Customer Reviews

Now That's What I Call Music! 10

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I'm really enjoying "Now That's What I Call Music! Volume 10". I just bought it today and I can't stop listening to it. Though it has the misunfortunate of no classic Backstreet Boys song on it, there are still a lot of excellent tracks that were added on instead...I just hope the BSB comes out with a new single by the time the next "Now" CD is made! Of course, most of these songs were overplayed on the radio, but that's what makes these songs popular and why they are put on the CD in the first place. Here's the track listings:

(1) "Overprotected" ('Dark Child Remix')--Britney Spears. The remix version you hear in the video. This is probably one of Britney's best songs ever, and this is a cool remix. Grade: A

(2) "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"--Kylie Minogue. I just love this song! I actually like her new single, "Love At First Sight" even more, but this one is still great! Grade: A+

(3) "Escape"--Enrique Iglesias. They haven't had Enrique on this series since volume 3 with "Bailamos". I think "Escape" is a great song...and I love his new single, "Don't Turn Off The Lights". Grade: A-

(4) "I've Got You" ('Ric Wake Version')--Marc Anthony. Another Latin/pop artist with a very Latin-style song. I think it's great and I love the lyrics. Grade: B+

(5) "Girlfriend" ('Neptunes Remix feat. Nelly')--N Sync. And how many times have I heard this song? Like, about a million! I used to think this was N Sync's best song til the radio stations started overplaying it...then it got tiring and boring, fast. Grade: D-

(6) "I'm Gonna Be Alright" ('Track Masters Remix feat. Nas')--Jennifer Lopez. Finally! They get the remix on here instead of the original...not that J.Lo's original songs are bad...this is a good song though unfortunately, they are starting to overplay it. Grade: B

(7) "Don't Say Goodbye"--Paulina Rubio. A fresh, new Latin/pop song that I've grown to love! Like Shakira, Paulina Rubio first made it big internationally before making it big over here in the States. I just wish I heard this song more often on the radio...Grade: A

(8) "Move It Like This"--Baha Men. Surprisingly, not as annoying as "Who Let The Dogs Out?". This song is actually somewhat catchy, though it's pretty embarrassing to be caught shaking your booty to it. Grade: C

(9) "More Than A Woman"--Aaliyah. One of my most favorite Aaliyah songs! It's just a terrible shame that we will never be able to hear anymore from this incredibly talented woman. Aaliyah really was more than a woman! Grade: A+

(10) "Uh-Huh"--B2K. Though the lyrics probably match up to an elementary school student's level, this hip-hop song is incredibly catchy and a huge guilty pleasure. Grade: A-

(11) "Always On Time"--Ja Rule feat. Ashanti. This song, I believe, is old and off Ja Rule's last album, but this is still a great song! I'm not Ashanti's hugest fan, but I'll admit she does very well on this hip-hop track. Grade: B

(12) "Sugarhigh"--Jade Anderson. I don't care much for this song, it's not very good...I heard it once and I didn't like it so I skip it now. Grade: D-

(13) "Halfcrazy"--Musiq. I'm definitely not even half crazy over this song. Another song I usually skip. Grade: D-

(14) "Underneath Your Clothes"--Shakira. Excellent track! Starting to get overplayed, yes, but still a nice ballad. Shakira is an excellenter singer! Grade: A

(15) "A Thousand Miles"--Vanessa Carlton. Another good song that's starting to get overplayed. Vanessa is a good pianoist and a lot better than that Alicia Keys...I enjoy this song! Grade: B

(16) "A New Day Has Come"--Celine Dion. Celine Dion?! What the heck is Celine on this CD for? Not that I'm complaining, since I'm a huge fan and just adore this song. But, still...Grade: A+

(17) "We Are All Made Of Stars"--Moby. Okay. Moby's best song is still "South Side" with Gwen Stefani, but this is still an okay song. Not one of my favorites, though. Grade: C-

