Alternative Rock Compilations music reviews

Expected a powerhouse; disappointing; it's too bad really; it could have been great

I am a very big fan of pop/rock female singers. This compilation sure brings together some of 2004's biggest females. All the songs are well chosen for a classical sounding CD with some heart-filled ballads and some melodic rockers as well.

Beautiful: I'm not a big fan of Christina but this song changed my view of this dance/pop singer.

Intuition: Jewel is truly one of the most amazing singers in the world. This isn't my favorte. 2 Become 1 would fit better.

I'm Like A Bird: This is Nelly's best song and one of my favorites on here. It's well-written and upbeat.

Are You Happy Now?: I LOVE Michelle Branch. This is her best hard core break up song. It's really rockin'.

Thank You: This is a beautiful ballad and I never get tired of it.

Overall, this is great and worth the money.

Although I feel they could have put a few more other female singers on here, for there are so many other women greatly talented as well, this c.d. does pluck out from the category a few true gems that shine in today's world of music.

1) Christina Aguilera- Beautiful (4/5)
Good- sounding song, the lyrics are great but I personally don't like Aguilera too much. She sings these female- empowered songs and then at times is not exactly the best role model for women. Makes no sense to me.

2) Faith Hill- Cry (5/5)
I consider this the best Faith Hill song and I know many will disagree, but I know many others will agree. This song is strong and very moving. I love it.

3) Jewel- Intuition (4/5)
Well many hate Jewel these days because of this new sound of hers, especially her original fans that were there for her when she merely sung with her guitar. Yet I guess she likes herself in this pop/ dance mode now and she doesn't really sound too bad either way. She has better songs than Intuition though, such as Standing Still, which should have been the song they put on here instead of this one. Still an enjoyable song nonetheless.

4) Nelly Furtado- I'm Like A Bird (5/5)
Amazing song, the lyrics I can very much relate to. Nelly isn't very much spoken of anymore, I assume her other c.d. didn't sell too well, or maybe she herself is plagued with the one hit wonder spell, and Like A Bird was just too big for any of her other songs to top. I don't know, but this is indeed a great song. I've always loved it.

5) Kelly Clarkson- Low (5/5)
One of Kelly's best songs, very catchy and her vocals are shown strongly in this song. Being the first American Idol she had definitely needed to prove herself on her first album and she did, including this smoking hit. Her second c.d. that I own holds a lot of songs that sound like this one, and so her second c.d. can sound a tad dull at times, but has a few smoking hits as well.

6) Alicia Keys- A Woman's Worth (1/5)
I can understand why they placed Keys on here, for she is widely praised, but honestly I never liked Key's music. There are so many other women behind a piano that I believe produce better songs. I think mainly though I just am turned off by her sound, I don't like it too much at all. And her lyrics are a tad cliche. But I know a bunch of others will love her on here, just not me. Personally, if it was my choice, I would have put Vanessa Carlton in the number six slot instead- to me, Vanessa Carlton is an amazing pianist and vocalist.

7) Dido- Thank You (4/5)
Great song, but not Dido's best. I love how she has a different sound and I have both of her albums so I know that she has a lot more powerful songs. Yet Dido is a smart choice to have on here for she is one of the best female vocalists out there.

Michelle Branch- Are You Happy Now? (5/5)
Yes I am happy now with this song! Lol. Michelle Branch has always been one of those female musicians that turned your head. Plainly at first called a girl with a guitar, she proved she is talented beyond her years, producing hit after hit, including this one from her second c.d. I heard she is no longer going solo anymore though, but will be singing with another woman. That's a shame, but who knows maybe it will be a good combination. This is a good rememberance though of the power Michelle held in her solo years.

9) Alanis Morisette- Thank U (10/5)
What I consider the best song on here and the real reason I bought this c.d. in the first place. Alanis has been a true mark on the musical world for women, and has inspired so many women to belt out their frustration to the audiences, and I couldn't be more of a fan her than I am. This is one of Alanis' best songs ever. Everyone loves Alanis angry, and now she has made an album where she has calmed down a tad, so now she is no longer under the spotlight too much, but I say she still sounds great. Great choice for this c.d. is this song definitely.

10) Sarah Mclachlan- Adia (4/5)
I am not a major fan of Sarah Mclachlan, I just never got into her too much, but Adia is a very plesant song to hear from her. She is obviously talented, and that is why she has such a strong cult following. I think this was a good choice to have on here.

11) LeAnn Rimes- How Do I Live (4/5)
A good song as well. I used to love hearing this song, the lyrics are sweet, almost to the point of sickeningly though. LeAnn though is another talented female artist and this is a widely popular song.

12)Cher- Believe (5/5)
I've always loved Cher's Believe song. It's probably more of the sound in the song but it's very catchy and upbeat. Cher has been around a long time but she deserves recognition, she worked probably as hard as any other female singer to get her title over the years.

13) Lisa Marie Presley- Lights Out (1/5)
Another female singer that I assume has a strong cult following but to me is not the best female singer out there. I can think of a few other female singers that could have filled her position I feel that are a lot better for the position, but it's not my choice. I never liked Lisa's music too much, nor this song.

14) Bonnie Raitt- I Can't Make You Love Me (3/5)
Eh...not too bad of a song, kind of nice, but nothing powerful. LeAnn Rimes has a better ballad on here. I don't know too much of Bonnie for her style of music is usually not on my radio stations, but this song isn't too bad, not very memorable though.

15) Cherie- I'm Ready (4/5)
Very upbeat song by Cherie, a girl once dubbed a young Celine Dion. Although I don't exactly agree with that, Cherie does have some vocals on her worth recognition. Instead of this song though I think they should have put Older Than My Years on here, a song that shows more strongly Cherie's vocals. But still a nice song to hear.

16) Natalie Merchant- Kind and Gernerous (5/5)
You know I remember hearing this song a long while ago and hardly paid attention to it, although I did find it catchy. Now I hear it on this c.d. and I just love it and can't believe I didn't love it sooner. I've known of Natalie for awhile but didn't give her chance. After hearing this song though, I am going to check out more of her stuff for she sounds like a very talented woman and her voice is like Dido's, different, but actually a breath of fresh air to the music world. I am glad they put this song on here great choice.

17) Rachael Yamagata- Under My Skin (4/5)
Rachael I just started to know with her single Worn Me Down, and that was a catchy song, and another reason I bought this c.d. was to hear another one of her songs. This song did get under my skin, for it is indeed catchy, in ways even more catchy than Worn Me Down. I'm glad they put this one on the c.d. too.

