutshell, as a sampler that might encourage me to buy a whole CD by some of the artists, as I have done.

Track 1, "It's Gonna Be Me" by *Nsync 5/5
For bubble-gummy pop bands of the late 90s, *Nsync is one of the better ones, I think. They always have interesting production. This song grooves, and it has a nice melody. I've picked up a couple *Nsync discs because of this song and I've been happy with them.

Track 2, "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" by 98 degrees 2.5/5
The 16th note groove in the verses should work better than it does for me, but it's okay. The block-harmonized melody in the chorus is a bit too stereotypical for my tastes. Okay, but not great.

Track 3, "Jumpin' Jumpin'" by Destiny's Child 2/5
I keep mentioning groove, but that's about all this song has going for it. There's a melody in the vocals, but it's not very interesting or memorable, and otherwise this is pretty tuneless. Tuneless can work, but this sounds like an incomplete drums/percussion and vocals track, which also makes it overlong.

Track 4, "Don't Think I'm Not" by Kandi 4/5
The opening guitar part sounds like a rip-off of something that I can't quite place. I think it's part Air Supply's "Even the Nights Are Better" and maybe part Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme". I haven't heard either for a long time. Anyway, it's changed enough, and I don't mind conspicuous influence in general. Great singing on this track, and a nice, surprising chorus--the strong contrast doesn't seem like it should work, but it does.

Track 5, "I Think I'm in Love with You" by Jessica Simpson 3/5
Of course, this is more than conspicuous influence, the verse and chorus music is a hip-hop drumbeat under a sample of John Cougar Mellencamp's song, "Jack and Diane". I think it works better for the chorus than the verse. I would have rather heard something original on the verses. Simpson can definitely sing, though. This song is nice and catchy, but seems pretty much calculated to be a pop hit, rather than existing because of an artistic desire to express something.

Track 6, "Faded" by Soul Decision 1.5/5
Banal, but with a couple hints of something more interesting wanting to pop out, particularly in the chorus, but I can't get over the lame bass and drum part, the hokey rap break, or the hokey 16th-note "chingy" guitar part. This stuff should only be done this way as a joke by this point.

Track 7, "Shake It Fast" by Mystikal 4/5
Nice. If James Brown did hip-hop. Too bad he hasn't kept out of jail and kept current like that. This is an example of how to do sparse (like the Destiny's Child track) right--it's not tuneless, just minimalistic.

Track 8, "Case of the Ex" by Mya 4.5/5
This has a creative structure with some very interesting orchestration. The whole song, except for the bridge, is the same chord sequence/groove repeated over and over, but the subtle orchestration builds it and develops variations that avoid monotony. The bridge is equally creative and unusual. The vocals are far more traditional but very well done.

Track 9, "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" by Aaron Carter 1.5/5
The many samples are put together competently, but there's nothing very special or interesting about them. Carter is pretty useless as a rapper. Overall, it sounds like a bad skit from the New Mickey Mouse Club.

Track 10, "Lucky" by Britney Spears 5/5
Spears isn't anything special (or rotten, either) as a singer, but she tended to have excellent producers, songwriters and musicians working for her. These guys thoroughly know their craft. This song is no exception. Very catchy, with great, unusual production and very solid musicianship. I've picked up a couple Spears CDs, too, and like them a lot.

Track 11, "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" by Backstreet Boys 3.5/5
Also solid craftsmanship, but a bit too traditional, over-the-top early 1980s styled Adult/MOR production for my tastes. It tends to sterilize things. Still, this is a decent, well-written song.

Track 12, "Incomplete" by Sisqo 2.5/5
The very beginning is so hokey-syrupy that it's scary, but it quickly recovers some authenticity. Okay song, but too by-the-numbers. A computer program could have written it.

Track 13, "I Wanna Be With You" by Mandy Moore 5/5
Very melodically and rhythmically interesting vocal, sung well by Moore. This has a surprising, almost kd lang-ish feel, and I love lang. You can also hear a heavy, almost trippy 1960s pop influence at times. Yet, it is able to still remain very commercial. Well done.

Track 14, "Doesn't Really Matter" by Janet Jackson 5/5
I liked Jackson long before hearing her here. Impressive singing with a difficult melody as always, with very creative grooves, production, song structure and effective harmony/chord progressions.

