The Now compilation CD’s * Now That’s What I call Music* as they started out to be called, have been on our shelves for years now.
Simply shortened to NOW they are an invaluable way to get a collection of tracks that you would maybe otherwise not afforded to be able to get.
We ... Read review
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
Value for Money
Advantages:
a good mix of top chart acts and more lesser known tracks
Disadvantages:
some are not brilliant
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Now compilation CD’s * Now That’s What I call Music* as they started out to be called, have been on our shelves for years now. Simply shortened to NOW they are an invaluable way to get a collection of tracks that you would maybe otherwise not afforded to be able to get. We find ourselves on NOW 48, quite an achievement that they are still going strong in fact.
The double CD’s are released only three times a year, so its not that difficult to collect them, they make ideal Christmas presents for both children and adults and always sell well at this time.
There are lots of other compilation CD’s on the market, TOTP, PEPSI and various others, some more specialised and aimed at Dance and Trance music, however the NOW CD’s seem to always be favourites.
So what will you find on NOW?
Well you get a very varied mix of hits, some less known than others and of course you can guarantee that there will be lots you don’t like too. CD 1.This is usually a pretty good one as it contains the major ones, number one singles feature heavily here and also some just under top material.
This CD is nearly always the one that sways you to buy this and this tends to weigh out the negatives of the number 2 CD. Number 2, well this seems to always be a let down as far as I’m concerned, it starts well with more well known but not chart toppers, more of the unconventional tracks here.
But then it trails off and you get the *what the hell is this* material to follow, they always throw in various dance anthems and the like and these are not always the most well known either. However I will say that this time it isn’t actually so bad as some others before it, so what’s on This years first offering NOW 48
Well CD 1:
This kicks off with, the long running number 1 from Atomic Kitten (whole again), followed by the band on everyone’s lips. Hearsay (Pure and Simple) this theme carries through with the sing along poppy songs from artists such as Samantha Mumba (Always Come Back to your love) Kaysie (Paradise) Britney (Stronger) Steps (It’s The Way You Make Me Feel) and Fragma. (Every time You Need Me).
The thing to remember with these cd’s is that with them only being 3 times yearly, you get a selection from older hits to bang up to date and this is evident from the number 1 by Emma Bunton (What Took you So long) being also included.
21 tracks make up CD 1, and I can say that most of these are pretty good this time around. However the last one is wait for it * Bob the Builder *…hmmm, sure this ones in for the kiddies, but it did sell well so I guess they felt obliged to pop it in somewhere.
CD 2
Starts extremely well with the newly resurrected Eva Cassidy and her (Somewhere over The Rainbow), an amazing voice but again the fame after death scenario that so often happens, but a good opener none the less. You then get the more off pop acts such as U2,(Stuck In a Moment you Cant Get Out Of) Coldplay,(Don’t Panic) Stereophonics,(Mr Writer) again all well known and excellent tracks too.
Following on Robbie Williams, seems a little out of place somehow in this section but who am I to question the order of play!
Then off it goes downhill, a few good tracks thrown in with some less than outstanding ones, Sonique (I put A Spell On you) and MelanieB (Feels so good) wrestle in amongst the oddball mix of dance, DarioG (Dream To me) Jakatta (American Dream) and even the metal Paparoach. (Last resort) CD2 seems to be the almost. We ran out of ideas after CD1 so lets just fill up 2 with anything that we can think of and in any order!
Yes there are tracks worth picking out of this CD 2, but less than more I’m afraid, but overall as I said earlier this time it’s not as bad as some previous NOW compilations, 20 tracks on CD2 make up the full CD.
Now is a great way to build your collection of music over the years, and I will still continue to buy it, however I feel sometimes that some of the better tracks are missing and some I really can’t understand the inclusion of at all. It is however produced in a way to appeal of course to a wide range of musical tastes; therefore you can’t expect to like every song on it.
At around £14.99 it’s still a good buy however and once you start collecting you seem to keep buying!
Advantages: Value for money, wide selection of tracks, Disadvantages: You might not like all the artists
...Best of Blondie, Abba Gold, Now 45, Now 46 and Now 47. I am now well and truly committed to buying a further 6 CDs at regular price and at £16.99, regular price is a bit on the expensive side (although this is for a double album).
My record collection really needed an overhaul so the quickest and easiest way was to opt for the 'Now That's What I Call Music -' series. I have found these compilations are a brilliant mix and if you stick with the same ... ...the 'Now' series is Now 48 and is no exception. I saw it advertised and liked the snippits on TV so I thought, what the heck, I've got to buy some anyway I might as well buy something I like.
Now 48 is a double CD with 41 top chart hits. It also has a website www.now48.com where you can listen to and watch each song. You also get a little booklet listing the tracks and giving brief details about the artists.
Compact Disc One
1. Atomic Kitten - ...
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Advantages: good mixture of songs Disadvantages: as always you get some really bad tracks but they all seem to be on one cd so you can just avoid it
This is a mixed cd with 41 tracks spanned over two disks.On th first disk there are 21 songs.