18) Heather Headley- I Wish I Wasn't (1/5)
This song sounds a lot like a bunch of other songs I hear on the radio everyday so no I don't like it. And the female's voice is nothing to specialize, it's an average voice. This whole song is a dime a dozen. I could think of so many others songs to have put on here instead of this one.

Toni Braxton- Un- Break My Heart (4/5)
I've always loved this song, this woman's voice is a lot more stronger and worth hearing. Toni Braxton is a woman singer worth recognition, and this song too is very popular and very moving. Good choice.

All of the performances found on this CD are good live versions of songs from good artists. I never attended the Lilith Fair when it was around so I didn't know what to expect when I checked this CD out; I picked it up soley for the names I recognized and liked (Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, etc.). After listening to this though I found that I didn't really like most of the songs. Not that they were bad songs or poorly performed but that this album's collection of artists was just too eclectic for my tastes. I'm not a rap fan at all so Queen Latifah's addition wasn't my favorite and the album wasn't stickered despite Tracy Bonham's lyrics. Because of my disappointment I have to give this 2 stars. If you went to the fair and only watched the performances from performers you liked then I'd suggest trying to check this out from your local library. If you like all or most of these artists then maybe this CD is for you.

No passionate or inspired musical performances here,just a bunch of females trying to prove something and some ... female-supporting male musicians to help them.

I wrote a review for this CD several months ago, saying I didn't like it apart from a few songs. After that, I put the CD away. I recently brought it out again, put it in the CD player, and realized "Hey, there's some good stuff on here." I didn't like it at first. Now I love it. If you are wanting to try some Lilith Fair, my advice would be to borrow this from someone... Listen to the whole thing a few times, even if you don't like it the first time. For some odd reason, it just grows on you till you are playing it nonstop.

This cd was never received by the person I sent it to, Neil Lilliedoll at 24439 Fairway Dr., Davis, CA 95616. I did pay the VISA bill before I realized this. I didn't know how to complain to Amazon because I didn't have my order number. I just looked it up & it was sent so I don't know what happened to it. B. Peck

I feel that the "Now That's What I Call Music!" series is one of the best things to happen to the music industry in quite some time. Especially in our age of illegal downloading; it provides a legal method to obtain great single without bankrupting your wallet. Ussually, the albums are well worth the purchase because they are solid collections of quality singles. That is not the case with "NOW 4"; one that is too much of a mixed bag. For every really good song, there is one that ranges from bad to average. Unfortunetly, the two types are scattered throughout (so we can't skip an entire section). The mixed bag of tracks:
(1) Backstreet Boys "Larger Than Life" A+. Commonly known for their ballads, the boys deliver a perfect dance number here. Everything is pumped up to create an energized, stormin' pop/rock track flowing with solid beats. You can't help getting caught up in the energy and excitment this gererates. One of 1999's best singles.
(2) Britney Spears "(You Drive Me) Crazy" C+. Fun beat and production, yet very shallow in the end. Sticks to memory afterwards, but after examination we realizie that the song is about nothing. Though it isn't terrible; there are many more songs out there which are more worthy of our time.
(3) Marc Anthony "I Need To Know" A. Simple content that is filled with so much energy, zest and excitment to make it work on all levels. Anthony shows himself to be a very versatile vocalist, and a person who can flow perfectly with his beats. The song is wisely on the short side, any longer could have ruined it. This is a true treasure of 1999.
(4) Mandy Moore "Candy" B+. The material doesn't have much in terms of depth, but Mandy brings enough flair and style to make it work. Her voice is effective as it gives a certain conviction and urgency to the lyrics. Not a brilliant "teen pop" song; just a very entertaining one.
(5) Eiffel 65 "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" B-. This song is very dificult to review. As intriuging as I find the lyrics and get mesmerized by the beat; I still wish the song would pull together and complete what it ventures into. Although it isn't a complete success; it is never boring.
(6) Sonique "It Feels So Good" D+. She sounds extremley high pitched, and the voice is so odd and strange, that the song is irreversably crippled by it. If there is any substance to the song; it becomes lost a muddled through out. This is an example of a dance song failing.
(7) Lenny Kravitz "I Belong To You" B+. It is rather refreshing to hear Lenny shed the massive beats, because that gives him the opprotunity to showcase his vocals. He sings this track with utter conviction and heart throughout. That gives the song a certain depth and emotion.
(8) Savage Garden "I Knew I Loved You" C. A well made song that just plays it safe, and never does anything new or exciting. The vocals are decent (beats are almost none-existent), but there is no real depth in them. In the end, the song lacks the impact that could have had from a better group (i.e. 98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys)
(9) Joe "I Wanna Know" B+. In contrast to many songs; this is a retro R&B track which works. The material is as old as time, yet Joe's classy, polished voice make it sound convincing and touching at all times. As they say: a very good singer can make an old song sound new; and that's what he does here.
(10) Aaliyah "Try Again" A-. There's a really nice undercut of hip-hop here, which gives the song alot of it's edge. Aaliyah's voice adds conviction to make the lyrics sound passionate, and add some depth to them. Proof that not all R&B has to be sad; you get completely wrapped up in Timbaland's production.
(11) Jennifer Lopez "Waiting For Tonight" B. Well made, but it doesn't fully display J. Lo's talents. It's catchy, fun and light, yet we know that the song could have been more than that. "On The 6" was her debut LP, and it seems average compared to her later albums, particularly "J. Lo".
(12) Montell Jordan "Get It On Tonite" C. His 1995 single, "This Is How We Do It" is a memorable R&B classic. Shame that the qualities that made that work (the slick vocals and beat) are all-together lacking here. What's left is a standard R&B tune with no life to it. A real step back for Montell Jordan.
(13) Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals "Steal My Kisses" D. Their ungainly mix of R&B, funk and folk is a total failure. The beat has no impact, the lyrics have no substance and there is no impact or meaning at all. Strange that "NOW" would use such an odd mess.
(14) Smash Mouth "Then The Morning Comes" B-. The begining is so brilliant, original and different; I wish the song kept up that pace. It's not in the same league as "All Star", but still remains a solid pop/rock single. You can't help listening to the opening over and over.
(15) Train "Meet Virginia" C-. I really liked "Drops Of Jupiter" and "Calling All Angels"; those were rock tracks filled with emotion and power. I don't see any purpose to this song; the emotion isn't there and it's very uninvolving. I guess Train just had to find their skills.
(16) Macy Gray "I Try" B-. This is a beautifully written song with heartfelt lyrics, made unsuccessful by one factor: Macy's voice. Her voice is very weak and not very appealing, thus she detracts from the impact of her work. This song would be much better if someone else sung it.
(17) Hanson "This Time Around" D. It's not as irrating as "MMMBop" (few songs are), but there is nothing good about it either. All that the song does is cement the fact that Hanson was a talentless group. A very disposable song.
(18) blink-182 "All The Small Things" A-. A very good song that delivers everything we expect from blink-182. In fact, it even has more dimension and relevance than most of their music. It's short, but that helps create a nice, little breeze of a rock single. A good ending to a so-so album.
Bottom Line: **1/2. A real step backwards after the great heights that "NOW 3" was able to reach. I liked some of the songs, but I really could have done without a handful of them. Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff", 98 Degrees' "I Do (Cherish You)", Q-Tip's "Vivrant Thing", Brian McKnight's "Stay Or Let It Go", Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" and Big Pun's "It's So Hard" all would have been better selection. I can not tell you to rush out and buy this, but put it on your wish list or hope for it as a gift.