(18) "First Date"--Blink 182. Typical Blink 182 song. Pretty good...but not a classic like "The Rock Show" or "All The Small Things". Still, an okay song. Grade: C

(19) "Stillness Of Heart"--Lenny Kravitz. Okay, I liked Lenny's "Dig In", but that's as big of a fan that I am of Lenny Kravitz's music. This one I found to be quite boring...Grade: D+

(20) "How You Remind Me"--Nickelback. As overplayed as this song may seem, it's still one of my favorites off the compilation CD. I really love Chad Kroguer's "Hero" from the "Spider-Man" movie, but this one is still great! Grade: A

A huge step up from "Now 9", in my personal opinion. I actually think this compares to "Totally Hits 2002"...maybe even better! If you love collecting compilation CDs like this, then "Now 10" is highly recommended. Can only imagine what'll be on "Now 11"!

Final Grade: A

With each and every compilation volume, the 'Now! That's What I Call Music' series is, indeed, getting better. Though 'Now 10' doesn't include #1 hits, it DOES include great music from the pop, hip-hop, and rock genres. Here are the track listings:

1.) "Overprotected" [the DarkChild Remix] Britney Spears...5/5 stars (Pop)
2.) "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" Kylie Minogue...5/5 stars (Pop)
3.) "Escape" Enrique Iglesias...5/5 stars (Latin/Pop)
4.) "I've Got You" Marc Anthony...5/5 stars (Latin/pop)
5.) "Girlfriend" [the Neptunes Remix] N Sync FEATURING Nelly...4/5 stars (Hip-hop, er...kind of!)
6.) "I'm Gonna Be Alright" [Track Masters Remix] Jennifer Lopez FEATURING Nas...4/5 stars (Hip-hop)
7.) "Don't Say Goodbye" Paulina Rubio...5/5 stars (Latin/pop)
8.) "Move It Like This" Baha Men...4/5 stars (Pop)
9.) "More Than A Woman" Aaliyah...5/5 stars (R&B)
10.) "Uh Huh" B2K...4/5 stars (Hip-hop)
11.) "Always On Time" Ja Rule FEATURING Ashanti...4/5 stars (Rap)
12.) "Sugarhigh" Jade Anderson...1/5 stars (R&B)
13.) "Halfcrazy" Musiq...1/5 stars (R&B)
14.) "Underneath Your Clothes" Shakira...5/5 stars (Latin/pop)
15.) "A Thousand Miles" Vanessa Carlton...4/5 stars (Pop)
16.) "A New Day Has Come" Celine Dion...5/5 stars (Pop)
17.) "We Are All Made Of Stars" Moby...2/5 stars (Techno)
18.) "First Date" Blink-182...3/5 stars (Punk Rock)
19.) "Stillness Of Heart" Lenny Kravitz...1/5 stars (Rock)
20.) "How You Remind Me" Nickelback...4/5 stars (Rock)

As you can tell from my ratings, there are some tracks in which I don't like but there are more tracks than I do like than don't. This series is great because there is usually something for everybody on here. 'Now 10' would be the perfect gift for the holidays!

I highly recommend 'Now! That's What I Call Music' volume 10.

Score:
89/100
B+

The purpose of the NOW! series is to present various highly rated songs from various genres not to make an album of top 40 hits. Most of these songs were not picked because of the songs but because of who performs them. Shakira at the time of this cd's release was considered the next big thing in female pop vocalists and she is. Moby (the most talented man in music today the guy plays ALL the instruments on his cds,mixes and sings) was selected because he took electronica out of the underground clubs and got it to the Grammys and MTV. I'd like to see NOW! branch out into say a double cd set and feature artists from more genres such as country, blues, new age. Sort of a potpourri of the best of all styles. But this is still a good cd to have for parties and other gatherings i DJ for a living and my club gets each one of these as they come out.