1- Atomic Kitten with whole again. This is a ballad but differs from your standard one. There is a beat in the background throughout. In some parts they almost speak the words but not quite. Up until this song all their songs had been fast upbeat ones. By releasing this they showed that they can do different still and were awarded with no1 slot.
2- Hear'say ... ...the most talked about group in ages. There is no escaping them as they went through the show popstars. That helped them to become household names before they released the song. It is a ctachy tune that sticks in your mind and will have you singing it. I think these will appeal more to the younger listener but all the same it is a good song.
3- S Club 7- Never had a dream come true. I love this song it is a classic ballad that was released just before ...
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Advantages: Familiar brand, established formula, and unrivalled value-for-money. More than 40 hit singles for little more than the price of a chart CD. Disadvantages: You get the good and the bad, all jumbled up together. The lack of acts from outside the Warner/Sony/BMG labels.
The Now That's What I Call Music! series is by far the most successful compilation franchise of all-time. There are ordinary hits compilations and there are the NOW! collections. Launched in the autumn of 1983, it's hard to say why or how they became such an institution so quickly - within two years they were recognisable enough a brand to be dubbed simply NOW!-whatever-the-latest-number-was. Quite possibly it was because they got in first, tapping ... ...were tried - only the NOW Dance series has survived - and HITS achieved marginal supremacy, the franchise got back on track and quite simply hasn't looked back since.
EMI and Virgin subsequently merged in the mid-90s, while Polygram were taken over by Universal, but little else has changed. The format for the NOW! albums remains more or less the same, with the total number of tracks having increased from around 30 at first to 40 or so in recent ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Value for Money, Brilliant Artists selection. Disadvantages: Price dependent on where you buy this album.
...is done in the usual Now style, with a very good insert which outlines all the bands one by one, and what position they got in the charts with that particular hit.
If you like Atomic Kitten, Hearsay, S Club 7, Nelly Furtado, Shaggy, Gorillaz, Modjo, Fragma, Samantha Mumba, Britney Spears, Steps, Emma Bunton, Ronan Keating, Backstreet Boys, Leann Rimes, Damage, Kaci, Martine McCutcheon, Kylie Minogue, Bob (The Builder), Eva Cassidy, U2, Steeophonics, ... ...all the same although I found CD1 to be a little better, there are still some great tracks on CD2.
A good album with a brilliant artists selection, the Now series has definately excelled themselves with this one, I look forward to seeing the next one in the shops. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Lots of cool tunes. Disadvantages: Bob The Builder!
...all). As with all NOW CDs it’s a double making it slightly more expensive but still well worth it.
I have included a track list below, a fantastic selection, I think you’ll have to agree. Okay, so there’s that element of cheese in there with S Club 7 and Steps, but lets face it, most of us love a bit of cheese from time to time! Bob The Builder is the only track I tend to skip….not that I don’t like Bob The Builder ... ...In comparison to other recent NOW albums this one seems so much better.
Track List:
Atomic Kitten – Whole Again
Hear’Say – Pure and Simple
S Club 7 – Never Had a Dream Come True
Nelly Furtado – I’m Like a Bird
Shaggy – It Wasn’t Me
Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood
Modjo – Chillin’
Chocolate Puma – I Wanna Be U
Fragma – Everytime You Need Me
Samantha Mumba – ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Some excellent rock ballads are present on this album. Powerful vocals throughout. Disadvantages: Bryan Adams has recorded better albums than this.
....
This may be Bryan Adams eleventh studio album but he certainly doesn't seem short of an idea or two. He's not yet exhausted his song writing potential and still he has plenty to offer with his heartfelt rock ballads. The man is now48 and absolute expert at what he does, he's been writing music for over three decades now and is certainly no stranger to the world of music. Bryan Adams seems to know exactly what to do in order to produce the best sound possible and throughout the entirety of this release he continues to impress and enthral with his fantastic sound. He has a very distinctive voice, right from the very first moment the vocals kick in you can tell a Bryan Adams record from a mile off and in my opinion this is in no way a bad thing whatsoever. Twelve tracks here show that Bryan Adams has still got plenty of ideas and is forever...
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...Talking to the Napalm bods at the recent wacken bash, it became immediately clear that something was up. had the last two albums really been a preparation for this? Then you're picking yourself off the floor as they launch into ,taste the poison'! yes, this is still a mature beast. The melody and previous albums still exist but that gruesome attack is more blatant again and what remains some 48 minutes later is the feeling that Naplm now is an angrier beast than that which touched on more surreal 'words' take 'constitutional Hall' as an example. surely Barney and Co. Havn't penned a track as punishing as these since 'Utopia banished,. I feel it would be a shame if this amiable bunch lost the wish to experiment totally, But if it produces albums with as much sonic violence as this,who cares....
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