A step up indeed was Vol. 4 in the Now! series, for with this contribution we recieve almost an entire album of quality songs with very few 'skipable' tracks. Sadly, the first track is 'skipable'. The Backstreet Boys offered some very decent tracks on their sophmore album, but the single 'Larger than Life' was not one of them. It's regurgitating pop/shlop at it's worst and should be avoided at all costs. And to think they had so many good tracks on that one CD alone. Britney serves up a great pop song with Crazy, although the 'Stop' remix for the film was better. Marc Anthony has never been my favortie latin artist, but I have always loved 'I Need to Know' so despite my distaste for Anthony himself, I don't skip this track.

Superstar Mandy Moore, who at this day and age is better known for her acting than her singing, serves up her debut single 'Candy' here and shows us that pretty face aside this girl can sing too. Out of all the pop queen diva's, next to Christina of course, Mandy has the purist voice, deffinatly surpassing Britney and that 'shoot myself if I ever have to hear her sing another song' Jessica Simpson.

There are some questionmarks here and they come in the form of Eiffel 65 and Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, both of which turn out tracks here that are less than impressive. I never was a far on 'Blue' and until this disc had never heard of 'Steal KIsses' but neither track makes me want to listen. I label these 'Skipable'...

I actually like 'It Feels So Good' mostly becasue it's not average and while it takes a little getitng used to it's still worth the listen. Finally a Lenny Kravitz song I like!!! 'I Belong to You' is a great song and it really showcases Kravitz talent, talent I wasn't privy to until this song. Savage Garden was big with a lot of my girlfriends at the time (both platonic and romantic) and 'I Knew I Loved You' was truly one of the best...plus I have a special place in my heart for that track (some naughty things happened while that track was pumpin').

Some strong tracks by the late Aaliyah (RIP) and a killer track by Montel (love this guy) help round out this album, making it more about the music than any particular genre. And yes J. Lo delivers with 'Waiting for Tonight' which is one of the best dance songs out there, and while some hated it I absolutly loved Trains 'Meet Virginia' for it was our first chance to meet Trian and they are truly one great band. Even Macy is forgivable here for she adds something to this album that no other artist could have...and that's an air of toleration. Notice I didn't list her with the 'sucky' songs for even though I'm not a huge fan of her or 'I Try' I've always respected her talent for what it was even if I just didn't quite get it.

Blink closes us out with yet another great song, though a bit overplayed...but it's Blink and you have to love them. Great collection of the best the year had to offer. Yes some were missed, some great and some not so, but what was shared was still memerable and well worth the storage space.

This is definitly the best wrestling CD out there mainly becuase it has so many bands that i love. Union Underground, Drowing Pool And Saliva Are 3 of my favorite bands.

"The Game", by Drowning Pool-Where to start....lets see here.... Why does Triple H still use The Game by Motorhead as his theme?. Its Been 5years dude its time to use this one as ur theme song. This song is great just like any other Drowning Pool song new singer or old.

"Turn The Tables" (Dudley Boys Theme)is very easy to listen to and doesnt get boring.I loved the live version they performed at WM18. Although I like the newer WWE Dudley Boys Theme, "Bombshell" by Powerman 5000, this is also a great song.

"Across The Nation", by Union Underground, OK I purchased "An Education in Rebellion" and That CD does not disapoint just like this song. There is not 1 Union Underground song that is bad or even close to bad. This band is great just like the Raw Theme should be. How many Times has Smackdowned changed its theme now? And If people havnt noticed Smackdown ruined Drowning Pool's Rise Up with soem crappy remix version they started playing is early april.

"Whatever", by Our Lady Peace, This song is great. The first time i heard it i was confused since there are weird sound at beginning but the song is great. (The Only good song by Our Lady Peace in my eyes).

The CD is worth buying alone for those track listed above. There really aren't any bad song on this cd expect the tazz theme and the creed song. [...]

I loved this cd! Some songs were crappy, but hey the rest was good. Here are my ratings:

1. Triple H's theme: I really liked this song! I give it a 5/5!!

2. Stacy Keibler's theme: This song made absolutly no sense to listen to. It was ok I guess. I give it a 3/5

3. Young Grow Old: I liked this song a lot. Not too much though. I give it a 4/5

4. Stone Cold Steve Austin theme: I loved this song!!!!!! It deserves a 5/5

5. Undertaker's theme: This song was really good, since I like Limp Bizkit and Undertaker. I give it a 5/5

6. Chris Benoit's theme: This song is one of my favorite songs on the cd! I give it a 5/5

7. Edge's theme: I didn't like this song very much. I give it at least a 3/5

8. Rob Van Dam's theme: Also one of my favorite songs on the cd! I give it a 5/5

9. The Beautiful People: I didn't like this song! Its not worth rating, but I will give it a 2/5 anyway!

10. Raw theme: I still love this song to this day! I give this song a 5/5

11. Chris Jericho's theme: I liked this song... just because, I don't know why! It at least gets a 3/5

12. Dudley Boyz theme: I liked this theme! I give it a 5/5

13. Hardy Boyz theme: I love this song! This is a must listen to kind of song. I give it a 5/5

14. Raven's theme: I thought that this song is a really good song. I give it a 4/5

15. Ride of your life: I really didn't like this song. It should only get a 2/5

16. Tazz's theme: Where to start, this song shouldn't be on the cd! This song needs to get some help! It deserves a 1/5

17. Vince McMahon's theme: The new version is better! I give it a 3/5

18. Lita's theme: I loved this song! I just think it is the best song ever!!!!!! I give it a 5/5

If you are a true WWE fan, I urge you to pick up this cd!

this album is tight...better cop it

rollin is the best song on the cd
beautiful people by marilyn manson is great too

When I bought this disc I thought It'll be a little boring to listening... the reality is that I love this music a lot because is very relaxing and easy listening.
Don't be affraid and get yours !!!