By the summer of 2002, the volumes of Now That's What I Call Music arrived fast and furiously, separated by just a couple of months. They move so fast that they don't necessarily have enough genuine hits to fill out all 20 tracks on the compilation, so the compilers balance the big songs ("Can't Get You Out of My Head," "Girlfriend," "A Thousand Miles," "How You Remind Me") with hits that almost made it ("We Are All Made of Stars," "Overprotected," "Halfcrazy," "I've Got You"), could make it in a couple months after the compilation is released ("First Date," "Don't' Say Goodbye"), or clearly won't make it ("Stillness of Heart," "A New Day Has Come"). Such is the case with NOW 10, which almost has too many songs that didn't quite catch with the public to recommend it as strongly as earlier volumes in the series, when it was nothing but hits all the time. But, there are some very good singles here, enough to keep it interesting and entertaining and, above all, NOW 10 is recommended because it capture the particular sound and spirit of the time it covers. In this case, the summer of 2002 did have a few really good singles on the airwaves, but the music industry was in a bit of a slump, both in terms of sales and quality. This captures that feeling quite well, actually, since it has some clear also-rans along with the hits -- and, unlike radio in 2002, there are enough hits and good songs during this hour to make it worth listening to, overall.

Recommended: Yes

If someone hasnt plagiarized my idea yet (ive been doing this for about 2 yrs and i was the one with the original idea so if anyone else is doing this they have copied me)

Here is a list of the songs on the CD and the peak position on the billboard hot 100 chart:

1. Overprotected (Darkchild Remix) - Britney Spears-#89
2. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue--#7
3. Escape - Enrique Iglesias---#12
4. I've Got You (Ric Wake Version) - Marc Anthony--#81
5. Girlfriend (Neptunes Remix feat. Nelly) - *Nsync---#5
6. I'm Gonna Be Alright (Track Masters Remix feat. Nas) - Jennifer Lopez---#10
7. Don't Say Goodbye - Paulina Rubio---#41
8. Move It Like This - Baha Men--#96
9. More Than A Woman - Aaliyah----#25
10. Uh Huh - B2k---#39
11. Always on Time - Ja Rule w/ Ashanti---#1 for 2 weeks
12. Sugarhigh - Jade Anderson (?) Didnt Chart
13. halfcrazy - Musiq----#17
14. Underneath Your Clothes - Shakira----#9
15. A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton---#5
16. A New Day Has Come - Celine Dion---#22
17. We Are All Made Of Stars - Moby---DID NOT CHART
18. First Date - Blink 182----#71
19. Stillness Of Heart - Lenny Kravitz---DID NOT CHART
20. How You Remind Me - Nickelback---#1 (4 weeks)

When I looked at Now 9, I thought 'oh great! A downfall'. But, as I'm reviewing this, I'm also looking at Now 9. That CD sounds a lot better now than it did when it got released. Same thing with this CD. I wrote a review of this one disliking this CD but as I look at it tonight, it sounds good. My tastes change constantly. So, here's an album with songs they grow on you (eventually):

1. Overprotected (Darkchild Remix) by Britney Spears-it Britney Spears. Blah. 'I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman' was better.

2. Can't Get You Out Of My Head by Kylie Minogue-catchy now, annoying before. Overplayed. 'Love At First Sight' was better.

3. Escape by Enrique Iglesias-nice (Enrique is SO HOT!). Overplayed. 'Don't Turn Off the Lights' was better.

4. I've Got You (Ric Wake Version) by Marc Anthony-nice. He sounds like Enrique.

5. Girlfriend (Neptunes Remix feat. Nelly) by *Nsync-LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Nelly sounds SO GOOD! Only good part of the song. Overplayed.

6. I'm Gonna Be Alright (Track Masters Remix feat. Nas) by Jennifer Lopez-like it. 'Alive' was better though. Overplayed.

7. Don't Say Goodbye by Paulina Rubio-the latest thing to hit the music industry. She's okay, kind of annoying though. Overplayed.

8. Move It Like This by Baha Men-wow! A good song by Baha Men! I'm shocked beyond words! :O I thought 'Who Let the Dogs Out' would kill them and you wouldn't hear anything from them. They proved a lot of people wrong (including me).

