Greatest Hits

LeAnn Rimes

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 18, 2003)
• Original Release Date: November 18, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Curb Records
• ASIN: B0000D9PFN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,230 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Not many artists can boast a greatest-hits album by their 21st birthday, but then not everybody logs a Lolita-ish hit at age 13, as the precocious Rimes did with the retro "Blue" in 1996. In many ways, that auspicious debut was her finest hour, full of hypnotic, yodel-laced magic and savant-like promise. Since then, she's recorded a fair amount of bankable pop ("One Way Ticket," "Can't Fight the Moonlight") and a seemingly bottomless well of tripe ("You Light Up My Life," "Written in the Stars" with Elton John). It all sits back-to-back on this collection of 16 familiar tunes, braced with a second DVD disc and three new audio recordings: "This Love," "Last Thing on My Mind" (a duet with Ronan Keating), and the holiday favorite, "O Holy Night." Alas, of the new songs, the first two point up the weakness of much of Rimes's career--her connect-the-dots emotionality. That leaves the heralded Christmas classic, on which she attempts some nervous Whitney Houston canoodling. Best advice: Put the player on "repeat," and enjoy the royal "Blue" treat that got this career rolling, before the aerobicized videos and the embarrassing lawsuit with Daddy. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Singer, Thorough Retrospective, Mediocre Material, December 23, 2003

By	James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When LeAnn Rimes first came into prominence in 1996 - belting out "Blue" at 13 years of age - she was hailed as the new Patsy Cline. Seven years later, the Cline comparisons have faded, more a reflection of Rimes' subpar subsequent material than a drop in her vocal ability.

"Blue's" follow-ups "One Way Ticket" and "Unchained Melody" were less traditional, but kept the emphasis on her glorious contralto. The pop success of 1997's "How Do I Live" (Trisha Yearwood's version hit bigger at country radio), however, would lead Rimes in a slicker direction, with Britney-like dance tracks "Can't Fight The Moonlight" and "Life Goes On" that mired her voice in heavy production. Even the ballad selection was often questionable, the nadir being her remake of Debbie Boone's sappy "You Light Up My Life."

Greatest Hits closes with three new recordings. "Last Thing On My Mind" - a duet with Ronan Keating -is forgettable, but the fluid, steel guitar-infused "This Love" charms and deserves to return Rimes to country chart prominence. Best of all is Rimes' spinetingling interpretation of "Oh Holy Night" that will surely be a staple on country radio at Christmastime for years to come.

While it is hard to imagine an admirer of "Blue" being enthralled with "Can't Fight The Moonlight" (and vice-versa), this nineteen track collection provides a thorough picture of Rimes' eclectic career. It also includes a limited edition dvd containing four of Rimes' videos.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, August 27, 2004

By	Compilation Collector (USA) - See all my reviews

I am always stunned by the song selection for practically every "Greatest Hits" collection that has ever been released. This CD is unfortunately not an exception:

* Why are we subjected to the Graham Stack remix of "Can't Fight The Moonlight"? I do not understand why Curb did not include the version that was played on the radio.

* The radio and "Aida" CD version of "Written In The Stars" features Elton John singing first followed by LeAnn on each verse. The version on this CD features LeAnn opening each verse followed by Elton.

* Where is "Looking Through Your Eyes" - a Top 20 Pop and Top Five A/C hit? I can understand the exclusion of lesser hits - "Hurt Me," "These Arms Of Mine," "But I Do Love You," "Feels Like Home." But why include an album track, "Crazy," at the expense of a bona fide hit?

* Who determined the sequencing of this? There's no order - chronology, chart success, song style - whatsoever. Since LeAnn has recorded all over the musical landscape, the presentation here does not provide any flow.

This CD is saved by LeAnn's stunning voice and the songs - at least those in the versions that we remember.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The First era, February 4, 2004

By	Jerry McDaniel (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

Whenever an artist puts out their FIRST Greatest Hits album, it's supposed to be a closing of a chapter in the first phase of their career. Out of the 19 songs on this CD, 17 are actual hits while two were not. "Crazy" was a hit overseas. "O Holy Night" and the duet with Ronan Keating on "Last Thing On My Mind" were NOT hits. What we're treated to are 17 country and pop hits that LeAnn placed on the charts from 1996 through the present, "This Love" is at #39 on the country chart after the pop success of "We Can" late last year. LeAnn broke out of the Patsy Cline mold after the success of "How Do I Live", which sold 3,000,000 copies and was #1 on the AC charts for 12 weeks and remained in the pop Top-10, Top-40, and overall Hot 100 for record setting weeks. Her 1999 duet with Elton John, "Written in the Stars", is also on here as is her trademark "Blue" and "One Way Ticket". "Can't Fight The Moonlight" was her HUGE international million seller from 2001. However, several hits are missing: "Feels Like Home" hit #8 AC in 1998, "These Arms of Mine" hit #34 country in 1999, "Looking Through Your Eyes" hit #5 AC in 1998, "But I Do Love You" hit #19 country in 2001, "Soon" hit #8 AC in 2002, and "Suddenly" hit #4 AC in 2003...one would think that those songs should've been on here instead of the two NON-HITS. A DVD also comes with the CD and it features "Blue", "How Do I Live?", "Can't Fight The Moonlight", and "We Can".