When I first heard the cd, I was like man, this would be awesome to chill too, not knowing it was called Ultra Chill. When i found out i knew i had to have it so i bought volume 1 and 2. I loved Volume 1 with Nigntmares on Wax, Gorillaz, Dido, and many more. But when i put in Volume 2 i have to admit i was a little disappointed. But all in all i love both cds and if had a second chance would DEFINATELY buy agian.

I discovered this CD when I walked into a music store in downtown San Francisco and it was being played in the store. I immediately asked which CD it was and after listening to some other tracks on a listening station promptly purchased two copies (one for myself, and one as a gift).

I don't buy many CDs.

I really don't feel like writing out a long review explaining how I feel about this compilation, so I will just rate each song giving a brief explanination for each track.

Disc 1:

1.Straight Out of Line - Godsmack (0/5)-Terrible band, sh*tty song.
2.This is Now - Hatebreed (2/5)-Mediocre band, slightly catchy song.
3.Price to Play - Staind (0/5)-Absolutely terrible band, f**king horrible song.
4.Stupid Girl - Cold (0/5)-Whiney annoying song, moronic band.
5.Hexagram - Deftones (3/5) - Decent song by a sh*tty band.
6.This Is the New S**t - Marilyn Manson (0/5)-Typical generic song from typical poser Manson.
7.Separate - Sevendust (0/5)-Bad song, bad band.
8.When It Cuts - Ill Ni�o (0/5)-Horrible song, laughable band.
9.World's So Cold - Mudvayne (-1/5)-One of the worst bands of all time.
10.Smothered - Spineshank (4/5)-One of the few decent n�-metal bands, pretty good song.
11.Destroy All - Static X (0/5)-Noise....
12.Fixation on the Darkness - Killswitch Engage (-2/5)-This band gives metal a bad name.
13.Inhale - Stone Sour (-100/5)-Corey's side project from slipknot, need I say more?
14.Pride - Soil (0/5)-HA HA HA HA HA!!!
15.Safe Home - Anthrax (2/5)-I never really liked anthrax..
16.Raining Blood [Live] - Slayer (5/5)-Slayer rules, this song is awesome live.
17.Dead in Hollywood - Murderdolls (-100/5)-Refer to number 13 only replace corey with Joey.
18.Destroyer of Senses - Shadows Fall (0/5)-......NO
19.Sun Doesn't Rise - Mushroomhead (0/5)-Mushroomhead has no talent what so ever.
20.House of 1000 Corpses - Rob Zombie (1/5)-Rob Zombie is awesome, but I hate this song.

Disc 2:

1.Ruin - Lamb of God (5/5)-YES!!!!! I love Lamb of God.
2.We Will Rise - Arch Enemy (4/5)-Ok band, this song is better than most of their songs.
3.Clouds Connected - In Flames (0/5)-In Flames can drop dead.
4.Down Again - Chimaira (1/5)-Boring song, boring band.
5.You Broke Like Glass - Eighteen Visions (0/5)-....HA HA HA... ok ..no wait.... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!...Eigteen Visions plays 1 chord and idiots with no taste in music think it's awesome.
6.Heaven's a Lie - Lacuna Coil (3/5)-Ehh song, ehh band.
7.I Could Care Less - DevilDriver (0/5)-Moronic ranting...oh this band sucks by the way.
8.Sworn Enemy - Sworn Enemy (0/5)-..........I have no words.
9.At the End of August - 36 Crazy Fists (4/5)-Pretty bad band, relatively good song.
10.Mannequin - Cradle of Filth (5/5)-Cradle of Filth owns!
11.Infected - Demon Hunter (0/5)-A band contradicting itself. We are metal, we play aggressive angry music, (not really) but we love god and are good people.
12.March of the Fire Ants - Mastodon (1/5)-This band has talent and play pretty well, but it's just not for me.
13.Down - Motograter (0/5)-Pointless band, annoying song.
14.Mandibles - E-Town Concrete (3/5)-They are bad, but it's fun to listen to.
15.Botchla - Poison the Well (0/5)-I can't have the girl I like, I can't go on anymore. Pfft, baby. Oh ya, this band is terrible.
16.Rejection Role - Soilwork (0/5)-Tra la la la la la la la la la la la.
17.Endless - Unearth (0/5)-Generic
18.Relentless - Strapping Young Lad (0/5)-Heh, this song is so repatetive.
19.Forever - As I Lay Dying (0/5)-Refer to demon hunter.
20.Rational Gaze - Meshuggah (5/5)-Meshuggah kicks a$$. Awesome song.

Way too much garbage, mtv needs to stop playing no talent radio friendly bands and play some real music.

MTV has pretty much destroyed music of our generation. MTV is a biased @$$ kissing station that only promotes pop, rap, and reality TV. MTV doesn't care about real music,.... only sell outs end up on MTV in the rock n' roll point of view. Yet,.... you have all the lip singing teenage pop queens and a bunch of loser rappers. It's all about phads,.... this and that, oh this cool. So you have all that going on while you have all the good bands underground,....which pisses me off.

MTV 2's Headbanger's Ball is a good effort by MTV. There are a good variety of heavy bands on here,.... this shows a different MTV. Well,.... the only way you'll see this on TV is if you have on demand, or high tech cable. MTV should focus more on promoting stuff like this. No, the complication isn't perfect but it's some great stuff. There are alot of great bands on this complication: wether it's from nu metal, metalcore, trash metal, power metal, death metal, and heck even black. They have all bases covered on this complication. Yet there were a few tracks which don't belong on the complication,....but all the material is good.

If MTV would stop being a biased station promoting crappy music, and started showing some more stuff like this,... I would come to respect MTV again. I hate MTV, but love the complication... great CD. Heck, but really folks if you had this competeing with Ozzfest,....Ozzfest would win 10 times out of 10.

Disc 1:

Godsmack ~ "Straight Out Of Line" // 7/10 Overplayed, overated... never been much of a Godsmack fan. I suggest you take a listen to Alice in Chains instead.

Hatebreed ~ "This Is Now" // 8/10 A great song.... heavy + catchy= awesome. Sounds similar to most of Hatebreed's music a guitar solo would have made this cooler. The guitar riff at the begining was sweet. Nice Song in general.