9. More Than A Woman by Aaliyah-R.I.P. :( Overplayed.

10. Uh Huh by B2k-love this song (and B2K too)!

11. Always on Time by Ja Rule w/ Ashanti-its never appealed to me. Overplayed.

12. Sugarhigh by Jade Anderson-um...okay

13. halfcrazy by Musiq-sexy :)

14. Underneath Your Clothes by Shakira-I love this song (long story why). Overplayed.

15. A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton-nice. 'Twilight' was better though. One of the most overplayed songs of the year.

16. A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion-Celine Dion is awesome! 'That's the Way It Is' was better though.

17. We Are All Made Of Stars by Moby-Moby is weird...but, these lyrics are good

18. First Date by Blink 182-another one of those LOL! Blink-182 songs (and videos). Blink-182 ROCKS!

19. Stillness Of Heart by Lenny Kravitz-Lenny Kravitz songs sound all the same...good.

20. How You Remind Me by Nickelback-ummm...isn't this one kind of old? What about 'Too Bad', 'Hero', or something? Overplayed.

There's one thing missing from this CD: BSB! WAH! :( But overall, good CD.

It must be difficult for the guys working behind "Now That's What I Call Music!". Since its debut (here in the States anyway- over in the UK they're already up into "Now 40" or something like that) in 1998, "Now!" has become the most successful compilation series in history for its timely up-to-date collection of the biggest hits. Four years into the groove, it's become more of a seasonal collection rather than a year or half-yearly collection. As a result, there aren't enough genuine hits to pad the constant flow, and the quality of "Now!" albums has certainly fallen recently. "Now! Vol. 10" is no exception to this rule- most of the songs were only minor hits or made no impact whatsoever. But it's the tracks that did get attention at radio that make the disc work so well. For starters, it truly does sound like an album from the summer of 2002. A couple of the songs had passed their peak, i.e. Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (she was already onto her next single "Love At First Sight" by this time) or Ja Rule's "Always on Time", but these spring hits still had resonance throughout the summer. And the big songs on here are genuinely good songs. "Can't Get You Out of My Head"- arguably the biggest dance song of the year next to DJ Sammy's "Heaven"- showed Americans just what they had been missing out on all these years that Minogue was a mega-superstar overseas, Enrique Iglesias' "Escape" is catchy in its own right, and the late Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman" is just as confident and sexy as her previous hits. Like any album attempting to summarize pop music in this generation, there are several weak spots (Marc Anthony's "I've Got You"? Honestly, now). But for those, especially teenagers, who lived through this period and paid attention to popular music, it's a wonderful time capsule and the perfect summary of the best- and worst- of 2002 Top 40.

They made it to a 10th volume of Now in 2002! And this album is such a fun, upbeat album! It is high energy numbers the first 11 songs before slowing it down a bit and picking back up. Britney Spears' funky Overprotected weaves very well into Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head! Then another pair comes in as rival Latin stars Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony's songs come on tracks 3 and 4. Some Now collections have some hits and misses, but this collection is so consistent. It's good when certain songs balance well back to back such as Jennifer Lopez, Paulina Rubio, Baha Men, Aaliyah, B2K and Ja Rule's songs do. Musiq's smooth Halfcrazy and Lenny Kravitz's moving Stillness of Heart are the strongest ballads on here. Nickelback's How You Remind Me closes the album out in a big way too! This is just as strong as Now 5 two years before it. I still listen to it sometimes, yet manage to keep up with 2004 and 2005 albums as well. Fun, bouncy, addictive!

