Now That's What I Call Music! 7 CD

The seventh edition of this wildly popular series of pop anthologies focuses on hits from the first half of 2001. Any claims that bubble-gum is dead are dashed by the brigade of TRL heavyweights featured on this collection. Britney Spears ("Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know"), the Backstreet Boys ("The Call"), Mandy Moore ("In My Pocket") and *NSYNC ("This I Promise You") come out blazing with enough sugar to give your dentist heart palpitations. Divas Destiny's Child ("Survivor"), Jennifer Lopez ("Play") and Janet Jackson ("All For You") show up representing the R&B camp while hip-hop continues its massive pop crossover. Collaborations are the name of the game whether it's Mystikal with Nivea ("Danger [Been So Long]"), Nelly and City Spud ("Ride Wit Me") or Eve reaching out to alt-pop sister Gwen Stefani ("Let Me Blow Ya Mind"). Most impressive is the rap summit between R. Kelly, Jay-Z and Boo & Gotti ("Fiesta Remix"). Lest pop fans think rock is dead, appearances by alt-rock rookies Lifehouse ("Hanging By A Moment") and American Hi-Fi ("Flavor Of The Weak"), jangle-meisters Evan And Jaron ("From My Head To My Heart") and hard-rock icons Aerosmith ("Jaded") dispel this concern.

American Hi-Fi,Janet,Lifehouse Mandy Moore,Nelly,Rolling Stone (8/16/01, p.105) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A state-of-the-mall sampler....the good, the bad, and the Britney..."