Staind ~ "Price To Pay" // 4/10 Staind sold out after Dysfunction, the song is plainly too light and does not belong on the complication.

Cold ~ "Stupid Girl" // 6/10 Not a real fan of cold, but a pretty decent song,...Cold can do way better than this song, not something that should be on the complication....you don't bang your head to a song like this.

Defnotes ~ "Hexagram" // 3.5/10 Sorry this song plainly blows,... the Defnotes are a decent nu metal band but, really nothing special.

Marilyn Manson ~ "This Is The New *hit"// 7/10 I'm not a big fan of Manson, but this song is pretty catchy I like it,....unedited version is better though.

Sevendust ~ "Seperate"// 7.5/10 Pretty good song,....not really that heavy, but still a catchy song that is fun to listen to. Its more like alternative no idea why its on this complication but it's still decent.

Ill Nino ~ "When it Cuts"// 8/10 Ill Nino is cool, but over rated.... the song is catchy and grows on you. Two Thumbs Up. Great chorus, could have been heavier.

Mudvayne ~ "World's So Cold"// 5/10 Mudvayne is okay,... but this song is just mediocore, and plainly goes nowhere...somewhat catchy, but most of the time annoying. Pick a different Mudvayne song next time.

Spineshank ~ "Smothered"// 9/10 Spineshank is freaken' awesome and the way all nu metal is supposed to sound like. Excellent song that gets stuck in your head....very catchy chours and a nice fast tempo as well.

Static-X ~ "Destroy All"// 7/10 Great song, very aggresive,...with a catchy chours, yet I've heard better.

Killswitch Engage ~ "Fixation of Darkness"// 7/10 Pretty good song, nothing special....kinda cool, but it didn't keep my interest.

Stone Sour ~ "Inhale"// 6.5/10 Stone Sour is pretty cool,...Corey(slipknot) 's side project. This song is lighter, somewhat enjoyable.... nothing special. Too slow for me,.... stick with Slipknot Corey.

Soil ~ "Pride"// 8/10 Great work by soil,....some nice guitar action.....great song that is very meledioc and hardcore. I'm loving it!!!

Anthrax ~ "Safe Home"// 8.5/10 Hey Anthrax one of the greatest Trash metal bands of all time,... with a pretty cool song = Awesome!!!

Slayer ~ "Raining Blood" (LIVE)// 10/10 SLAYER,....HELL YEAH,...SLAYER LIVE= F**K YEAH MAN!!! SLAYER RULES!!!!!

Murderdolls ~ "Dead in Hollywood"// 9.5/10 Great band plainly,.... with a great song,....!!! MURDERDOLLS RULE,...I especially love this song great guitar work, a masterpiece!!!

Shadows Fall ~ "Destroyer of Senses"// 9/10 Shadows Fall RULES,... one of my favorites I've heard better from Shadows Fall, but this song is awesome especially the begining,...!!!

Mushroomhead ~ "Sun Doesn't Shine"// 8.5/10 Mushroomhead is an awesome band, they actually sound more like Disturbed at some parts of the song!!! Pretty cool song,... you should check them out!!!

Rob Zombie ~ "House Of 1000 Corpses"// 2/10 This song sucks,...Rob Zombie should get his head checked, and get backed to playing good metal,.... not this crap.

Disc 2:

Lamb of God ~ "Ruin"// 10/10 Lamb of God at their prime,... this song is unbelievable, awesome guitar and drumming solos,...this song kick @$$!!!

Arch Enemy ~ "We Will Rise"// 8.5/10 Great new metal band out there,....hard to believe that a girl does the vocals for this band. Another plus for the band right there.

In Flames ~ "Cloud Connected"// 6.5/10 In Flames sold out, I would of liked their earlier stuff when they still had it in them. This song is still somewhat catchy though,... no complains.

Chimaira ~ "Down Again"// 8.5/10 Chimaria rules,... great youthful band with some great music!!! This song is awesome,.... listen to this band,.. great stuff.

Eighteen Visions ~ "You Broke Glass"// 8/10 I love this song,...I haven't heard much about this band. A pretty cool track,....could of done more work on the guitar,... the song though is nice and catchy.

Lacuna Coll ~ "Heaven's A Lie"// 4.5/10 Not feeling it,..... just sounds like a clone of Evansense, except more gothic. Waste of time,....!!!

Devildriver ~ "I Could Care Less"// 8.5/10 Devildriver is a cool band. Great shredding on the guitar and with awesome morbid agressive vocals.

Sworn Enemy ~ "Sworn Enemy"// 7.5/10 Pretty impressive from an realtivly unknown band. I am eager to here more from this band,... Two Thumbs Up. Slightly repetive, but it's okay.

36 Crazyfists ~ "At The End of August"// 6/10 An average song the chorus and changes in tempo kind of ruined the song. The vocals could have used some work as well.

Cradle of Filth ~ "Mannequin"// 9.5/10 Cradle of Filth RULES,.... great band!!! A little creepy at time but this band kicks butt.

Demon Hunter ~ "Infected"// 9/10 Great Chrisian metal band, that's just as hardcore as any other band out there. This band is awesome... very impressive. This band blew me away.

Mastodon ~ "March of The Fire Ants"// 8.5/10 Another great band with another awesome song,...have heard better from the band.

Motorgater ~ "Down"// 7.5/10 Great alternative tune, but still why is it on this complication?

E. Town Concrete ~ "Mandibles"// 0/10 Just an underground version of Limp Bizkit... never mix rap with metal or any form of rock.

Poison The Well ~ "Botcha"// 4.5/10 The song failed to impress me pointless screaming and all that jazz plainly.

Soilwork ~ "Rejection Role"// 7.5/10 Great band,...Great song = win,win senario. Could have been better guitar playing.

Unearth ~ "Endless"// 7/10 Great metalcore band,...I give them credit. Unearth is somewhat generic though.

Strapping Young Lad ~"Relentless"// 5.5/10 Not impressed,... too freaken' repetive and boring. The song didn't go anywhere some great guitar playing. Great band,.... just not one of there better songs

As I Lay Dying ~ "Forever"// 8.5/10 Great metalcore band,... awesome song very fast,agressive, with a nice meledoic feel to it.

Meshuggah ~ "Rational Gaze"// 9/10 I love Meshuggah,...and the song is awesome I especially love the bass and sound effects. Great way to end the ablum.