1. The original version is so much better. C-
2. Her best song ever. A+
3. O.....kay? D
4. No you don't. F
5. Really good, for once a guest rapper actually improves the original. A+
6. Way better than the original but not her best song. B+
7. Horrible overseas crap. F-
8. Horrible Kidz Bop crap. F-
9. Her best song ever!!!! A+
10. B2K sucks! F
11. I used to think this was his best song, but then I heard "Wonderful." But this song is still very good; his second-best song ever. A+
12. Wow, this song is stupendously horrible. It's managed the amazing feat of having absolutely no redeeming qualities: the beat isn't catchy, it's annoying. The production is mediocre. The girl can't sing. The lyrics are as sugary and airy and gag-inducingly stupid as you can possibly get. No wonder this chick never released an actual album (at least not here she didn't!!) She is the perfect example of how the quality of music in Europe is rapidly depleting. F----.
13. Ugh Norah Jones meets some crappy jazz band no one's heard of. F
14. ...Her other two hits are so much better. C
15. Her best song ever. A+
16. Meh. It's okay in small doses, but nothing special. This woman desperately needs to do a dance song. Enough with the ballads! You've proved your point! You can sing!!! B-
17. Hmm.....'Play' is easily his best album, but this might be the best song off '18.' Not as good as "South Side," but alright. Unique. B
18. Whoa Blink-182 doing heartfelt lyrics we can actually relate to....AND an infectious beat?! These retards may be taking a turn for the better! A+
19. Ew. F-
20. ....This song was overplayed so bad I don't like it anymore. D

1)Britney Spears-Overprotected-(Pop)-I REALLY liked the original better. The remix makes it sound like she's trying to make it punk, and the little sound in the background like a whoopee cushion is going off is really annoying. :/ The chorus is catchy, though. 7/10
2) Kylie Minogue-Can't Get You Out of My Head-(Pop/Techno)-I like the techno beat to it, and you easily find yourself singing it in your head. My favorite track! 10/10
3)Enrique Iglesias-Escape-(Latin/Pop)-Don't listen to it.....no comment
4)Marc Anthony-I've Got You-(Latin/Pop)-He really needs to give up.......he's trying to have an Indian feel to this song, and it's not working. 2/10
5)*NSYNC-Girlfriend (Remix)-(Pop/Hip-Hop)-Way better than the original. I like the rap Nelly brings to it. It's all right. 8/10
6) Jennifer Lopez-I'm Gonna Be All Right (Remix)-(Style of her own....)-Really great beat, but not her best song....Jenny From the Block is way better. I really don't like her voice on this track. 5/10

7)Paulino Rubio-Don't Say Goodbye-(Latin/Pop)-I don't listen to it that much, but who the heck is Paulino Rubio? I've never heard this song on the radio. 6/10
8)Baha Men-Move It Like This-(Pop)-Ummmm.....no. Shouldn't this be on "Kidz Bop"? I skip this track. 1/10
9)Aaliyah-More Than A Woman-(R&B)-OMG! I LOVE THIS SONG! It makes you get up and dance. It is Aaliyah's best work, IMO. I always think she's saying "more than a llama, more than a woman". LOL Rest in peace, Aaliyah. Your music was great! 10/10
10)B2K-Uh-Huh-(Hip-Hop)-Very catchy song! It's really easy to sing along 2. They bring a lot of excitement to this song. 9/10
11)Ja Rule feat. Ashanti-Always On Time-(Rap-R&B)-I don't really care for the rap in it, but Ashanti rocks in this song! Probably the song I listen to the most. 7/10
12) Jade Anderson-Sugarhigh-(Pop)-Too bubble-gummy and poppish for me. The lyrics "He was wonderful/lovable/he was truly just so beautiful" are too horrible and unoriginal for being on a CD. The chorus is at least slightly catchy. I recommend skipping it....3/10
14) Shakira-Underneath Your Clothes-(Latin)-Way too overplayed on the radio! I liked it the first time i heard it, but it's too slow. 5/10
15) Vanessa Carlton-A Thousand Miles-Again, way too overplayed! The lyrics are unoriginal. Awesome piano part, though! 6/10
I REALLY don't like the rest of the songs in this album, so I don't want to waste my time writing about how bad they are. I would have to say "More Than a Woman" is my favorite track on there. Overall, an OK CD, but the NOW series is definitely decreasing in quality. :(