Track 15, "Back Here" by BBMak 5/5
A great combination of styles, from slightly Beatles-esque, folky verses to the very artfully written hip-hop/new country choruses. I need to hear more from this artist.

Track 16, "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days 4/5
A bit derivative and typical, but a good, catchy song. The prechoruses and the short bridge (before the guitar solo) work the best.

Track 17, "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down 2/5
Why does the production on this sound horrible? Anyway, the beginning is orchestrated unusually, but doesn't do anything for me--the chord progression and drums are way too banal, the bass (when it arrives) is on autopilot, and that's the case for the whole song. Not much of a melody either.

Track 18, "Wonderful" by Everclear 2.5/5
Argh. Another insipid chord progression and groove. The choruses are better, but not enough.

Track 19, "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi 3/5
More banality harmonically on the verses, but the production makes up for it a bit. Also a nice, typically effective, melodic and anthemic chorus for Bon Jovi.

I am not a big fan of pop, R&B, and rock music, however... I do like a few songs. I bought this CD and I love it so much! I don't like Shake It Fast, Incomplete, or Aaron's Party. If I were to change it, I would remove those songs and replace them with a Christina Aguliera song, a Blink 182 song and Sisqo's Thong Song... Then it would be perfect! I had never heard the song Faded before... it is now my favorite. It's a perfect blend of pop and rock.

When the first NOW came out, so long ago, it really was a good disc of catchy, diverse music. You could have Everclear, Marcy Playground and Everclear all on one disk, and it was good. A while passes...NOW 2 comes out and it a good CD except the second half of it is Boy Band "Pop" (....) Then they begin pumping out these collections like candy. NOW 3, 4 and NOW 5 are now all pre-packaged. All I know is that the NOW series really went down hill.