Overall, I give the complication as a whole an 8/10,...great little complication. amazon rating scale 4/5 Two Thumbs Up!!! there were some filler tracks here and there, but it was a very solid ablum. Check out part 2 as well as this.

This was the CD that got me into the New Wave of American Heavy Metal and real metal in general. Anyways, I started listening to Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, Pantera and Chimaira before I bought this a month after it came out, but it's still a great compilation. The flaws are the edits, but you can't really recognize that on the second disc. Here's what I think of each track on this disc.

DISC 1

1. "Straight Out Of Line" by Godsmack (3/5) Extremely overplayed...
2. "This Is Now" by Hatebreed (5/5)
3. "Price To Play" by Staind (0/5) Anything after "Dysfunction" sucks.
4. "Stupid Girl" by Cold (4/5) Great track from an underrated band.
5. "Hexagram" by Deftones (5/5) Deftones rule.
6. "This Is The New *hit" by Marilyn Manson (1/5) Edited version sucks, and I don't like Manson that much...
7. "Separate" by Sevendust (2/5) Replace that track with "Enemy"...
8. "When It Cuts" by Ill Nino (3/5) Replace with "How Can I Live"...
9. "World So Cold" by Mudvayne (4/5) This track rules...it would have gotten a 5/5 if it weren't the radio edit...
10. "Smothered" by Spineshank (5/5) This is some good stuff there...
11. "Destroy All" by Static-X (3/5) "Shadow Zone" wasn't that great of a CD, but this is a decent song...
12. "Fixation On The Darkness" by Killswitch Engage (5/5) This is the version with Howard Jones on vocals. The original is as good as well.
13. "Inhale" by Stone Sour (3/5) Mediocre song from Corey Taylor's side project.
14. "Pride" by Soil (1/5) This song sucks, but the rest of the CD is pretty good.
15. "Safe Home" by Anthrax (4/5) Screw "St. Anger", Anthrax can still produce good albums in 2003, not Selloutica!
16. "Raining Blood [live]" by Slayer (5/5) The studio track is great, and the live version kicks ass as well.
17. "Dead In Hollywood" by Murderdolls (4/5) One of the only good tracks off their CD.
18. "Destroyer Of Senses" by Shadows Fall (10/5) What can I say? It's Shadows Fall!
19. "Sun Doesn't Rise" by Mushroomhead (5/5) Great track from an up-and-coming band.
20. "House Of 1000 Corpses" by Rob Zombie (-9999999999999999/5) The only Rob Zombie worth listening to is off "Hellbilly Deluxe".

DISC 2

1. "Ruin" by Lamb Of God (5/5) LOG rules.
2. "We Will Rise" by Arch Enemy (5/5) I'm amazed a chick sings for this band.
3. "Clouds Connected" by In Flames (4/5) It's new In Flames, but that's not an excuse for how great the track is.
4. "Down Again" by Chimaira (20/5) Practically the reason I bought this CD.
5. "You Broke Like Glass" by Eighteen Visions (5/5) It grew on me.
6. "Heaven's A Lie" by Lacuna Coil (5/5) F*ck Evanescence. Lacuna Coil plays TRUE gothic metal.
7. "I Could Care Less" by DevilDriver (4/5) It's not Coal Chamber, but it will do.
8. "Sworn Enemy" by Sworn Enemy (3/5) One of the only good tracks off their CD.
9. "At The End Of August" by 36 Crazyfists (5/5) Great band with great material.
10. "Mannequin" by Cradle Of Filth (2/5) It's off their P.O.S. "Damnation and a Day"...
11. "Infected" by Demon Hunter (4/5) Didn't catch me at first, but I got into it.
12. "March Of The Fire Ants" by Mastodon (5/5) Amazing track.
13. "Down" by Motograter (4/5) It's good.
14. "Mandibles" by E.Town Concrete (4/5) Rap metal done right.
15. "Botchla" by Poison The Well (5/5) Poison The Well rules...
16. "Rejection Role" by Soilwork (3/5) It's decent.
17. "Endless" by Unearth (4/5) Great track from a great band.
18. "Relentless" by Strapping Young Lad (5/5) Devin Townsend is a musical genius.
19. "Forever" by As I Lay Dying (5/5) Addicting...
20. "Rational Gaze" by Meshuggah (5/5) Holy schnikies, this is gold!

It's a great CD to get you beyond the nu-metal realm, especially the 2nd CD with the more underground bands. Recommended.

This isn't the Now collection which has more hits and better songs and artists but it was pretty enjoyable. I like the first track by Madonna, because it is cool and retro. I do not like the music video though. The second track is another great track by Pink. At first I thought this was song was from Christina Aguilera, but I knew it had to be some one better. It is a cool mix of pop. This cd features some of my favorite artists like Dido,Christina Aguilera,Barenaked Ladies,and Matchbox Twenty. But the reward for best song goes to Faith Hill's The Way You Love Me. This is a great love song, a country song with a pop remix. It rocks!!! Later!

(1) Madonna "Music"(Deep Dish Dot Com Radio Edit) B+ This is a good song, but I didn't like the remix too much.

(2) Pink "Most Girls" A- This is a good song, but could have been a bit better, considering it's P!nk.

(3) Matchbox Twenty "Bent" B- I like Matchbox 20, but this song didn't have enough flavor.

(4) Vertical Horizon "Everything You Want" A+ I very much like this song. It's very good, and has a hint of Alternative.

(5) Third Eye Blind "Deep Inside Of You" B- Good song, but a bit too repetitive.

(6) Barenaked Ladies "Pinch Me" B Not as good as One Week, but still has effort.

(7) Faith Hill "The Way You Love Me"(Radio Mix) A Once again, I hate country, but love Faith Hill, and this song is no exception.

(8) Dido "Here With Me" B- Not as good as other Dido songs, but still worth a few listens.

(9) Toni Braxton "He Wasn't Man Enough" F He wasn't man enough because he was a girl. Sorry, but this song sucks @$$.

(10) Christina Aguilera "What A Girl Wants" B+ It's good, but I've seen mmmmmmmuuuuuuuucccccccchhhhhh better from her.

(11) Next "Wifey" C- Was this even a hit?

(12) Debelah Morgan "Dance With Me" F This is a horrible song.

(13) Joy Enriquez "Tell Me How You Feel" F Hate this song? Who is Joy Enriquez?

(14) Vitamin C "Graduation" A+ Now were getting somewhere! Great song, and fullfilling to all graduations.

(15) The Corrs "Breathless" A- This is a great song from some UK rockers (I think they are from the UK). Anyway, great song guys!

