98o Collection CD

Additional personnel includes: Mariah Carey, Joe, Stevie Wonder (vocals); Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis (various instruments); Trey Lorenz (background vocals).

For sweet, sensual boy-band pop minus the hip-hop pretensions of the Backstreet Boys or the overblown attitude of N Sync, look no further than the four young men of 98 Degrees. The group's lush, smooth harmonies made them a veritable hit machine, and THE COLLECTION attests to their staying power in both the pop charts and the collective pop culture consciousness. They've managed to stay ahead of the curve by staying close to their R&B roots; from "Why (Are We Still Friends)" to "This Gift," the songs here stick pretty close to the simmering, slow jam mode that is at the heart of the group's appeal. In fact, one of the most uptempo tracks is saved for the very end, as the lads launch into the percolating "True to Your Heart" with a vocal assist from no less a personage than Stevie Wonder (the R&B legend also contributes some of his trademark chromatic harmonica work). If that kind of endorsement isn't enough for you, then nothing more can be done.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Additional Tracks

98 Degrees includes: Justin Jeffre, Drew Lachey, Nick Lachey, Jeff Timmons (vocals).

Producers include: Dane Deviller, Sean Hosein, Bag, Bloodshy, David Frank.

Engineers include: Kenny Ortiz, Glen Marcheso, Kevin Lively.

Personnel: Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder (vocals, background vocals); Deetah (vocals); Dean Parks, Mats Berntoft, Patrick Tucker, Gordon Kennedy, Jay Williams (guitar); Dave Deviller, Henrik Janson, Dick Smith (acoustic guitar); Esbjörn Öhrwall (electric guitar); Ric Molina (nylon-string guitar); Thomas Kornacker, James Riccardo, Mattias Johansson, Elizabeth Sobieski, John Kennedy , Elsa Nilsson, David Mickens, Brenda Mickens (violin); Alice Preves, Tamas Strasser (viola); Beata Söderberg, A. Kipner, Joshua Koestenbaum, Daryl Skobba, Stephen Erdody (cello); Doctor Roy (trumpet); Pal Svenre (grand piano); Shep Crawford (keyboards, drums, percussion); Daryl Simmons (keyboards, drum programming); David Frank (keyboards); James Genus (electric bass); Ramon Yslas (percussion); Mark Hammond (drum programming); Melonie Daniels, Nicki Richards, Trey Lorenz (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Dave Way; Mick Guzauski; Steve Hodge; Thom "TK" Kidd; Bill Whittington; Bob Rosa.

Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Capri Digital Studios, Capri, Itlay; Chung King Studios, NY, NY; EMI Studio, Stockholm, Sweden; Flyte Tyme studios, Edina, MN; Larrabee West; Mulyn Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Quad Recording, New York, NY; Record One Plant, CA; Right Track Recording, New York, NY; Silent Sound Recording, Atlanta, GA; Soundtrack Studios, N.Y., NY; The Bennet House, Franklin, TN; The Hit Factory, New York, NY; The Record Plant, LA, CA; West Lake Audio, Hollywood, CA.

Photographers: Lance Staedler; Danny Clinch.

Arrangers: David Frank; Jimmy Jam; Mariah Carey; Matthew Wilder; Steve Kipner; Terry Lewis.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.