It was with "NOW 5" that the American version of the "NOW" series cemented itself as a driving force in the music industry. On the sales side, it went quadruple (4x) within four months, and was Billboard's #4 Album of 2001 (although it was released in November 2000). The series had slowly been growing and, despite the less than brilliant "NOW 4", this was the breakout edition. That aside, the album is a victory as both a complilation of quality musuc, and a time capsule of the big hits from Summer 2000. Everything flows with perfect ease; as almost every song satisfies (Aaron Carter being the large exception). This also serves as an example of how great as compliation can be, and demonstrates how compilation albums are a solution to the downloading epidemic. The 19 Top Chart Hits:
(1) *N Sync "It's Gonna Be Me" A. Just like "Bye Bye Bye", this is another track that works because of it's massive, slick production. The song doesn't really have much meaning, but the hook is very catchy and the energy is vibrant throughout. "Teen pop" is just like any type of music: there is a right and wrong way to do, and this is a flawless piece.
(2) 98 Degrees "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" A. They may have lacked the push that *N Sync and the Backstreet Boys had, yet they were just as good. Wheras "Because Of You" and "The Hardest Thing" had an R&B edge, this has a stylish latin flavor for it's flow. Two very different styles to work with. The end result hear is light and simple, yet it's a lively, stormin' and highly enjoyable track.
(3) Destiny's Child "Jumpin' Jumpin'" B+. As it is, this is a very catchy, energy filled club dance song which is impossible not to enjoy. The problem is that it's a small step down from the relevance of "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name", and even "Bug-A-Boo". Still, you can't complain too much when the production is this stormin'.
(4) Kandi "Don't Think I'm Not" B. Xscape was always a good R&B group, without achiving the greatness of TLC or En Vouge. Kandi's solo project is the same way; entertaining, but not very groundbreaking. The material on "Don't Think I'm Not" is nothing to rave about, yet Kandi brings her skill and zest to give it some life.
(5) Jessica Simpson "I Think I'm In Love With You" B. Jessics Simpson arrived in late 1999 as a "adult teen pop singer". She jeered away from the flashiness of Britney and Christina, and instead ventured into love ballads. The material here is a pleasant, sartisfing listen, that just doesn't offer much new material. It's a well done song, but she held her true talent in til later (2003's "In This Skin" LP).
(6) SoulDescision "Faded" A-. 2000 was a strange year for dance; the styles examplified extremes, yet only some of them fully succeeded. "Faded" is a very good dance song that got lost amongst giants like Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" and Moby's "Natrual Blues". It's a quite breezy infusuon of dance and hip-hop that is flowing with energy and production. No depth, yet you can't get it out of your head.
(7) Mystikal "Shake It Fast" B-. For every good quality about this song, there is a bad quality. As an angrier version of James Brown's style; it's sorta entertaining, but that is only the surface. In the end Mystikal's voice is not very appealing to the ear, and the material, while fun, is really about nothing. There was much better rap than this in 2000.
(8) Mya "Case Of The Ex" A. For some reason, Mya doesn't release to much music, but whenever she does it's always terrific. This is no exception; "Case Of The Ex" is a fiery, passionate, sorta striking modern R&B tune. It's glitzy on the suface; although there is real substance underneath it all. A very underated gem.
(9) Aaron Carter "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" F. Here is a song that fails in EVERY musical level. The beats, the production, the lyrics; NOTHING works on this disaster. The song the same effect on nails on a chalk board. It goes nowhere, has no appeal to the listener and has no purpose for it's existance at all. Other than to take money away from simple people.
(10) Britney Spears "Lucky" C+. No that good, but anything sounds good after track #9. That aside, this isn't good Britney, but it's not awful either. There is some meaning in the lyrics, and a message about celebrity life attempting to be expressed. The song just never pulls together, and lacks the the impact that could have been achived.
(11) Backstreet Boys "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" A-. Another example of the BSBs' mastery of the pop ballad. The song is touching. heartfelt and filled with beautiful images. More of an adult contemporary song than teen pop one. Delivery is a very crucial part of any song; and this song has a graceful one.
(12) Sisqo "Incomplete" A. After the terrific "Thong Song", it's nice to see Sisqo flexing his R&B side. He succeeds with ease here in creating a beautifulo, heartfelt contemporary R&B ballad. The lyrics slowly develop and let the emoition pour out at a regular pace. At the end, we are left feelimg rather sad and thoughtful.
(13) Mandy Moore "I Wanna Be With You" B-. A standard pop ballad that lacks the juice needed to liven it. It's well crafted, and competently made, but Mandy's voice doesn't have much of an impact, and we've heard all of this before. She has had much better songs, including the touching "Crush".
(14) Janet "Doesn't Really Matter" A. One of the best songs Janet has ever recorded, and that's saying something. The beat is catchy and energenic, yet the single's real strength is the heartfelt, meaningful lyrics. Everythingb about it is sweet an lovable; it really is a relief to hear a song this positive and entertaining.
(15) BBMAK "Back Here" B. A well made teen pop track, that lacks the skill and zest that *N Sync and the Backsteet Boys bring to their music. It is a decent listen, just instantly forgettable afterwards. The group doesn't push any limits, thus the song doesn't really have much impact.
(16) Nine Days "Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)" B+. Not a great rock song by any means, yet one that is very enjoyable and made with alot of skill. Although the material is nothing new; the group brings some style and energy to the song. It's good enough to make you wonder why they disappeared right after.
(17) 3 Doors Down "Kryptonite" A. Such a promising debut single, that you wonder why they couldn't "keep up the pace". The production is very memorable, and the lyrics are original and differnt. The content is standard, but they give new life through their writing and style. It wasn't until 2005's "Let Me Go" that came close to equaling it.
(18) Everclear "Wonderful" A-. "AM Radio" is good fun, yet this has so much more substance to it. They never try to hard, and just relax to let their powerful lyrics and "images" seep into your mind and soul. This really is a beautiful, meaningful rock song. One of the group's best.
(19) Bon Jovi "It's My Life" A. This is what rock music SHOULD be. Yes, it has great insturmentals, and is made with joy and professionalism. But the content is the most remakable thing about it; a message that any listener can relate to, as it is very universal. It's too bad there aren't more rock track like this out there.
Bottom Line: ***1/2. A very good, highly entertaining compilation that would be great if it wasn't for that terrible Aaron Carter song. It's a shame that it's even on this on album; we could use some more rap/hip-hop in place of it (LL Cool J's "Imagine That" or Nelly's "Country Grammar (Hot...)" would have been much better). That aside, this is an excellent collection of music in 2000. Definetly worth a buy.