(16) Whitney Houston "Fine" C+ No, this song is not fine, it's ok.

(17) John Michael Montgomery feat. Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski "The Little Girl" F I just wanna say, who cares for this song? Not oonly is it annoying, it was never ahit. Plus, who are all these people? WTF???

Overall- B- Just barely made it to the B range. But, I know they could have done much better. Will the first always be the best?

I may be writing under about three different names, but this is still the same writer. My "latest" music purchase was a bit srtiking, I bought "Totally Hits 3", which was released during Fall 2000, when I was in 9th grade. Now I'm a freshman in college! Four(4) years have passed, yet these songs still as good as they were back in 2K. Here's a retro breakdown:
(1) Madonna "Music"(Deep Dish Dot Com Radio Edit) B. A good dance song, just lacking the techno zing of the original version. Deep Dish has compromised Will Orbit's originality in favor of standard beats.
(2) Pink "Most Girls" A-. Broke no new ground, but still managed to be a catchy, slick and promising debut song that announced Pink as a powerful artist. A great production to balance pop and R&B. And because Babyface produced it; it has a similar sound to TLC's "Fanmail" LP (1999)
(3) Matchbox Twenty "Bent" B+. Matchbox Twenty has done better. Rob Thomas' heartfelt lyrics remain the highpint of the piece. The song is well made and has some true dimension,yet it could use a little more zip, still good though.
(4) Vertical Horizon "Everything You Want" A-. Proves that less can be more. By laying back, the song lets its deep, powerfull lyrics seep into the soul. I don't understand why the group vanished though; on the basis of this and "You're A God", they clearly had alot of talent.
(5) Third Eye Blind "Deep Inside Of You" C. There's suposed to be a message here, but the song is too long and becomes pretty standard. In the end, there isn't any of the depth which drove their two best tracks; "Hows It Gonna Be?" and "Never Let You Go". It's a real dissapointment; hit or not.
(6) Barenaked Ladies "Pinch Me" B+. Lays back just like #4, this one is a bit more specific with content, very easing. It has the ability to bring forth memories and nostalgia; which is a hard feat to accomplish for any type of music.
(7) Faith Hill "The Way You Love Me"(Radio Mix) B+. I enjoyed every minute of this song, and I dont even like country that much. The reason for that is that Faith Hill's powerful voice lends so much energy to the song, making it flow perfectly. This is one of those country songs that EVERYONE should hear.
(8) Dido "Here With Me" A-. The exact deep, emotional and touching work I expect from Dido. Unlike Britney or Christina, she never tries to hard, and just lets her songs work their magic. This is a very well done adult-pop ballad which is almost mesmerizing.
(9) Toni Braxton "He Wasn't Man Enough" A-. A strong, felt R&B song, Darkchild's production makes it one of her best; in the same league as "Un-Break My Heart". Darkchild's beat combined with Toni's fiery voice and style creates a winning cimbination for the listener.
(10) Christina Aguilera "What A Girl Wants" B. A light, catchy pop tune that just isn't anything new. It may a little too soft, yet you can't really complain too much when the song so willing to please. An enjoyable listen, even if it's unnessacary.
(11) Next "Wifey" A. This is the perfect blend of traditional and contemporary R&B. It has shades of hip-hop, yet its still very heartfelt and good natured. This is a sweet, blissful breeze of a song, which is remanisent of some of the best works R&B/rap by Arrested Development and Tony! Toni! Tone! from the early '90s.
(12) Debelah Morgan "Dance With Me" B-. The beat and style come close to saving the average material. She has a nice voice set to fiery beats, and despite moments of true inspiration; the song never fully picks up enough. Good, but could have been much better.
(13) Joy Enriquez "Tell Me How You Feel" C+. I can't complain about the song's listenability, it's fun, but forgetable. JUst like track #12, it's another dance song that needs some more ambition injected into it; it doesn't even come close to pushing any envelopes.
(14) Vitamin C "Graduation" A.This is THE anthem for ALL graduations. A spoken word song can be very dangerous (i.e. All Saints' disasterous "Never Ever"), but Vitamin C makes it work with stunning impact and dimension. Never before has a song summed up all the feelings from a graduation so nicely with such power and depth. It's a nice companion to Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen).
(15) The Corrs "Breathless" A. A perfect pop tune. Its light, catchy, fun and completely enjoyable. A triumph on both the vocal AND insturmental levels. The song is destined to put a smile on your face and warm your heart with beautiful lyrics and beats.
(16) Whitney Houston "Fine" B. It's not in the same league as "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" or "Heartbreak Hotel", yet it's impossible to dislike. It's just not a highlight of her long, impressive career. This also happened to be Whitney's last memorable single; as it's follow up became the awful "Watchulookinat" from "Just Whitney" (2002).
(17) John Michael Montgomery feat. Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski "The Little Girl" B. The material is well done and touching, if not a little too Hallmark. It's a just like a "tearjerker movie"; purposly programmed to extract emotions, but isn't really heartfelt
Bottom Line: ***.The album is a nice summation of music back in 2000. My only complaint is the lack of hip-hop; where is Common's "The Light" and De La Soul & Redman's "Oooh"? That aside the album makes a perfect counter part to go along with "NOW 5". And as a flashback: it's just about perfect to bring back memories.

I bought this by mistake thinking the songs were performed by the original artists. I think you can only hear the originals by getting the dvd. I was pretty bummed at first but my child loves this. My only complaint is that you can't understand all of the words so some of the educational value of the songs is lost.

Making a cover album is difficult, you'll almost never please the purists who loved the original. Putting together a compilation CD with various artists adds the problems of uneveness in style and talent. Do do all this with School House Rock songs seems really hard. To review this CD is almost as hard. Most of us of "age" loved these songs when our musical tastes ran more toward Sesame Street (or insert your tastes here, the point is our tastes have evolved). The fact that so many people still like these songs is a testament to the originals.

That being said, this album has some very strong tracks. Seems like everyone loves the reworking of Mister Morton (Skee LO, deservedly so. Three is a magic number, well I liked it as a kid. Now that I have a brand new baby I REALLY LIKE IT. Blind Lemon nailed it. I don't want to repeat everyone's raves too much, so I'd like to hilight seeminlgy under appreciated Chavez take on Little Twelve Toes, nicely pschedelic.

I didn't care to much for electricity and one or two other tracks but maybe other folks will. Like I said earlier, style varies a lot on this CD.

So buy this CD and try to appreciate it for with newish ears. And as for the reviewer from amazon goes. I am too hip!!

Sometimes, covers of old songs and attempts to modernize old childhood favorites just fall flat. This isn't one of those times.

From the rocking rendition of "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here" by Buffalo Tom to the R&B Soul crooning of "The Tale of Mr. Morton" by Skee-lo, this album will have you singing along and recalling those simpler days of catching Schoolhouse Rock on Saturday Mornings.

A wonderful effort by all involved and a must-have for children of the 70's and 80's.

the fisrt disc is sissy sounding people singing. the only good song is by go betty go. and the other disc is stupid screamo and spazoid stuff. what a waste of money!! :(

Well first off when i bought this cd like over a year ago.. i was just a greenday and Blink-182 junkie. had been for like 3 years. Then i bought this cd hoping to find some new bands and slowly started getting into other Punk/Emo/Alternitive/Screamo bands..
This cd introduced me to..
*A New Found Glory*
*Anti-Flag*
*Atmosphere*
*Bad Religion*
*Chronic Future*
*Coheed & Cambria*
*Halifax*
*Hazen Street*
*Matchbook Romance*
*Motion City Soundtrack*
*MxPx*
*Simple Plan*
Which in time introduced me to other bands and now music is my life and i have over 3,000 songs in little over a year so ya this cd hits home for me and i sugest it and its 2003 and 2005 counterpart.. well im sure all of them but those are the ones i have to anyone... also this review really bugged me...

********Um I liked this CD, but really I was expecting more. More Punk Rock, the magority of the 52 songs are hard rock. Like From Autoum to Ashes, they're like hard rock. The only real punk rock is the New Foud Glory, Coheed and Cambria, NOFX, Flogging Molly, Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, and some others. But most of its hard rock. If you classify some of the songs on the cd punk rock, you dont know punk rock you freakin poser. I bought the cd at Best Buy expecting it to be great, and for 5 dollars it seemed great. The punk rock thats on it is good, but some of the music just dosent cut it. Another thing I found lousy about this Cd is that they didnt have all the bands that where even at the Warped Tour, where was Senses Fail and Story of the Year and Hidden in Plain View?, are they not good enough. They should have gotten rid of all the crappy hard rock and put these great bands in their place. I gave the CD 3 stars, I am figuring that its a fair grade for a CD that isnt what it should be, but then is what it is and is good at it. I would recommend buying this CD, but if you truely are a punk rock fan dont expect the punk you deserve on the Warped Tour.*******

He has no idea what hes talking about...
A) Autumn to ashes isnt hardcore its screamo so he doesnt know what hardcore or screamo is
B)Coheed, TBS, And THursday are emo not punk
C)He says he only likes punk but is wishing that senses fail, Hidden in plain view, and Story of the year was on there all emo just contridicded himself again.
SO in escence he is an idiot who knows nothing of punk...
Thank you
travis

This 2 disc compilation of all aspects of alternative is a must-have for anyone that likes it. They managed not only to put ther best bands at the time (2004), on these discs, but they also scrounged up the very best songs. If there was one song that each of these bands would've played at the Grammys, (if the Grammys played alternative, which they don't) these would be it. Again it's all aspects of alternative. You have your general punk "Jersey", and then you have your emo "Lightweight Holiday" "Amber Pacific" and you also have your ska "Big D and the Kids Table" and you have your hardcore punk "From First to Last" and your 90's wave punk "The Casualties". If you love alternative theres nothing to not love about this. I bought this the first day it came to store and i still give it a good work-out in my cd player.

GOOD SONGS
___________

It's My Life
First Cut Is The Deepest
I Hate Everything About You
Falls On Me
100 Years

...and that's about it...I guess Beyonce is okay, but I like her better in DC.

UPDATE - 8/3/05: I should also comment that Jhonny Mendez's prediction list for Now 20 is flawless.

1)Beyonce`s Child-Nothin` no more
2)Britney Spears-My LAST song
3)N` Sync-Retarted as ever
4)Natalie Albino-Yes, I splited from nina sky,for the 76th time.
5)Madonna-American Life pt 2
6)Snoop Dogg-Strip Down
7)Hilary Duff-I followed the same steps as Britney Spears and now im a hoe.
8)Jojo-Im not famous anynore
9)Bjork-Thonin ahi yah tahdo sas
10)Ashanti-Oops!I did it over again.

Another day, another 'Now!'...and 'Now! 15' sports some decent tracks here, starting with No Doubt's 'It's My Life' which isn't my favorite No Doubt song, not by a long shot, but it's No Doubt and they rarly put out anything you need to avoid. Next up on the plate is 'Toxic' by Britney and I don't really need to say anything more than, whether you love or hate her, 'Toxic' is one of the most infectious songs I've ever heard. I haven't met one person who doesn't like this song. Sarah Connor gives us 'Bounce' which was kind of a sleeper. I mean, I had heard the song a bunch of times but never knew who sang it, and sadly I didn't care to find out. Not that it's a bad song, just not that memerable. Jessica Simpson also shows her face here with one of the most annoying songs ever...'With You'...I don't know I just hate her.

Beyonce also fails to deliver, for 'Me, Myself & I' was one of the only songs off 'Dangerously In Love' that I hated. It kind of floors me that they included Eamon's track, even though it was such a huge hit. It's just one of those songs I think totally loses everything with half the words taken out.

For the most part the rap here is strong...Luda delivering on 'Stand Up' and he also lends his talents to Chingy's 'Holidae In' but it's Westside Connections 'Gangsta Nation' featuring Nate Dogg that takes the crown as best track on the album. It's smooth vocals and tight beats make it a gem amoungst the rest. Nick Cannon and Baby Bash serve up mediocre tracks here, Nick Cannon still outshining Baby Bash (I can't stand this guy), and Black Eyed Peas pull off one of their best tracks ever. 'Shut Up' is perfect.

Sheryl Crow is good if not overplayed BIG time, but it's still a good song. Norah Jones failed to impress me with 'Sunrise' but that's just my opinion....I never really cared to listen to it. Fe Fe Dobson also loses my interest.

The rock set is good, Three Days Grace delivering the best rock song here...LOVE THAT SONG!!! Never really cared for Blink's 'Feelin' This' but Good Charlotte and Fuel deliver good ballad type rock sets, and Five for Fighting give us '100 Years' which is still one of my favorite songs. All in all this is a nice addition to the 'Now!' family and is sure to entertain most people.

Not the best Now album but not the worst either. It has 4 awesome songs that make the whole album worthwhile: "It's My Life", "Toxic", "With You", and "Sunrise." I would buy it just for those 4 songs.